The Ohio State football team is going to be one of the favorites to win a national title in 2024. They return most of their defense from a unit that was already elite last year. We chronicled who the best players on the defense are headed into next year and it was hard to figure out.
Offensively, the Buckeyes have a lot of change. They have a new quarterback, a new number-one receiver, and a new tight end. The offensive line is undergoing a shuffle as well. It's a little harder to determine who the standouts are on the offense.
Bringing Chip Kelly in to call plays is perhaps the best thing that happened to the offense this offseason. He's a wonderful offensive mind and that should help elevate a running game that has stalled over the last couple of seasons. A new quarterback helps too.
I identified the three best offensive players that the Buckeyes have this year. These are not the most important, just the ones that are purely the most talented and will help the team this year. These guys are players who should have the ball as much as possible.
The first player on this list is a great Ohio State receiver.
1. Emeka Egbuka
With Marvin Harrison Jr. gone, Emeka Egbuka is the undisputed number-one receiver on this Ohio State football team. That's not a bad thing. Egbuka is a massively talented receiver who makes explosive plays after the catch once he gets the ball in his hands.
One of the reasons he came back for 2024 is because he was hurt in 2023. He only played in 10 games and was hampered in the ones he did play in because of a hamstring injury. He only had 41 catches for 515 yards and 4 touchdowns. It was just wasn't the best version of Egbuka that we've seen.
That version of Egbuka showed up in 2022 when he had 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also had 11 carries for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns. Having a new quarterback will help too because Kyle McCord wasn't that good.
Egbuka is primed for a huge senior season. He has his eyes on a national championship and being a first-round pick in 2025. Adding Will Howard is a huge step towards that. The Buckeyes won't be as passing-focused as they were in 2022, but they will be better than they were a year ago.
The next person on this list is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the addition of Chip Kelly.
2. TreVeyon Henderson
When TreVeyon Henderson was a freshman, he was a beast. He ran for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns while also adding 312 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. He was a weapon that the Buckeyes loved using in multiple situations all over the field.
Then Henderson got hurt in 2022 and was in and out of the lineup. Last season, he got hurt again, spraining his ankle. He decided to come back this season to have a full healthy senior season. After rushing for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns, he's ready to explode.
With Chip Kelly calling the plays, expect the Ohio State football team to get more creative in how they run the ball. Some of the rush plays that Ryan Day called were stale. The offensive line wasn't getting enough push up front to make any holes happen for the running backs. That was the issue last year.
Henderson made some plays happen out of nothing last season. The offensive line is still a concern this season but the addition of Seth McLaughlin should help. The hope is that Kelly can get Justin Frye to perform better since he used to be Frye's boss at UCLA when they ran the ball well.
Having a mobile quarterback helps Henderson too. There could be an element of read option that the Buckeyes haven't had since Justin Fields. Some misdirection could help Henderson get some bigger holes to run through.
The final person this list is a guy who shares the backfield with Henderson.
3. Quinshon Judkins
I was very tempted to put Carnell Tate in this spot but just couldn't quite do it because this guy is so talented. Quinshon Judkins comes in from Ole Miss with back-to-back 1,100+ rushing seasons as a starter. Now he comes in sharing carries with Henderson.
Judkins is just a really good back who has gotten a lot of work in college so far. He's had over 270 carries in each of his two seasons with the Rebels. In fact, he's got over 100 carries more than Henderson has, and Henderson has played a full season more than Judkins.
Transferring to Ohio State is a career-preservation move for him. He needs fewer miles on his tires heading into the NFL. He'll get fewer carries with the Buckeyes but that doesn't mean he'll be less effective. He still scored 29 rushing touchdowns in the last two seasons.
Judkins is going to be the short-yardage back that the Buckeyes haven't had in the last few seasons. He's a bowling ball that can get low and get a crucial 3rd and 2 or 4th and 1. Around the goal line, forget about being able to stop him. He's a real weapon.
Judkins will likely hover around 110 carries this season. Ohio State is going to run the ball more this season and I expect the offense to be more explosive in general. They weren't that explosive a year ago with McCord leading things. With Howard under center, things should be better in that regard.
If these three guys are able to perform as well as we expect them to, they are a shoo-in for the College Football Playoff. They have enough talent to win the Big Ten and the national championship and save Ryan Day's job.