With Ohio State football quickly approaching, here are some early predictions for individual Buckeye players.
The Ohio State football team is less than three weeks away from the beginning of fall camp. Many questions will be answered during camp such as who will win starting roles among two of the biggest positions on the team at quarterback and offensive tackle.
Every season new players surprise and emerge, and 2023 will be no different. But the Buckeyes do return a very good core of starting players from the 2022 season that was two points shy of possibly winning a national title. Let’s give you some preseason predictions for the upcoming season.
No. 1) Who will win the starting QB job and what will his numbers look like?
This job is clearly Kyle McCord’s to lose. McCord has been with the Buckeye program for two seasons now as the No. 2 and was committed to Ryan Day and Ohio State for another two years prior. McCord has to know the playbook inside and out. Now it’s about execution. And with the best weapons in college football at his disposal, McCord’s transition to a starting role should be easy for him.
Devin Brown’s broken finger put a damper on the Spring game. But Ryan Day will give him a shot during fall camp to impress. I just can’t imagine him overtaking Ryan Day’s hand-picked quarterback from 2021.
I predict McCord to throw for 3,800 yards and have 35 touchdown passes as a first-time starter in 2023.
As I said earlier, McCord will have the best weapons in the nation to play with, including his former high school teammate, Marvin Harrison. I expect McCord to put up good numbers as he should be able to throw it on most of the defenses they face.
No. 2) Who will be Ohio State’s leading receiver?
This is obviously a two-man race between Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. I went on the OHIO Podcast earlier this week and picked Emeka Egbuka to emerge as the leading receiver for Ohio State in 2023.
With Harrison playing the outside and Julian Flemming opposite, Egbuka in the slot might be the most dangerous player in college football. We saw it against Georgia last year where he had eight catches for 112 yards and a score. His numbers very well could wind up replicating Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s 2021 season.
I predict Egbuka to have 85 receptions for 1,400 yards and eight touchdowns.
Don’t get me wrong, Harrison will put up huge numbers as well. In fact, I believe Harrison and Egbuka will become the first-ever pair of Buckeyes to put up over 1,300 yards receiving each in a single season. But while Harrison will get all the attention on the outside with double and triple teams, it just sets up so nicely for Egbuka to feast in the middle of the field.
No. 3) How does TreVeyon Henderson bounce back in 2023?
Maybe one of the more underrated storylines heading into the 2023 season is the health of former five-star recruit, TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson had a monster freshman campaign in 2021 in which he ran for over 1,200 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. The Buckeyes need that type of production from Henderson in 2023, especially with breaking in a new starting quarterback.
I think Henderson is out to prove the doubters wrong. He read all the trolling tweets about him dancing in holes last season and not playing through pain. From everything I’ve heard in Columbus, he’s ready for a monster season.
I expect Henderson to rush for at least 1,200 yards and score 10 rushing touchdowns in 2023.
Even with the loaded backfield that includes Chip Traynum, Miyan Williams, Evan Pryor, and Dallan Hayden, running backs coach Tony Alford will allow Henderson to carry most of the workload, and it should pay off in a big way for Henderson and the Ohio State football team.
Who will lead the Ohio State football team in sacks?
Let’s face reality. Ever since Chase Young became the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Ohio State has not had a great pass rusher. That needs to change in 2023 and defensive line coach Larry Johnson has three great options returning.
Mike Hall has a real chance to lead this team in sacks in 2023. The third-year Buckeye defensive tackle had a breakout season last year before nagging injuries got in the way. J.T. Tuimoloau had possibly the most disruptive game I’ve ever seen wearing a Buckeye uniform against Penn State last year where he had two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble, and a touchdown. But can he consistently show up every game?
I believe Jack Sawyer will get 10 sacks to lead the Buckeyes in 2023.
Moving back to his natural position at defensive end, Jack Sawyer is ready for a breakout-type season in 2023. All the preseason hype will be on Tuimoloau and rightfully so. And as he gets double-teamed early in the season, Sawyer will have a chance to make his mark on this defense in the early portion of the schedule. Sawyer and Tuimoloau will feed off each other as both will be very disruptive in 2023.
Can Tommy Eichenberg lead the Big Ten in tackles?
I think it goes without saying that barring injury, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg will lead Ohio State in tackles in 2023. With 120 last season, he finished second to Iowa’s Jack Campbell. With Campbell now in the NFL, Eichenberg should be seen as the favorite to lead the conference in tackles in 2023.
But two things may play against him. The first is that Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles came out this Spring and said he wants to rotate more on defense and specifically mentioned linebacker Cody Simon by name as someone he wants on the field.
Second, Michigan’s Junior Colson will have a say in this conversation. The Michigan linebacker had 101 tackles of his own last year, and he will be looked upon as the heart and soul of that Wolverine defense in 2023.
I do believe however that Eichenberg can reach 125 tackles, which should be enough to lead the Big Ten conference.
Even will a little bit of reduced playing time, Eichenberg as a third-year starter for this Ohio State football defense should at least get back to his 120-tackle number based on his instincts alone. And with two healed thumbs for 2023, Eichenberg should be able to see a little increase in performance.