2-minute drill: Ohio State's 2024 season preview

I don’t think I can bring myself to accept the premise of a coach with Ryan Day’s immaculate win-loss record on the hot seat. But I admit it kinda feels like it, right? Only two things matter at Ohio State: 1) Beating Michigan and 2) winning rings. Day’s Buckeyes are on a 3-game skid on the first count and 0-for-5 on the second.

Against that disgruntled backdrop, the vibe in 2024 is all-in.

With the notable exception of Marvin Harrison Jr., almost everyone else who had the option to come back took it — seniors TreVeyon Henderson, Emeka Egbuka, Donovan Jackson, JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams and Denzel Burke all passed up a shot at going on Day 1 or 2 of the draft for 1 more year on campus. (How remarkable that a sudden outbreak in school spirit happened to coincide with the arrival of unrestrained NIL networks.)

The Buckeyes also won the sweepstakes for 2 of the most coveted names in the portal, RB Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss) and DB Caleb Downs (Alabama); signed a veteran quarterback, Kansas State’s Will Howard, to replace outgoing starter Kyle McCord; and ponied up to lure a revered offensive innovator, Chip Kelly, from the head-coaching gig at UCLA to take over Day’s role as chief play-caller.

This is an outfit desperate to get over the hump against the Wolverines and beyond, and to avoid the implicit “… or else” looming at the end of that sentence if it doesn’t.

Buckeyes at a Glance …

2023 Recap: 11-2 (8-1 Big Ten; Lost Cotton Bowl; 10th in final AP poll)
Best Player: RB TreVeyon Henderson
Best Pro Prospect: WR Emeka Egbuka
Best Additions: DB Caleb Downs (Alabama) … RB Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss)
Best Name: QB Prentiss “Air” Noland III
Tenured Vet: CB Denzel Burke (4th year; 35 career starts)
Emerging Dude: Freshman WR Jeremiah Smith

Biggest strength: An abundance of playmakers on offense. When they’re healthy, TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka easily rank among the best in the country at their respective positions. Quinshon Judkins and Jeremiah Smith were arguably the top players in the transfer portal and the incoming freshman class, respectively, regardless of position. (More on both below in the individual honors section.) Everyone else in line for meaningful touches is a former top-100 recruit. Pick your poison.

Nagging concern: Stability in the middle of the offensive line. Last year’s starting center, Carson Hinzman, was the weak link up front, posting red-flag PFF grades as both a run blocker (54.8) and pass blocker (42.4). Hinzman is still aboard, but has been demoted in favor of Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin, whose season-long struggles with errant snaps in 2023 ultimately made him the goat (not the good kind) of Bama’s early Playoff exit. Center is one of the last positions where an ambitious team can afford a lack of trust.

Looming question: Is Will Howard the answer at quarterback? He looks the part at 6-4, 237 pounds, and he’s a plus athlete for his size. Beyond the eye test, though, Howard’s track record as a passer at Kansas State was hardly the stuff of hosannas: In 2023, his only season as the full-time starter, he ranked 54th nationally in efficiency, 52nd in passing EPA and 68th in PFF passing grade — well below the much-maligned Kyle McCord on all counts. Of course, Howard’s new surrounding cast is a dramatic upgrade over what he had to work with at K-State. But even if he’d stayed in Manhattan, he would have been in for a battle to fend off rising sophomore Avery Johnson, and it’s not obvious the incumbent would have been favored to win it.

Anyway you slice it, on an otherwise loaded roster Howard is the single biggest variable in the equation. If he delivers a win over Michigan and a deep Playoff run, he’s a Buckeye for life. If not, he joins McCord as just another guy who came and went en route to a winter of discontent.

The schedule: The nonconference lineup (Akron, Western Michigan, Marshall) is a joke. Things don’t get interesting until a pair of October road trips to Oregon and Penn State, which will determine exactly how much is stake when Michigan comes to Columbus on Nov. 30.

The upshot

The championship-or-bust vibes come with a real sense of urgency. Ryan Day is 56-8 as Ohio State’s head coach, but 6 of those 8 losses have come in the biggest games of his tenure against Michigan and in the Playoff. He hasn’t beaten the Wolverines since 2019 or won a CFP game since 2020. At least one of those streaks must end.