An Ohio State Football Team 2024 Preview

It’s been twelve seasons since Ohio State played in a non-New Year’s Six/BCS bowl game.

Since replacing Urban Meyer as head coach, Ryan Day has led Ohio State to the College Football Playoff three times in five seasons.

Yet Ryan Day also gets listed on the hot seat rankings as “pressure is mounting” (as CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd says). That’s a product of two factors: first, the high expectations for Ohio State football.

And perhaps more importantly, the fact Ohio State hasn’t beaten “that team up north” since 2019. A 1-3 record (with a COVID cancellation in 2020) by Ryan Day in “the game” (as fans in two of 50 states call it) is raising the temperature of Day’s seat in Columbus.

Now, with Jim Harbaugh taking his weird shtick back to the NFL, Ohio State finds themselves as the leading candidate to win the 18-team Big Ten conference. No pressure, Ryan Day…no pressure at all.

Roster turnover at an elite program like Ohio State is a given in this day and age. The top players head to the NFL early, while other players head to the portal – sometimes voluntarily, sometimes involuntarily. One prime example is quarterback Kyle McCord, who earned third team All-Big Ten honors last season despite being criticized, then hit the portal. He nearly transfered to Nebraska, but then landed at Syracuse. He’ll be replaced by former Kansas State quarterback Will Howard (6’4” 237 lbs.), who completed 61% of his passes for 2,643 yards, 24 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 351 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 4.3 yards per carry after succeeding Adrian Martinez as the Wildcats’ quarterback. Backing up Howard will be sophomore Devin Brown (6’3” 212 lbs.) and redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz (6’3” 207 lbs.). Brown completed 16 of 28 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns with an interception last year. After Brown was injured in the Cotton Bowl to Missouri, Kienholz took over, completing just six of 17 passes for 86 yards in that ugly loss. Many suspect that if Howard struggles, the Buckeyes will turn to incoming freshman Julian Sayin (6’1” 203 lbs.) at quarterback.

Senior running back Treveyon Henderson (5’10” 215 lbs.) returns after a couple of injury-filled seasons. Despite missing three games, Henderson earned first team All-Big Ten honors last season, rushing for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns with a 5.9 yards per carry average. Junior Quinshon Judkins (6’0” 219 lbs.) transferred from Ole Miss where he had back to back 1,000 yard seasons; last year, he rushed for 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns after earning first team All-SEC as a true freshman with a 1,567 yard 16 touchdown effort. There might not be a better running back tandem in the country.

Ohio State needs to replace two NFL draft picks at wide receiver, but does have senior Emeka Egbuka (6’1” 205 lbs.) caught 41 passes for 515 yards and four touchdowns despite missing three games last season. As a sophomore, Egbuka earned third team All-Big Ten honors catching 66 passes for 1,151 yards. Sophomore Carnell Tate (6’3” 191 lbs.) caught 18 passes for 264 yards and a touchdown. The lack of depth will mean early playing time for freshman Jeremiah Smith (6’3” 215 lbs.). Since it’s Ohio State, you know that the talent is going to be there to fill the depth chart.

Four starters return on the offensive line, led by first team All-Big Ten left guard Donovan Jackson (6’4” 320 lbs.). Junior left tackle Josh Simmons (6’6” 310 lbs.) and senior right tackle Josh Fryar (6’5” 320 lbs.) also return. Sophomore center Carson Hinzman (6’5” 300 lbs.) may get passed up by Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin (6’4” 305 lbs.).

Ohio State’s defense has nine returning starters, including several starters who passed on declaring for the NFL draft. Example one: junior defensive tackle Tyleik Williams (6’3” 327 lbs.), a first team All-Big Ten and fourth team All-American honoree who was fifth on the Buckeyes with 54 tackles. Senior defensive end Jack Sawyer (6’4” 265 lbs.) was a third-team All-Big Ten honoree last season with 48 tackles and 6.5 sacks. Senior defensive end JT Tuimoloau (6’5” 269 lbs.) is a two-time first team All-Big Ten honoree who led Ohio State with six quarterback hurries. Junior defensive tackle Ty Hamilton (6’3” 295 lbs.) had 38 tackles as well.

If there are any question marks on the Buckeyes’ defense, it’s at linebacker where they lose both starters and the top two tacklers from last year’s squad. Junior safety Sonny Styles (6’4” 235 lbs.) bulked up to slide up in order to play weakside linebacker in 2024. Styles had 53 tackles last season. Senior Cody Simon (6’2” 235 lbs.) will take over at middle linebacker; as a reserve, he had 57 tackles last season.

The secondary is absolutely stacked for 2024, led by senior cornerback Denzel Burke (6’1” 193 lbs.), a second team All-Big Ten honoree. A three-year starter, Burke led the Buckeyes with eight pass breakups and had 24 tackles. He’ll be paired with junior cornerback Davison Igbinosun (6’2” 193 lbs.), an honorable mention All-Big Ten honoree last season who is Ohio State’s returning tackler with 59 tackles last season. Igbinosun transferred from Ole Miss where he was a Freshman All-American honoree. Senior nickel Jordan Hancock (6’1” 188 lbs.) added 41 tackles last season. A big reason why Ohio State is moving Styles from safety is the arrival of sophomore Caleb Downs (6’0” 205 lbs.) from Alabama, where he started all 14 games with 107 tackles, earning honorable mention All-American honors.

Ohio State continues to be a loaded football program, and it might be even stronger with the arrival of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator from UCLA. It’s rare to see a coach leave a Power Four bowl-eligible program to take a coordinator job…but that’s what happened off-season. Day served as Kelly’s quarterback coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, so there is a history of the two working together.

And for 2024, the biggest game of the season for Ohio State might not be their matchup with “that team up north” Thanksgiving weekend, but rather an October 12th game at Oregon that CBS and NBC have to be salivating over.