Ohio State: What Is The Football Team’s Biggest Uncertainty?
Each year teams have issues to fix heading into a new season. Who could help answer Ohio State‘s biggest question mark?
The Ohio State football team has many questions heading into next season. The biggest question of them all is who is going to take over at the storied linebacker spots for the Buckeyes? When Buckeyes fans think linebackers, names like Andy Katzenmoyer, James Laurinaitis, A.J. Hawk, Ross Homan, and Chris Spielman comes to mind.
The 2016 group is relatively inexperienced, but has a plethora of talent. The Buckeyes 2016 unit is led by a fleet of juniors including Chris Worley, Raekwon McMillan, and former Mr. Ohio football Dante Booker.
McMillan, a captain, returns with a ton of experience and leads the unit at the middle linebacker position. Unfortunately for Buckeyes fans, if McMillan plays up to expectations next season, which all indications is he will, he might be on an NFL roster sooner rather than later.
McMillan could potentially join a host of Buckeyes in recent past who has left school early for the NFL draft. Booker will provide plenty of speed on the outside and Worley will look to add his talents on the outside as well.
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After those three players, there are also questions regarding the depth chart at linebacker for the Buckeyes. The Ohio State football team has a ton of talent on the depth chart and needs to find a way to use it all.
Players who redshirted last season such as Justin Hilliard and Nick Conner is going to attempt to make an impact next season, whether it be in a serious backup position or on special teams. Hilliard was a very highly rated prospect coming out of high school and he will look to live up to his potential next season for Ohio State.
Hilliard is an ideal linebacker with size (6’2, 255) and plenty of speed for Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. Conner, a Columbus product, also has great size (6’3, 230) and will fight his way into the rotation. A player most serious Buckeyes fans kept their eye on this past season was Jerome Baker. Baker did not see much time at linebacker last season, but he was an integral role in Ohio State’s daunted kickoff coverage team.
Baker, who has great speed, could be compared to Darron Lee and will look to make his presence known. Baker, a Cleveland, Ohio product, displayed his speed in high school by getting a healthy amount of handoffs at running back. He arguably was Ohio’s must intriguing product coming out of high school. Baker did not redshirt last season, which is a big deal under Meyer. He wanted Baker on the field as quickly as possible.
A name to look out for next season who could get some game playing time is Kyle Berger. Berger has plenty of talent ,but he is rehabbing an ACL injury. He has just as good of a chance to play as anyone else as long as his rehab goes very well.
I also cannot discuss next year’s Ohio State’s linebackers without mentioning Craig Fada and Joe Burger. Fada and Burger are former walk-on’s as both recently received their scholarships. Look for Fada and Burger to continue their roles leading Ohio State’s special teams unit.
The bottom line is that the Buckeyes return a ton of talent next year at linebacker, and the battle for playing time will be intense. As always, with Meyer no spot is safe and he is willing to play anyone. McMillan, though, is definitely a sure thing for the Buckeyes as he helps lead the defense and makes plays behind the line of scrimmage.
Next: Buckeyes In The Senior Bowl
The 2016 outlook at the linebacker position has the talent, but utilizing it all will be key.