Ohio State Football: 5 breakout players to watch in 2018

A couple of surprising losses prematurely ended Ohio State’s playoff hopes in 2017. Meet the next generation of stars that will be attempting to get them back.

What a bizarre season 2017 was for the Buckeyes. They entered the year ranked second in the nation, but blowout losses to Oklahoma (understandable) and Iowa (not so much) put them in a hole they couldn’t quite dig out of.

All that said, they still finished the season with a Big Ten title and finished fifth in the nation, leaving a strange taste in Ohio State fans’ mouths. This is the sort of standard Urban Meyer has set — 12-2 seasons feel vaguely disappointing in Columbus nowadays.

All that said, the 2018 season begins once again with massive expectations, as the Buckeyes are a near-lock to open the year in the top five. To finish there, they’ll need a number of unsung players to step into big roles in the fall.

Here are five of the biggest breakout candidates for OSU in 2018.

The Buckeyes return pretty much every receiver of note, but junior Austin Mack may carry the biggest expectations. Mack was a blue-chip recruit out of Bishop Luers High in Fort Wayne, Ind., and was talented enough to see the field as a true freshman in 2016. He put up bigger numbers last season, catching 24 passes for 343 yards and a couple of touchdowns.

He’s shown he can perform in big games (he had a combined nine catches for 146 yards against Penn State and USC); the next step is consistency. This has been a big offseason for Mack, and many believe he’ll open the season as one of the Buckeyes’ starting receivers.

He’s got the talent. At 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, he’s got the size. Now he’ll likely get a shot with the first-stringers. OSU will undoubtedly spread the wealth among their rotation of impressive wideouts this season, but Mack looks to be one of the focal points and should easily put up the best numbers of his career.