Urban Meyer on 2024 Ohio State: 'One of the most talented rosters in the last decade, maybe ever'
Urban Meyer has been a part of numerous talented football teams throughout his career. The legendary college football coach won three national titles during his time at Florida and Ohio State and produced a number of first-round picks in the process.
Meyer has spent time around the Ohio State program this offseason and recently had high praise for the Buckeyes’ 2024 roster when speaking with Adam King.
“As of now, this is one of the most talented rosters in the last decade – maybe ever,” Urban Meyer said.
That is obviously incredibly high praise, but it’s also not a crazy take. Ohio State returns plenty of playmakers off of last year’s team that just missed out on the College Football Playoff. And the Buckeyes added some impact players from the transfer portal this offseason, including All-American safety Caleb Downs and talented running back Quinshon Judkins.
When you add all of the pieces together, you come away with a roster that is truly elite.
“They’ve got to play, but you look at the quality of athlete at every position, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Meyer said.
Another legendary Ohio State coach in Jim Tressel also had high praise for Ohio State ahead of the 2024 season. Tressel led the Buckeyes to the 2002 national title and has continued to follow the program closely since.
Tressel is impressed by the job Ohio State head coach Ryan Day has done when it comes to acquiring talent.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that many great players in that building all at once – every position, every place you turn,” Tressel said. “So Ryan’s done a great job. Ohio State has done a great job.”
Explaining why Will Howard is in for a ‘special fall’ with Ohio State
While Ohio State has an absolutely loaded roster ahead of the 2024 season, questions remain about the quarterback position. Will Howard was brought in as a transfer this offseason, and the hope is that he can have a big year for the Buckeyes in 2024.
On3’s Andy Staples was recently joined by Clark Brooks to break down what to expect from Will Howard at Ohio State.
“This is a guy who goes from Kansas State to Ohio State, will be surrounded by more talent than he’s ever seen before in his life, but will be expected to win the national title,” Staples said.
Fair or not, there’s no doubt that the goal for Ohio State is to win the national title in 2024. The Buckeyes were in contention last season, but inconsistent quarterback play proved to be too much to overcome.
Brooks expects the Buckeyes to be improved at QB with Howard in the fold.
“Will Howard, so prototypical size — 6’5, 240. He can move. He can add a little bit of an element in the run game, the designed run game. Now, Chip Kelly, we all know that’s where he makes his bread and butter playing basketball on grass,” Brooks said. “He’s going to take some sacks. He’s going to falter against pressure, in my opinion.
“But if his feet are fine, he is fine. Looking at down-field accuracy, he had the top mid-range accuracy percentage in our impact study. Sixty-one percent of his throws 11 to 20 yards down field were perfectly placed. Fantastic.”