
Ohio State football: Top 6 Buckeyes from the first 6 OSU wins of 2022
For Ohio State, the bye week has been an opportunity to reflect and re-examine ahead of this weekend’s matchup with Iowa.
The good news is there’s plenty of positive moments and aspects to reflect on.
Ohio State sits snugly at No.2 in the national polls, and after its opening grinder of a win over Notre Dame, it’s been a series of blowouts for the Buckeyes. Despite almost constant injuries, Ohio State has delivered.
How significant have the injuries been? If we said preseason that Jaxon Smith-Njigba or TreVeyon Henderson would have missed enough time to knock them off a list of top 6 Buckeyes, that would have sounded disastrous. Not so much.
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And admittedly, if you combine Henderson and Miyan Williams into an uninjured super-back with about 1,000 yards rushing, that player would be on the list. Instead, here are the top 6 Buckeyes from the season to date.
6) Mike Hall Jr., DL
Ohio State needed a significant presence on the defensive line to both control the run and force opposing passers into bad situations. Enter Hall, who had just 2 tackles in 2021. At midseason of 2022, Hall has a team high 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He’s been banged up too, but when Hall has been in the lineup, he’s made his presence felt.
5) Marvin Harrison Jr., WR
Maybe it’s a “junior” thing, but Marvin Harrison the younger has picked up where he left off in the Rose Bowl last season, where his first extended action led to a 3-touchdown game. Harrison’s 31 receptions and 536 yards are both 2nd on the team, but his 9 touchdown grabs show what a superb red-zone standout he’s been. Three 100-yard games, 3 multi-TD games — Harrison has helped ease the absence of Smith-Njigba through the first half of 2022.
4) Emeka Egbuka, WR
The yin to Harrison’s yang, Egbuka is the speed guy who is unstoppable in space. With 35 receptions for 655 yards and 6 scores, Egbuka has basically replicated the production that Smith-Njigba was expected to provide. He’s also been amazingly consistent — he has no games with fewer than 4 catches or less than 70 receiving yards. It’s hard to imagine how Ohio State can be any better WITH Smith-Njibga, but the emergence of Harrison and Egbuka just means the Buckeyes are about to have 3 star receivers — 4 if you count Julian Fleming, and 5 if tight end Cade Stover is in the conversation.
3) Paris Johnson Jr., OT
How good is Johnson? Admittedly, there’s a temptation to see the offensive line as a unit rather than individual players, but the growth of Johnson in moving outside to tackle has been impressive. OSU has allowed 4 sacks all season, and moreover, its 19 tackles for loss allowed ties Tennessee for the fewest in the country. Johnson has been the elite road grader who keeps CJ Stroud upright and clears holes for both Henderson and Williams to possibly rush for 1,000 yards.
2) Tommy Eichenberg, LB
With Ohio State running a 4-2-5 look consistently, Eichenberg’s leadership in the middle of the defense has been even more pivotal than last season. He’s 5th in the B1G in tackles per game with 50. His 6 tackles for loss rank 8th in the league. In a new defense, particularly in a half-season with plenty of injury-related substitution, Eichenberg has stood out for his leadership and his play. He’ll be an understated key to Ohio State’s second-half success.
1) CJ Stroud, QB
What, you were expecting somebody else? His 2 star running backs have come and gone, his anticipated top pass target has barely played, and Stroud not only has been elite, he doesn’t even seem to sweat. Despite the injury woes around him, Stroud’s accuracy has slid from. .. 71 percent completions to 70 percent. He’s gone from 10.1 yards per pass attempt last season to 10.9 yards per attempt this year. The 24 touchdowns vs. 3 interceptions speaks for itself. Best of all, he’s been the constant, the guy who always has an answer. Picking him as the top Buckeye is a no-brainer.