College Football

Buckeyes primed for national title run despite draft losses

Published May. 5, 2022 2:19 p.m. ET

Ohio State generated headlines over the weekend as two of their wide receivers and a third who transferred out were selected with successive picks in the top 12 of the 2022 NFL Draft.

The Buckeyes’ offense could be better this year, thanks to one seminal figure. And it’s not the quarterback who might be the first overall pick in 2023.

Coach Ryan Day has retooled an empire in Columbus.

"Ohio State is the only SEC team outside of the SEC," college football analyst RJ Young concluded after watching the Buckeyes’ recent spring game. "It’s not that Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jameson Williams got drafted. It’s that the best wide receiver at Ohio State was not drafted."

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That would be Jaxon Smith-Njigba, though he’s hardly alone. The emergence of Marvin Harrison Jr. and the potential of former five-star targets Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming make for an elite receiving corps. The backfield is similarly loaded, with TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor.

C.J. Stroud, of course, is one of the top passers in college football. He also represents the shift in philosophy at the blue blood program. For years, the Buckeyes rode their running backs to glory. With Urban Meyer at the helm, they became "basketball on grass," as Young put it.

"Basically a triple option," Young continued. "We’re going to turn the quarterback into a runner, we’re going to take advantage of the extra man."

That changed again four years ago, as Day chose Dwayne Haskins to be the starter over Joe Burrow. While both players would go on to have record-breaking college careers — Burrow, of course, doing so at LSU following a transfer – Haskins’ arm talent made him the ideal fit for Day’s scheme. The development of Justin Fields and Stroud were borne out of that emphasis.

"Dwayne Haskins is the best pure passer who ever played football at Ohio State," Young said. "People are getting upset about C.J. Stroud not running the ball the way they were upset about Dwayne Haskins not running the ball. And all they have to show for it is 40 a game, because that offense moves."

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That offense is the backbone of Day’s program, and it’s the reason Ohio State is projected to be in the national title hunt this fall. The only thing that could get in the Buckeyes’ way, as it did last year, is the defense.

"Ryan Day is more important to Ohio State football than Lincoln Riley was to Oklahoma football," Young said. "If they’re the world’s OK-est defense, they will make the College Football Playoff."