Can Ohio State Survive Mass Exodus of NFL Talent After the Fiesta Bowl?

COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Vonn Bell sat down with reporters in advance of Ohio State's trip to Arizona for its Fiesta Bowl matchup with Notre Dame, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the first two questions asked to the Buckeyes junior safety pertained to his potential NFL future.

After all, Bell would project as one of the top players at his position should he enter the 2016 NFL draft, according to several analysts, including Bleacher Report's Matt Miller.

"I really haven't thought about it, man," Bell insisted. "I'll let everybody know when I know."

But when pressed on what he'd have left to accomplish by returning to Ohio State for his senior season, Bell conceded: "I feel like I've done it all."

It's a sentiment that's shared throughout the Buckeyes roster, with no shortage of underclassmen having boosted their draft stock after contributing to Ohio State's run to last season's College Football Playoff championship. Heck, running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Cardale Jones each indicated they'll be leaving for the draft before the Buckeyes' regular season had even come to an end, and defensive end Joey Bosa has hinted at leaning toward doing the same.

Between underclassmen declaring for the draft and the expiring eligibility of its senior class, Ohio State could find itself losing as many as 15 starters from its 2015 depth chart. And while a roster full of NFL talent has helped lead the Buckeyes to a 25-2 record over the course of the past two seasons, it will also leave them with no shortage of question marks heading into 2016.

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"We're just avoiding all that conversation," Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said after admitting he has "an idea" of how many of his players will be playing the final games of their college careers in the Fiesta Bowl. "The focus is on this bowl game."

That may be the case. Still, the amount of pro talent preparing to leave the Buckeyes roster in just a few weeks remains the elephant in the room in Columbus as Ohio State prepares for its matchup with the Fighting Irish.

In Miller's latest mock draft, he projects five Buckeyes to be selected in the first round of next spring's draft, including Bosa, Elliott, cornerback Eli Apple, wide receiver Michael Thomas and left tackle Taylor Decker. In addition to Bell, defensive tackle Adolphus Washington, linebacker Darron Lee, wide receiver Braxton Miller and linebacker Joshua Perry remain intriguing draft prospects who shouldn't fall much further past the upcoming draft's second round.

And while Meyer has recruited well—and in some cases, with the intent of replacing expected three-year players like Bosa and Bell in mind—some of Ohio State's impending defections will be admittedly unexpected. Apple and Lee, for instance, are third-year players who blossomed as redshirt freshmen a season ago and found themselves on the radars of NFL teams earlier than anticipated.

That's left Meyer with little time to not only recruit, but also develop their replacements for 2016 should they enter this spring's draft.

"When you go recruit a guy like Darron Lee, who wasn’t highly recruited, we were not sure if he'd be a back-ender or a linebacker or go over on offense," Meyer said in November. "We certainly do start planning because you have to in recruiting because of the open slots and now how fast recruiting is. But you just don't know what spots you're going to have available."

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The process of replacing the Buckeyes' key contributors is already underway, with Meyer singling out linebacker Jerome Baker, offensive tackle Isaiah Prince and safety Malik Hooker as players receiving extended prep time in bowl practice. Nevertheless, one look at a potential Ohio State depth chart for 2016 shows a significant number of players on the cusp of receiving the first significant playing time of their college careers—and even less experienced depth behind them being counted on.

Position	1st-string	2nd-string
QB	J.T. Barrett	Joe Burrow
RB	Curtis Samuel	Bri'onte Dunn
WR	Jalin Marshall	James Clark
WR	Noah Brown	Johnnie Dixon
H-back	Dontre Wilson	Parris Campbell
TE	Marcus Baugh	Rashod Berry
LT	Jamarco Jones	Kevin Feder
LG	Billy Price	Evan Lisle
C	Pat Elflein	Brady Taylor
RG	Demetrius Knox	Matthew Burrell
RT	Isaiah Prince	Branden Bowen
DE	Tyquan Lewis	Jalyn Holmes
DT	Michael Hill	Tracy Sprinkle
DT	Donovan Munger	Joshua Alabi
DE	Sam Hubbard	Jashon Cornell
LB	Jerome Baker	Nick Conner
LB	Raekwon McMillan	Justin Hilliard
LB	Dante Booker	Chris Worley
CB	Gareon Conley	Eric Glover-Williams
CB	Marshon Lattimore	Denzel Ward
S	Malik Hooker	Erick Smith
S	Tyvis Powell	Cam Burrows

Between Michigan State's current reign atop the Big Ten and the rise of Michigan both on the field and the recruiting trail under Jim Harbaugh, the mass exodus of talent preparing to leave the Buckeyes roster could have come at a better time for Ohio State. The Big Ten East is only getting stronger, while the Buckeyes will presumably be weaker after losing so many key contributors from the past two seasons.

But while Ohio State could potentially be in line to lose the players responsible for at least 73.2 percent of its rushing yards and 64 percent of its receiving yards in 2015, the Buckeyes will be returning their starting quarterback next season, something neither Michigan State, Michigan nor Penn State may be able to say in 2016.

Next year, there will be no debate over who the most vital player on the OSU offense will be either, as J.T. Barrett will be the Buckeyes' undisputed starting signal-caller after splitting reps with Jones throughout 2015. Barrett's importance to the Ohio State offense in 2016 will only be amplified as he'll serve as the most reliable option on what will be an otherwise inexperienced unit.

"Just being able to carry a little bit more of the load offensively, whether it be passing or throwing, I think that's going to come into play," Barrett said. "The experience is not going to be the same."

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

While the Buckeyes defense may be able to just plug and play—especially with players like freshman All-American defensive end Sam Hubbard having already shown flashes—as far as the Ohio State offense is concerned, it may just be as simple as that: The Buckeyes will go as Barrett goes, and a return to his Heisman-contender form from 2014 could mask much of the inexperience that will be surrounding him.

"Next year he is the starting quarterback," Meyer said. "I would anticipate a nice, gradual incline [in performance] during the season."

Recruiting has always been one of Meyer's strengths and it's only a matter of time until the next Darron Lee or Ezekiel Elliott emerges. But in one of college football's strongest divisions and with two of this season's four playoff teams (Oklahoma and Michigan State) on next season's schedule, it's tough not to look at all Ohio State is expected to lose and view it as a potential problem in 2016.

Having been through this before at Florida in 2009, it's a situation Meyer is no stranger to.

It's also an inevitable concern that he's oddly grateful for, as it serves as an indicator of just where his program stands in the college football world.

"You just wish all the guys [leaving] well and you're glad you have some issues," Meyer said. "That means they're great players."

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.