ANALYSIS: How depth chart decisions could shape Ohio State on each side of the ball this season

Offense

The quarterback decision will loom over the offseason, but the rest of the offense looks to have almost unlimited potential whether C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller III or Kyle McCord is at the controls.

The development of the second wave of receivers behind stars Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson and a second tight end are likely to impact what direction the offense goes.

Two-tight end packages were a bigger part of the offense the past two seasons than they had been in the previous regime, but that was dependent on having at least two dependable players at that position.

If the second wave of receivers are as good as advertised, Ohio State could return to playing three of them at a time (called 11 personnel) almost exclusively, as was the case in the Urban Meyer era.

With an experienced quarterback and only one known quantity at tight end, Ohio State might be expected to spread the field more and use the short passing game in place of some runs, but having a newcomer at the most important position on the field makes that harder to predict at this point in the year.

The running back situation is also intriguing as the number of players worthy of playing time could far exceed the availability of carries. Master Teague III has proven to be a good straight-ahead runner, but the offense is more dangerous with a shifty running back like J.K. Dobbins or Trey Sermon who is better at making the first man miss. Does that open the door for more carries for a younger back, or will Teague look like a different player if he is fully healthy this year?

Day actually said he could see the team running more “20 personnel” — two running backs, no tight ends and three receivers on the field — but it was unclear how serious a consideration that would be. That would be a fairly radical shift if it came to pass, but the depth in the backfield and callowness of the quarterbacks could make it more appealing — even if only in small doses.

Ohio State has proven more than once over the past 15 years it can win the Big Ten with a young quarterback surrounded by established talent, but achieving the goal of not only getting back to the national championship game but winning it will require a high-powered passing attack to be in place by the end of the season.

That is just the nature of college football these days, as the Buckeyes saw first-hand against Alabama in January.

On the bright side, the Buckeyes should have time to nurture the new quarterback if necessary — especially with a strong offensive line and deep stable of running backs, including true freshman TreVeon Henderson and Isaiah Pryor.

A second tight end proving to be worthy of playing time would bolster the running attack by adding some more beef up front and help the offense avoid being predictable by formation.

Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson reiterated during bowl prep their plan will be developed around what they can block and what the quarterback is comfortable doing.

With talented, veteran tackles, the blocking piece should not be a big concern, especially if Harry Miller handles the move back to his natural spot at center and the newcomers at guard are as good as advertised.

Defense

Who emerges at SAM linebacker and safety figures to have a domino effect.

Two year ago, the defense thrived with an athletic SAM (Pete Werner) who could play the run and drop into coverage, allowing the coaching staff to disguise what it was doing schematically and confuse opposing quarterbacks. The deep safety (Jordan Fuller) was also a versatile and dependable player. After moving Werner inside, they did not have the same luxury at either spot in 2020, and the defense struggled.

If the staff is unable to find and prepare better players at those spots, the Cover-3 defensive scheme with one deep safety and hybrid players at the other safety spot and outside linebacker may have to be abandoned.

Getting better play from the cornerbacks is also a must this time around, especially if the staff wants to play more man-to-man. There are questions about whether or not that is possible with the players on the roster now, but getting Cam Brown healthy or having the light go on for Tyreke Johnson or a freshman could change that.

Ohio State could also choose to play more coverages with two deep safeties. That would take some pressure off the cornerbacks and shore up the last line of defense, but would it weaken the run defense too much to remove someone from the box?

Linebacker is a big question, but there is a widely held belief the rising seniors are ready to finally get their chance and excel.

Whoever plays linebacker should find their job easier to perform with the availability of multiple mature interior linemen to blow up blocking schemes. That is a great baseline for Kerry Coombs and the rest of the defensive staff to start with in deciding what to do schematically this year.

While there will be questions about the cornerbacks and safeties until they show they are more ready for prime time, end is another spot where there are a lot of talented options who are now a year older.

Drawing up an effective scheme will be much easier — and lockdown coverage not quite as critical — if upperclassmen ends such as Tyreke Smith and Zach Harrison live up to their recruiting hype this fall while youngsters such as Darrion Henry-Young and Jack Sawyer push them.