Ohio State Football: Position-by-Position Midseason Grades for the Buckeyes
The Ohio State football team has reached the midway point of the regular season, and after a disappointing upset loss to Virginia Tech in Week 2, the Buckeyes are surging their way back into the playoff race.
The offense, which looked lost and overwhelmed against the Hokies, has eclipsed 50 points and 500 yards of total offense in each of the last four games. The defense is starting to click under new co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash, who has installed a more aggressive scheme this season.
Now ranked No. 12 in the week's Amway Coaches Poll, the Buckeyes are looking to build on their budding momentum.
How does Urban Meyer's team grade out through six games?
Quarterback
1 of 8
It took a couple weeks for J.T. Barrett to find a groove.
The redshirt freshman was thrust into the national spotlight in August when superstar quarterback Braxton Miller was lost for the season after reinjuring his shoulder. Barrett beat out redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones for the starting spot and took over a team with playoff aspirations.
After an abysmal performance against Virginia Tech—when he completed just nine of 29 passes and threw three interceptions—Barrett has been on fire. In the last four games, he has completed 71.7 percent of his passes and thrown 17 touchdowns against one interception. And that pick came against Kent State when a perfectly thrown ball bounced off the chest of receiver Michael Thomas and into the hands of a defender.
On the year, Barrett has thrown for 1,615 yards and 20 touchdowns (with five interceptions) to complement 383 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. He currently ranks third in the country in overall pass efficiency, according to NCAA.com, and his strong play has helped him enter the Heisman Trophy discussion.
Grade: A
Running Back
2 of 8
The Buckeyes are using a deep stable of running backs to offset the loss of Carlos Hyde, who was selected in the second round of last year's NFL draft.
Ohio State regularly utilizes three different backs, led by Ezekiel Elliott. The sophomore out of St. Louis, Missouri, is on pace to hit the 1,000-yard mark in the regular-season finale after piling up 531 rushing yards through six games. True freshman Curtis Samuel and senior Rod Smith have combined for 352 yards on 60 carries as Elliott's primary backups.
But like J.T. Barrett, it took a while for the backs to find a rhythm. Against Navy and Virginia Tech, Elliott, Samuel and Smith combined for just 153 rushing yards. Since then, though, the trio has piled up 730 yards on the ground, which has been instrumental in the offense's resurgence.
Grade: B
Wide Receiver
3 of 8
Even before Braxton Miller's injury, Ohio State's offensive game plan was to utilize a deep and dynamic group of perimeter talent.
Led by H-back Dontre Wilson and senior wideouts Devin Smith and Evan Spencer, the Buckeyes entered the year with plenty of high-end options for J.T. Barrett. But no option has been better than redshirt sophomore Michael Thomas, who has been the breakout star for Ohio State so far.
Thomas leads the Buckeyes in receptions (21) and receiving yards (377) and is tied with Devin Smith for receiving touchdowns (five). His emergence has given the Buckeyes a huge boost, but the encouraging thing for Buckeyes fans is that he hasn't reached his full potential. At least, that's how legendary receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who is Thomas' uncle, sees it.
"I think Mike's doing well," Johnson said, according to Ari Wasserman of The Plain Dealer. "He's just scratching the surface. He has to keep doing everything the coaches are asking him to do, continue to keep getting better each week."
This group will only get better as the year continues, which should terrify the rest of the Big Ten because it's already very good.
Grade: A
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Tight End
4 of 8
With Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett in the fold, Urban Meyer spent a lot of time this offseason dreaming of two-tight end formations. But a lingering injury in Heuerman's surgically repaired foot has affected his availability and production so far.
Vannett has stepped up nicely, though, and ranks fifth on the team with 120 receiving yards and third with three touchdown catches. His breakout game came against Rutgers, when he hauled in two catches for 38 yards, both of which were touchdowns.
Heuerman, though, is considered one of the best tight ends in the country, and getting him back to full speed should be a high priority for the Buckeyes. His limited availability hurts the Buckeyes and the position grade overall, but there's certainly room for growth in the second half of the season.
Grade: B-
Offensive Line
5 of 8
Urban Meyer's top concern coming into the season was his offensive line, which faced the daunting task of replacing four multiyear senior starters. That concern morphed into reality in Week 2 when Virginia Tech blew past the beleaguered unit and piled up seven sacks.
"I'm very disappointed," Meyer said of his line earlier this year, according to Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors. "There is a standard set for offensive line play for many, many years and it's been enhanced by our line coach Ed Warinner over the past few."
Since the Virginia Tech game, though, the offensive front has performed at a high level. Taylor Decker is settling into his new position at left tackle, Pat Elflein has displayed some versatility on the interior and Jacoby Boren is improving at center.
The unit played their best game against Rutgers, which came into Ohio Stadium with 24 sacks on the year. The Buckeyes protected Barrett perfectly, as the Scarlet Knights rarely got into the backfield and didn't produce one sack last Saturday.
“That’s what we’re supposed to do—shut defenses down,” Elflein said, according to John Kampf of The News-Herald. “Coach (Ed) Warinner really prepared us well for this game. We came in and got the job done.”
Ohio State's early struggles are fading with each passing game.
Grade: B
Defensive Line
6 of 8
Ohio State's defensive line was touted as one of the best (if not the best) units in the country coming into the season, but it hasn't played like it through six games.
That's not to say the unit has played poorly. Joey Bosa has built on a promising freshman campaign with an outstanding start to his sophomore season. The 6'5", 278-pound defensive end leads the team with 5.5 sacks, nine tackles for loss and three forced fumbles. He has been Ohio State's most disruptive defender this year.
But the Buckeyes are missing Noah Spence—their other star defense end. He started the year serving a suspension he earned last year for failing a drug test, but after he failed another test in September, he was suspended by Meyer indefinitely.
Outside of Bosa, the Buckeyes defensive line has just 4.5 sacks through six games. Adolphus Washington and Michael Bennett form a solid interior line, but Ohio State would benefit greatly from another capable pass-rusher.
The unit has been decent in run support, but opposing teams have found lanes against the Buckeyes. Navy gashed Ohio State in the season opener with 370 yards, and Rutgers' running backs averaged 5.5 yards per carry last Saturday.
Grade: B-
Linebackers
7 of 8
Replacing All-American Ryan Shazier wasn't an easy task for the Buckeyes, but this year's linebacker corps is playing at a high level without him.
Flipping Joshua Perry to Shazier's vacated spot and inserting the speedy Darron Lee on the opposite side of the defense has produced great results. Perry leads the teams with 45 total tackles, and Lee has been an absolute terror attacking the ball, ranking second on the team with six tackles for loss and two sacks.
The middle linebacker spot has been a problem for Ohio State since 2012, when Urban Meyer was forced to start converted fullback Zach Boren midway through the season. But senior Curtis Grant is playing the best football of his career, and he has thrived in his role as the mentor of Raekwon McMillan, who looks like the future of Ohio State's defense.
McMillan is starting to see his playing time increase, and he's rewarding the coaching staff with his solid play and incredible playmaking ability.
Despite sharing snaps with Grant, McMillan is tied with Lee for second on the team with two sacks. But he isn't just a run-stopping linebacker—the true freshman showed off his coverage skills against Maryland when he picked off a C.J. Brown pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown.
But part of Ohio State's struggles defending the run falls on this unit as well, and against Cincinnati (which threw for 352 yards), the linebackers were out of position on a number of big pass plays.
Grade: B
Secondary
8 of 8
Last year's secondary allowed opposing quarterbacks to throw for 268 yards per game, according to Eleven Warriors, which ranked 110th out of 123 teams nationally. It was the reason that Ohio State fell one game short of booking a trip to the Rose Bowl for a national title appearance—and it also prompted the hiring of Chris Ash as co-defensive coordinator.
With Ash's new, aggressive pass defense, the Buckeyes secondary is performing at a much higher level.
Through six games, Ohio State is allowing just 181.7 passing yards per game and has the 29th-ranked passing-efficiency defense in the country, according to NCAA.com. The Buckeyes have also picked off 10 passes, which is tied for 13th nationally.
Redshirt freshman cornerback Eli Apple has made a few mistakes, but he's playing well and is tied with cornerback Doran Grant for the team lead with two interceptions. Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell rank second and third on the team in total tackles, combining for 68, to complement three passes defended and two interceptions.
Teams will certainly continue to challenge this young group through the air, but the unit has held up so far this season.
Grade: B
Unless otherwise noted, all stats via Ohio State's official website.
David Regimbal covers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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