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Ohio State football: 3 second-year players who’ll become stars in 2023

By Connor Muldowney

Oct. 1, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; A stick-ladden Ohio State Buckeyes helmet sits on the turf during warmups before Saturday's game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Columbus. Mandatory Credit: Barbara Perenic/Columbus DispatchSports Ohio State Rutgers Ncaa Football
Oct. 1, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; A stick-ladden Ohio State Buckeyes helmet sits on the turf during warmups before Saturday's game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Columbus. Mandatory Credit: Barbara Perenic/Columbus DispatchSports Ohio State Rutgers Ncaa Football /
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Ryan Day may be sitting on the hottest seat he’s seen since taking over as Ohio State football coach when Urban Meyer retired. He’s gone back-to-back seasons without a Big Ten title berth and has lost to the Wolverines in two straight years — something Meyer never did.

Now he enters a critical 2023 season with a ton to prove. He’s losing his star quarterback CJ Stroud to the NFL, but his impressive 2022 recruiting class is entering year two.

Which second-year players will become stars for the Buckeyes in 2023?

Gone are Josh Proctor and Ronnie Hickmon so that means there are some spots to have on the two-deep for a guy like Sonny Styles who came to Ohio State as a five-star prospect and the Buckeyes’ second-best recruit in the 2022 class.

Styles, a star from the state of Ohio, was ranked the No. 12 player in the entire 2022 class, according to the composite, and he was the nation’s top safety. He was also the second-best recruit from the state of Ohio and the No. 1 recruit was teammate and fellow five-star CJ Hicks.

Styles had nine total tackles and a tackle for loss as a freshman, but I think he’s going to become the Buckeyes’ next star in the defensive backfield.

There’s going to be an opportunity for him to see the field extensively in 2023.

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