Ohio State Football: 2016 Will Be the Year of the Redshirt Freshman for Buckeyes

Ohio State's 2015 recruiting class was deep, talented and heralded as one of the best in the country, but of the 25 players who signed last February, only four saw the field for the Buckeyes last season.

That means Ohio State has 21 redshirt freshmen on the roster heading into 2016, and with the mass exodus of talent heading to the NFL, those players have a huge opportunity to shine next fall.

It starts up front defensively, where the Buckeyes have to replace three starters with the departures of superstar defensive end Joey Bosa and defensive tackles Adolphus Washington and Tommy Schutt.

Former 4-star standout Jashon Cornell has an opportunity to crack the two-deep rotation as Sam Hubbard's backup at defensive end, and Robert Landers should factor into the heavy rotation at defensive tackle.

On the second level, Urban Meyer will need to find two new backers to flank middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan, in addition to bolstering his depth in the unit. Justin Hilliard, Ohio State's lone 5-star recruit in 2015, and Nick Conner, who shined as an early enrollee before suffering a season-ending knee injury, will have the opportunity to crack the two deep.

The Buckeyes will have to replace both safeties and cornerback Eli Apple on the back end. It'll be tough for cornerback Eric Glover-Williams to start opposite Gareon Conley, but he could be a key backup and even earn time as the nickelback.

But it's the offensive side of the ball where the biggest opportunity lies. 

Ohio State is tasked with finding eight new starters to build around quarterback J.T. Barrett, including an entirely new wide receiver corps and the pivotal running back slot vacated by Ezekiel Elliott.

On the perimeter, Buckeyes fans should be excited about K.J. Hill and Torrance Gibson, two players who nearly had their redshirts burned in 2015.

Hill was a former 4-star whom Meyer stole from Bret Bielema and Arkansas at the last minute. He proved himself early in fall camp by having the black stripe removed from his helmet—a symbolic gesture that signified his official welcome to the team. The Buckeyes didn't want to waste a year, however, and they redshirted him thanks to the depth Ohio State had at wide receiver in '15.

Gibson came to Ohio State as a 4-star dual-threat quarterback, but the depth behind center was even more crowded than it was at receiver, so Gibson made the move to the perimeter during fall camp. 

"Just helping the team out," Gibson said of the move, according to Ari Wasserman of the Plain Dealer. "That's basically what I'm doing. Because if I sat on the bench, I would be selfish to sit on the bench for the whole year. ... Anything but the bench." 

But a lingering knee injury and off-the-field problems kept him from game action in '15. Despite that setback, the future is bright for the rangy playmaker, as Meyer sees him as a "quarterback-slash," which is essentially a hybrid position that will allow Gibson to rotate from the perimeter to a situational Wildcat quarterback.

The guy with the biggest opportunity, though, is running back Mike Weber.

The 5'9", 215-pound bulldozer was tearing it up in fall camp before a minor knee surgery set him back. With Elliott's ability to carry the load, the Buckeyes didn't need to burn Weber's redshirt, but he's primed to take over and potentially lead the Buckeyes' rushing attack in the fall.

Weber is thankful for the redshirt, though, because it gave him the opportunity to learn from one of the best running backs in school history, per Wasserman for Cleveland.com:

"

I started off really good. I kind of caught on to the college speed of the game really quick and was basically running the ball really good. The injury slowed me down a little bit. It kind of set me back this whole year and maybe pushed me toward a redshirt.

But if I had to do it again, I'd be a redshirt because I learned from Zeke and the guys in front of me. I just sat back and watched those guys. I am just going to let it all loose next year. 

"

Weber's primed to take charge in the backfield, and he should lead the way for a group of talented redshirt freshmen in 2016.

All recruiting information via 247Sports.

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.