Ohio State Football: 5 breakout freshmen to watch in 2018

2. Jaelen Gill

If you looked closely at Meyer’s past freshmen to find the field earlier, you may have noticed a theme. Urban has a very specific type of freshman that plays early under Meyer. Almost always, the guys who play early are either transcendent defensive talents, or hybrid athletes on offense. Save for Babb, those rules apply to every player on this list. Vincent, Mitchell, and the number one player on this list are all athletic, dominant defenders.

However, to this point, the only offensive player on the list breaks that rule a bit. Babb isn’t a hybrid athlete, and will likely find the field because of his true position. That’s where Jaelen Gill comes in. Like Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, Curtis Samuel and even Percy Harvin before him, Gill is an electric, gamebreaking h-back.

Gill, a Westerville, OH prospect and the 30th ranked player in the 2018 class, is the exact kind of player that plays early under Meyer. He’s blazing fast, extremely difficult to tackle, and without any true position. Ohio State can’t resist putting players like that on the field from the jump, and no matter how they choose to get him the ball, GIll will definitely be a part of the offense in 2018.

What might that look like? Well, the h-back position is pretty stacked, with Parris Campbell, KJ Hill and Demario McCall all expecting snaps. However, I expect Hill to move to the slot, and Campbell to slide outside, freeing up more room. If h-back doesn’t work out, Gill is capable as a slot receiver and could see time there as well.

If they want to get creative, at 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Gill has the sign to get carries out of the backfield as well, though I wouldn’t expect to see that much. No matter where it is on the field, Jaelen Gill will have an impact on Ohio State in 2018. He’s simply too talented, and too athletic not to.