Ohio State Has Brightest Future Among Big Ten Teams Per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg

The Ohio State Buckeyes' offensive prowess has carried them in the Ryan Day era, needing a future resurgence under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles on the opposite side of the ball.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have held prospect camps that have allowed them to offer new players or even lead to new commitments, like two-weekends-in-a-row camper in quarterback Tavien St. Clair.

Ohio State, like Duke basketball, doesn't necessarily rebuild, but it reloads for the future with some of the best high school talent the country has to offer. Since 2011, the Buckeyes have had a top-10 recruiting class, and things are shaping up to continue in 2024 as they already have the No. 4 class, according to 247Sports, with hopes to add more pieces.

ESPN's Adam Rittenberg has the Buckeyes slotted at third behind Georgia and Alabama, respectively, in his future power rankings, with them at second in his future quarterback rankings, second in future offense and 21st in future defense.

But, it wasn't without internal conflict.

"The biggest debate in these rankings was whether to rank Ohio State or Michigan at No. 3," Rittenberg wrote. "Michigan has beaten the Buckeyes in back-to-back seasons and won the Big Ten each time. The Wolverines' personnel-gathering efforts (traditional recruiting and transfer portal) are improving. But Ohio State still has the better track record at quarterback, overall recruiting and postseason performance."

Rittenberg said the Buckeyes "largely outplayed" Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal last season, and despite their ranking, they need "necessary" improvement on defense.

"For all the great things coach Ryan Day has done in Columbus, defense has been a challenge with only the 2019 unit truly excelling under his watch," Rittenberg said. "Last year's defense showed improvement before the Michigan and Georgia losses, and a second season under coordinator Jim Knowles should yield success. Knowles has talent at his disposal, especially at linebacker (Tommy Eichenberg, Steele Chambers) and defensive end, where two top-five national recruits (J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer) are due to blossom. The secondary needs to regain its swagger but has some depth with Lathan Ransom and others."

Ohio State's identity in Day's tenure has been explosive offenses that put up yards and points largely fueled by Heisman-Trophy-finalist quarterback play from Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud.

Since 2019, the Buckeyes have averaged no fewer than 41 points and 490.7 yards per game in a season.

"The Buckeyes lose C.J. Stroud but project well at QB with Kyle McCord and Devin Brown in the short term and possibly through 2025. The team lost (Dylan) Raiola's commitment to Georgia but added 2024 quarterback Air Noland, ESPN's No. 47 overall prospect," Rittenberg said. "Ohio State returns the nation's best wide receiver group, led by Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming. Wideout should be a strength even after they for the NFL, as Ohio State brings in Brandon Inniss and several other notable 2023 recruits, and has two ESPN top-50 players (Jeremiah Smith, Mylan Graham) committed for 2024.

"The offensive line has some reloading to do this fall, but the long-term outlook remains positive with a group of non-seniors such as center Carson Hinzman. Ohio State needs to sort out the running back spot after a difficult 2022 season, but the talent is both there (TreVeyon Henderson, Miyan Williams, Dallan Hayden) and at tight end." 

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