Ohio State Football: Top 5 spring 2019 breakout candidates

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - DECEMBER 01: Chris Olave #17 of the Ohio State Buckeyes hands the ball to the referee after scoring a touchdown against the Northwestern Wildcats in the fourth quarter at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 01, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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5-star recruits from around the nation choose Ohio State over their home state teams

COLLEGE PARK, MD – NOVEMBER 17: A detail of an Ohio State Buckeyes helmet during the game against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field on November 17, 2018 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /

Ohio State recruits at such a high level, you could almost turn a list like this into 10-20 breakout candidates, but we’ll focus on guys who could get a chance to compete right away in 2019.

Tyreke Smith was a borderline five-star recruit in 2018 and he appeared in seven games which effectively burned his redshirt. That’s just fine, though, considering he will probably only be in Columbus for three season regardless as he’s extremely talented and could be NFL-ready sooner rather than later.

The former top-50 recruit from Cleveland will get a shot to play extended snaps at defensive end this upcoming season and he may be sitting behind last year’s breakout star Chase Young on the depth chart, but there’s plenty of opportunity at the other end.

Smith finished his first season with nine total tackles, but those numbers will improve drastically this season, especially with a big spring under his belt.

This is a kid who can help fans forget about Nick Bosa.

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