Spring opponent review: Ohio State

With spring practices now wrapped up around the country, HuskerOnline.com will take a look at where each of Nebraska’s 12 opponents in 2018 currently stands coming out of spring ball and heading into the summer.

We continue today by taking a look at Nebraska’s annual showdown with Ohio State, which hosts the Huskers on Nov. 3.

The Buckeyes will once again be eying not only another Big Ten Conference title in 2018, but also will hope to make a run at College Football Playoff berth and more in their seventh season under head coach Urban Meyer.

We caught up with BuckeyeGrove.com publisher Kevin Noon to learn more about what the Huskers can expect in their trip to Columbus this fall…

For the first time in what seemed like a decade, Ohio State opened its spring practices this year without quarterback J.T. Barrett under center.

The four-year starter who ended his career as one of the most productive players in school history finally moved on to graduation, leaving some big shoes to fill on the Buckeyes’ offense.

As a result, the top storyline all spring was the competition between redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins and redshirt sophomore Joe Burrow to replace Barrett as the starter in 2018. That battle went neck-and-neck all spring, but in the end, it was Haskins who won the job and Burrow transferred to LSU.

With that now seemingly settled, OSU can now turn its focus to the next most-pressing issue in rebuilding its offensive line. The Buckeyes lost Rimington Award winner Billy Price at center as well as both starting tackles, including left tackle Jamarco Jones.

Add in the fact that OSU will open its conference schedule in Week 2 vs. Rutgers and then take on TCU at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium on Sept. 15, followed by a trip to Penn State on Sept. 29; there won’t be much time for the offense to work out any kinks.

The good news for Ohio State is that despite the questions at quarterback and offensive line, it returns pretty much everyone else from an offense that scored 73 touchdowns and ranked seventh nationally at 506.0 yards per game.

Running backs J.K. Dobbins and Mike Webber, who both have registered 1,000-yard seasons, return, as does the entire receiving corps. The only real question is how those groups adjust from playing with Barrett to Haskins.

The defense should once again be loaded at all three levels, led by star defensive end Nick Bosa.

The linebackers have the most to replace after losing Chris Worley and Jerome Baker to the NFL. As always, the issue there won’t be having enough talent to step up, but rather counting on relatively inexperienced players to mesh within the defense.

The other issue is Ohio State again having to replace a top-10 draft pick at cornerback, as Denzel Ward was selected fifth overall by the Cleveland Browns. The Buckeyes feel good about their 2018 crop of corners, but they lost cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs to the Tennessee Titans this offseason and replaced him with Taver Johnson.

Ohio State is blessed with a wealth of talent at the skill positions, but none of that will mean much if Haskins isn’t ready to take the reigns of the offense.

While Barrett was more of a zone-read mobile quarterback, Haskins is more of a pro-style pocket passer who also has the ability to run. That means the Buckeyes will be shifting their offensive scheme a bit this year in order to cater to Haskins’ strengths.

Seeing how he beat out Burrow for the job straight up, Meyer and staff clearly feel good about Haskins’ potential.

He saw action in eight games last season and completed 70 percent of his passes for 565 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, so his limited game experience also impressed.

Expectations were soaring for Bosa from the day he committed to Ohio State, but seeing how he’s spent his whole life as the little brother of former Buckeye star and San Diego Chargers’ end Joey Bosa, that wasn’t anything new.

After earning Freshman All-American honors in 2016, Bosa led the Buckeyes with 8.5 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, and nine quarterback hurries to go along with 34 total tackles as a sophomore.

Now entering his third and likely final season at OSU, Bosa will lead a defensive end unit that lost three players to the NFL. Even with those three ends on the roster last year, many viewed Bosa as the best of the bunch.

He will definitely command plenty of attention from opposing offenses, so his numbers might dip a little bit this season. But there’s little doubt Bosa, just like his brother, will hear his name called very early in the 2019 NFL Draft.

A lot is going to ride on Haskins and how he handles being “the guy” under center, but maybe more pertinent to Ohio State’s 2018 success will be the play of a revamped offensive line.

Noon said from an overall talent standpoint, the o-line might actually be deeper this year than it’s been since Meyer took over in 2012.

The problem is the Buckeyes were still searching for who the best five are within that group coming out of the spring.

Even when that starting five is decided, there will likely be some growing pains with players adjusting to their first action as collegiate starters.

Center is the biggest concern, and junior Brady Taylor is expected to be the one who takes over Price in the middle.

Junior Isaiah Prince has some starting experience and will hold down right tackle, while true sophomore Thayer Munford will replace Jones on the left side.

Noon: “In the past couple of seasons, Ohio State has outscored Nebraska infinity to like 12, so you have to figure the outlook for this season should be a little better for the Huskers. They are running into a juggernaut of an Ohio State team that should have eight games under its belt by the time these two teams play. I just don’t think that Year One of the Frost regime will find the conditions favorable, and Ohio State will likely overwhelm the Huskers this year.”

Noon: “I feel the schedule really favors Ohio State this year. There are some obvious deficiencies that will need to be addressed by the time that Big Ten play starts, but a fairly navigable non-conference schedule should have Ohio State in good position to start its run. Eleven wins certainly is in play, but fans will howl if it’s not 12. I like Ohio State to win the East and head to Indianapolis.”