The expectations so far before the 2019 college football season begins is this is the year that the Big Ten is wide open. If Ohio State is to have a down year, this year will be it. They have a new head coach in Ryan Day, and they’ll need to replace quarterback Dwayne Haskins. Day coached the first three games last season as former head coach Urban Meyer was suspended. Haskins is off to the NFL. “I feel great about the team. I love our team. I love our players. I love being around the guys. There are teams you get around where it’s a labor to go to work. That’s not the case here. These are great kids and they’re working really, really hard. But like I said, we have a lot to prove,” Day said.
The Buckeyes usually don’t rebuild, they reload and that could be the case this year especially on offense. The Buckeyes only return 42% of its offensive production from a year ago. The defense is returning 85% of its production. Former five-star recruit Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State from Georgia and will be eligible to play this year. “The offense, we lose seven guys, really eight with Mike Weber leaving, as well. It’s going to be a new quarterback under center. And then also on defense, there’s a group of guys over there who are salty who have a lot to prove. August is going to be a big month for us and looking forward to getting going in a couple weeks,” Day said.
The offense will have running back J.K. Dobbins back. Dobbins is a 26-game starter. He’s the first player in Ohio State history to run for 1,000 yards in his first two seasons. Last year he ran for 1,029 yards and nine touchdowns. The Buckeyes are first among the Power Five schools sporting a 5.6 yards per rush average over the last seven seasons. The Buckeyes will need to find somebody to replace running back Mike Weber who rushed for 858 yards a season ago and five touchdowns.
The Buckeyes will also have to replace wide receiver Paris Campbell who’s off to the NFL. The good news is K.J Hill (67 receptions, 831, yards, six touchdowns), Austin Mack (26 receptions, 331 yards, one touchdown), and Binjimen Victor (19 receptions, 320 yards, four touchdowns) all return for Ohio State. “There’s a lot of receivers that want the ball. They want their catches. They want their numbers. But these guys didn’t care, and we have to keep that mentality going in that room,” Day said.
Written by Garin Turner
Image Credit: Nicholas Windsor
