Former Ohio State coaches Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel paint picture that 2024 Buckeyes have a flawless roster
In a slow week of college football news, Ohio State has once again dominated the offseason headlines.
First, it was Ryan Day’s surprising reveal that star safety Caleb Downs may play some running back in 2024.
Then at a charity golf tournament, former Buckeyes’ head coaches Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel labeled OSU’s roster amongst the “most talented ever.”
The capper was The Athletic’s NFL Draft guru Dane Brugler wondering if this Ohio State team could make history with a record number of players selected in 2025 NFL Draft.
The 2024 Offseason Champs keep on Champion’ing, I guess.
The Buckeyes have been on a heater ever since their hated rival Michigan won the national championship way back in early January.
That night, OSU’s top collective placed a call for arms, and within a week they raised over $1 million. Day then went on a spree, luring top transfers like 5-star safety Caleb Downs, Ole Miss tailback Quinshon Judkins and Kansas State quarterback Will Howard to Columbus. They also maintained the foundation of last year’s roster by convincing potentially 10 NFL Draft picks to return to school for one more year.
When you add in another Top 3 recruiting class (including No. 1 overall prospect wideout Jeremiah Smith) and the staff upgrade with the addition of Chip Kelly at offensive coordinator, it’s no wonder Ohio State has generated so much hype entering the 2024 season.
But with each passing headline, the pressure only amplifies for Day & Co.
Typically, a coach that’s 56-8 with three trips to the College Football Playoff doesn’t face championship or bust expectations. Yet that’s what is at stake for Day this fall.
“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 this week.
“So Ryan’s done a great job. Ohio State has done a great job.”
Day deserves credit for understanding the moment and however “great” the job he’s done hasn’t been great enough, though.
Unlike Tressel or Meyer, he wasn’t won a national championship. The Buckeyes haven’t won the Big Ten in four years, either. They’ve lost three straight games to the hated Team Up North.
Day is readily cognizant of all of that, and he’s done everything right this offseason — from self-scouting his roster to realizing that he needed to cede his play-calling duties to be a better CEO head coach — to change the narrative around him as a head coach and his program writ large.
“I said at my opening news conference, you have to beat The Team Up North and win every game after that,” Day said Tuesday.
”The pressure is the same every year. I just like the pressure when you have a pretty good team behind you.”
Only, Ohio State’s roster is more “pretty good.” It’s clearly among the best in the country, and has championship expectations because of that.
But circle back to the comments of Tressel and Meyer, who said, “As of now, this is one of the most talented rosters in the last decade, maybe ever. That’s a big statement. They’ve got to play. But you look at the quality of athlete at every position. … I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I’ve never seen anything like it” is awfully bold from a head coach who won a championship at Florida with a 2008 roster that produced more than 30 future pros, but independent of the silliness of “most talented rosters ever” talk, both Tressel and Meyer said something that’s categorically false — and could be the potential fatal flaw that’s why the Buckeyes don’t win the national title in 2024.
“Every position, every place you turn.”
“You look at the quality of athlete at every position.”
The Buckeyes are loaded at running back and receiver. Their defensive line is probably the best in the country. Same for their secondary. Their linebacker unit is flush with former blue-chip talent.
Sure, there are question marks about Will Howard at quarterback, but even if the Kansas State transfer isn’t an upgrade over Kyle McCord, the hunch here is the deepest QB room in the country has a guy who can get the job done.
Notice what’s missing, though?
Unlike Georgia, Texas or Oregon, Ohio State doesn’t have a top-flight offensive line. That unit has been the Buckeyes’ bugaboo the last few seasons, and while former Alabama center Seth McLaughlin was a solid addition to a group that returns four starters, they don’t have the NFL talent up front compared to their aspiring championship peers.
Brugler listed 15 potential draft picks on Ohio State this fall and only left guard Donovan Jackson merited mention — and that was as a Day 3 pick.
It’s difficult to field an all-time roster when your offensive line isn’t among your team’s strengths. I’m also highly skeptical that Downs will see any real action at tailback considering the Buckeyes have the top running back room in the country — and have legitimate depth concerns at safety.
Are they truly going to risk losing their best player to injury just for a potential Heisman Trophy campaign?
Ohio State can still win the national title despite both potential red flags, but the messaging from Meyer and Tressel paints the picture that Day has assembled an infallible team. He hasn’t.
The 2024 Buckeyes might be the Avengers. They might be an infinity stone short, too. Either way, the pressure is on.