2023 Football Opponent Preview Series: Ohio State is Great, But Have Major Questions at QB, Secondary

Led by coach Ryan Day, the Ohio State Buckeyes will be one of the Big Ten's most dominant teams in 2023, and provide a daunting challenge for coach Tom Allen and the Indiana Hoosiers in their season opener.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are very good, and they will be the overwhelming favorite against Indiana. 

The several hundred words you're about to read about the opponent the Hoosiers welcome to Bloomington on Saturday can be summed up in that one sentence. Ohio State is projected to once again be one of the best teams in the nation. Indiana is listed as a favorite in just three of its 12 games scheduled in 2023. 

Yet, Indiana has given Ohio State early season scares before. In 2017, IU led No. 2 OSU 14-13 at the half. In 2015, the Hoosiers were a controversial no-call on pass interference into the end zone away from taking the defending national champions to overtime. Even a perennial contender like Ohio State can face a challenge in Memorial Stadium. 

Here's the first of our 2023 Indiana football opponent preview series, featuring the Ohio State Buckeyes:

(A bolded name means it's a returning starter/contributor for Ohio State). 

Updated at 8:57 a.m. ET on Sept. 1. 

Projected Offensive Starters for Ohio State

• QB — Kyle McCord (Though QB Devin Brown will also play)
• RB — Miyan Williams
• RB — TreVeyon Henderson
• WR — Marvin Harrison Jr.
• WR — Emeka Egbuka
• WR — Julian Fleming
• TE — Cade Stover
• LT — Josh Simmons
• LG — Donovan Jackson
• C — Carson Hinzman
• RG — Matthew Jones
• RT — Josh Fryar

Ohio State's skill position talent is out of this world. Marvin Harrison Jr. is considered the top wide receiver in the country and one of the best wide receiver prospects for the NFL in recent history. The Draft Network has the son of the Indianapolis Colts' legend ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the entire class, and PFF has him ranked No. 3 overall behind Caleb Williams and Drake Maye. In 13 games last season, Harrison Jr. caught 77 passes for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns.  

While Harrison Jr. is the headliner for the Buckeye offense, wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming are talented dynamos in their own right. Both should make the NFL, and they combined for 1,684 receiving yards last season. 

Marvin Harrison Jr. is a witch. pic.twitter.com/TUis0W1XMv

— kevin harrish (@Kevinish) November 12, 2022

Ohio State also returns nearly its entire running back room, headlined by Miyan "Meatball" Williams and TreVeyon Henderson. Similar to the dynamic between Indiana's Josh Henderson and Jaylin Lucas, Williams is the thunder to Henderson's lightning. After gaining 1,248 yards on 6.8 yards per carry as a freshman in 2021, Henderson was hampered by injuries in 2022 and missed five games. That opened the door for Williams, who finished the '22 season with 825 yards on 6.4 yards per carry. No matter who coach Ryan Day lines up at running back in 2023, the Buckeyes should be more than capable on the ground. 

Aside from guards Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones, the Ohio State offensive line features several first-time starters. Sophomore Carson Hinzman seemingly has the first team center position secured, and senior Josh Fryar has seemingly won the right tackle job. San Diego State transfer Josh Simmons and incumbent second-year Tegra Tshabola are competed to start at left tackle, and it appears like the veteran Simmons won out. 

However, there is one question for Ohio State's offense that supersedes all others — the quarterback. From Justin Fields to C.J. Stroud, Day has had five-star, first round quarterbacks since he took over in Columbus. Day told media on Tuesday that third-year quarterback Kyle McCord will start against Indiana, but that second-year gunslinger Devin Brown will also make an appearance in the game.

These Ohio State questions about the offensive line and quarterback are similar to those facing Indiana offense. Not a soul on planet Earth doubts the talent the Buckeyes have at running back and wide receiver. But it's worth wondering how much those dominant skill positions will matter if the offensive line is mediocre and neither McCord or Brown can reach the same level as Stroud and Fields. Of course, IU football fans would (justifiably) kill to have the insane reserve of former four- and five-stars Ohio State can call upon to fill its less certain positions. 

Projected Defensive Starters for Ohio State

• EDGE — J.T. Tuimoloau
• EDGE — Jack Sawyer
• DT — Mike Hall Jr. 
• DT — Ty Hamilton
• LB — Tommy Eichenberg
• LB — Steele Chambers
• CB — Denzel Burke
• CB — Jordan Hancock
• SAF (Nickel) — Sonny Styles
• SAF (Bandit)— Lathan Ransom
• SAF (Adjuster) — Ja'Had Carter

The talent and names along the defensive line speak for themselves. J.T. Tuimoloau emerged as one of the most terrifying defenders in college football last year, and Jack Sawyer has been projected to make the NFL since the moment he arrived in Columbus. Players like Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry — who would rack up double digit sacks as EDGE starters elsewhere — come off the bench for OSU. Saying the Ohio State defensive line has an embarrassment of riches is an understatement.

Ohio State LB J.T. Tuimoloau today: 2 interceptions (this pick-6 included), a batted pass that led to another pick, two sacks, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and six tackles. STAR.

(🎥: @CFBONFOX) pic.twitter.com/xlrUdchbRa

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) October 29, 2022

For years, the OSU linebackers were the fatal flaw in the Buckeyes' defense. Not so in 2023. Tommy Eichenberg emerged as one of the most improved players in the country in 2022 and is deservedly on the Bednarik Award preseason watch list. Converted running back to linebacker Steele Chambers is also a great player — and has the sport's coolest name. 

Similar to the Ohio State offensive line, the secondary lacks experience and can be punished by the right opponent. Denzel Burke has played some wildly up-and-down football during the past two seasons, while Lathan Ransom just burst onto the scene in 2022 as a Thorpe Award semifinalist. 

Burke and Ransom are really the only two positions that have been locked in for Ohio State's secondary all offseason. There was a time when it looked like the other three starters would be Ole Miss transfer Davison Igbinosun at corner, Cameron Martinez at the nickel safety and Josh Proctor at the adjuster safety. 

However, young Sonny Styles has been too talented to keep off the field, and comfortably won the starting job at nickel. Igbinosun played well in camp and will see the field, but most Ohio State outlets predict that Jordan Hancock will be the nominal starter here in his third season with the program.

And Proctor, despite being one of the most experienced players on the team, appears to have lost first-team status in practice to Syracuse transfer Ja'Had Carter. Overall, the Buckeye secondary has a lot of new pieces and has a ton of question marks. Expect to see the scarlet and grey rotate their back line defenders throughout the game as they try to find the best group of players in pass coverage. 

The Bottom Line

The 2023 Ohio State Buckeyes don't appear to be *quite* the unstoppable steamroller they're used to being. For the first time since 2019, the media did not pick Day's team to win the Big Ten. With major concerns at quarterback, offensive line and in the secondary, it's easy to see why.

Early in the season, a talented, veteran quarterback might be able to open things up against the OSU pass defense. That's happened in years past, though the Buckeyes were able to fall back on Stroud and Fields' outstanding play to steady them, and there's a chance neither McCord or Brown reach that level. But with IU deciding between two quarterbacks who have never started a college game in Tayven Jackson and Brendan Sorsby, don't expect any Indiana quarterback to pose that threat to Ohio State. 

There's good reason the Hoosiers haven't beaten Ohio State since 1988. The Buckeyes are always one of the most talented teams in the country, and Indiana often is not. But there are legitimate questions about both teams that will not be answered until the 96th meeting between OSU and IU in the Sept. 2 season opener in Bloomington. 

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