Ohio State Football: 3 Players Who Need to Break out for Buckeyes in 2016

Ohio State lost a wave of superstars with the departures of running back Ezekiel Elliott, linebacker Darron Lee, wide receiver Michael Thomas and 13 other starters from its 2015 team. But with the ever-present expectation of excellence that surrounds the football program, head coach Urban Meyer will need a number of players to break out and have big seasons for the Buckeyes this fall.

The quest to identify those players is underway as the Buckeyes completed the ninth of 15 spring practices on Tuesday. With injuries to some key players and so much youth on the depth chart, Meyer knows he has to start making some tough calls regarding the depth chart.

"We have to make some hard decisions coming up here," Meyer said on Tuesday, according to Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors. "There’s some guys that are gonna play and some guys that aren’t gonna play."

These three players in particular would provide a huge boost if they're able to break out in 2016. 

Mike Weber, Running Back

Throughout the duration of spring camp, the Ohio State coaching staff has routinely talked about the possibility of implementing a running back-by-committee approach for the 2016 season. 

"Will we get to that point? I don't know," Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford said, according to Seger. "I guess the question you're asking is if we'll do it by committee? I don't have that answer right now."

The Buckeyes, of course, are replacing do-everything back Ezekiel Elliott, who paced the offense with 4,125 total yards and 41 touchdowns over the last two seasons. Elliott was the answer Ohio State needed after Carlos Hyde, who piled up 2,689 total yards and 35 touchdowns in 2012 and 2013, graduated three years ago.

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With the success Ohio State has had with featured backs, it's not a leap to think Meyer would want that in 2015. For that to happen, someone will have to emerge, and that could be redshirt freshman Mike Weber.

The former 4-star prospect came to Columbus last year and surged in fall camp as a true freshman. He was at his best in a fall scrimmage, when he ran the ball 15 times for nearly 200 yards with "a few touchdowns," according to Dave Biddle of 247Sports.

That's the kind of production that could put Ohio State's offense over the top this year, especially with how much talent the unit is replacing. Weber will have to beat out redshirt junior Bri'onte Dunn, though, who's fighting to break his role as a career backup. 

Dante Booker, Linebacker

Ohio State is churning out freak linebackers at an alarming rate.

It started in 2013 when outside linebacker Ryan Shazier showcased his outrageous speed—running a 4.36-second 40-yard dash at Ohio State's pro day. He had anchored Ohio State's defense for three years and was a first-team All-American in his final season.

A year later, Darron Lee came out of nowhere and became a disruptive nightmare working behind (and sometimes alongside) defensive end Joey Bosa. He became college football's best-kept secret during Ohio State's title run in 2014, then became a household name last season. He showcased why at the NFL combine, posting the fastest 40-yard dash for a linebacker at 4.47 seconds.

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Is Dante Booker next in line?

Booker is slated to take over Joshua Perry's vacated role at outside linebacker, but he's bringing a much higher athleticism to that side of the field.

"Dante is a way better athlete," middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan said when comparing Booker to Perry, according to The Plain Dealer. "When he gets on the field, he does some things y'all haven't seen yet. He's one of the fastest guys on the defense regardless of position, and he just brings that pop."

Austin Mack, Wide Receiver

The hype is growing for 4-star wide receiver Austin Mack, who would be getting ready for his high school prom if he hadn't graduated early to enroll at Ohio State and participate in spring practice.

The true freshman turned heads during winter conditioning and caught the eye of Ohio State's unquestioned leader and quarterback J.T. Barrett.

"He's got a little fight in him," Barrett said of Mack, according to Scout's Tim Moody. "That's the thing, when things are hard in our workouts, those are the times you see you're like all right, he's got a little dog in him."

That momentum has carried over to spring practice, where he's garnered rave reviews from both his teammates and the coaching staff. 

"Austin Mack is going to play next year," Meyer said early in spring practice, via Ben Axelrod of Bleacher Report. "It's two days and I know it's too early to say that, which I have a tendency to over-evaluate guys and get too excited about them, but he's doing fantastic."

The Buckeyes could certainly use an impact guy on the perimeter.

Ohio State's passing attack struggled last year, ranking 100th nationally with an average of 188.8 yards per game. Losing the team's top three pass-catchers in Thomas, Jalin Marshall and Braxton Miller doesn't help matters either, so the Buckeyes are in desperate need of perimeter playmakers. 

Mack's early graduation and participation in spring camp has certainly helped his cause, and if he continues to impress through the summer and into fall camp, it'll be hard for Ohio State to keep him off the field and opposing defenses to keep him out of the end zone. 

All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports. 

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