Ohio State Football: 2017 season preview, predictions
Offense
J.T. Barrett returns at quarterback, so the rest of the offense can built around that.
Last year’s breakout running back, Mike Weber, is also back after putting up 1,096 yards and nine touchdowns. The sophomore has high hopes for the 2017 campaign and he will be backed up by Demario McCall, presumably.
The H-back position will be occupied by Parris Campbell who could be a scary weapon on the offensive side of the ball. He had 13 catches for 131 yards and four rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown last season.
K.J. Hill, Binjimen Victor, Austin Mack and Terry McLauren look to provide a solid receiver rotation, but none had more than 18 catches or 300 yards in 2016. It’s a young group, but uber-talented to say the least.
Tight end will be locked down by Marcus Baugh who returns after posting 24 catches for 269 yards and two scores. Ohio State gets grief for not using its tight ends enough, but Baugh could be a useful target in 2017.
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The offense line, which blocked for the 11th-best rushing offense in 2016, returns 4-of-5 starters. Jamarco Jones and Isaiah Prince return at the tackle spots, Michael Jordan is back at left guard and Billy Price is the No. 1 center yet again. Sophomore Matthew Burrell is the only new starter at right guard, but that’s a good sign for the unit.
J.T. Barrett’s comeback season
Entering his final season with the Buckeyes, J.T. Barrett could use a resurgence. After dominating the Big Ten during his freshman season, leading the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record before falling victim to injury and giving way to Cardale Jones who finished the job with a title run, Barrett has fallen off a bit.
In fact, he didn’t even start his sophomore year as the starter but took over in the middle of the year after it was apparent Jones wasn’t the better quarterback. Then, as the unquestioned starter in 2016, his numbers were underwhelming and his play was not up to his usual standard.
Barrett passed for 2,555 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a 61 percent completion rate in 2016 and he also rushed for 845 yards and nine scores. Still, there was just something missing. Was he not pushed enough by his backups? That could be it.
With a final run at a title beginning Aug. 31, Barrett will need to get back to what he did his freshman season and avoid another 2016-like campaign. He can do much better than what he did last year and Joe Burrow, Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell could all push him to improve.