Greg McElroy says Ohio State's questions are on offense in 2023

Ohio State will be looking to take a leap in the 2023 season as the program enters their fifth season under head coach Ryan Day. Between coach and player turnover, the Buckeyes have some areas they’ll need to address this offseason. But according to college football analyst Greg McElroy, most of those questions are on the offensive side of the ball, starting with the quarterback position.

“The questions for Ohio State this offseason really almost entirely reside on the offensive side,”McElroy said. “Which is odd because I don’t remember the last time I’ve had legitimate question marks about the offense. Even as they’ve undergone transition at quarterback, whether it be from JT Barrett to Cardale Jones, back to JT Barrett, Dwayne Haskins to Justin Fields to CJ Stroud, I’ve just never been concerned about the quarterback situation. And guess what, here in 2023 I’m not concerned either.”

Ohio State’s track record and reputation at the position give McElroy no concern at quarterback. Kyle McCord and Devin Brown will compete for the spot this offseason, and both lack experience at the collegiate level. But this does not concern McElroy, referencing how Stroud too lacked experience before his phenomenal two seasons as the Buckeyes starter.

“I’m also not worried about the running game. I think the biggest thing they need to do with the running game and the running backs in particular, stay healthy. Like we know that they’ve got some guys, the team as a whole last year averaged nearly five and a half yards per carry, that was 11th best in the country. That’s with a quarterback that wasn’t exactly a super mobile option,” McElroy said. “But the problem is it felt like they were never at full strength.”

The Buckeyes return their two leading rushers from last season, Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson, but both battled with injuries all season. Hopefully, the duo can get and stay healthy this upcoming season, establishing a pecking order, and an offensive line to clear the way for them. Which leads to McElroy’s final question and only true concern about the Buckeyes’ offense, their offensive line.

“Figure out who your best five are, roll them and figure out whose got chemistry with each other, and then when we get closer to fall and when we’re really in the heat of fall camp then you try your very best to figure out here’s out best five, here’s how we’re going to go out,” McElroy said. “So they can develop continuity over the course of their 15 fall practices.”

McElroy believes the Buckeyes offensive line has been inconsistent as of late, and should be the top priority for Day if he wants to maintain the offensive excellence they’ve achieved in the last few seasons.

“So I think get as many guys reps as you possibly can here in the spring, figure out who your best five are, and then in the fall you lock them in to whatever position they’re going to play, that would be my biggest concern and my number one priority if I were Ryan Day heading into this spring,”McElroy said.