COLUMBUS, Ohio — Legendary Ohio State coaches Urban Meyer and Jim Tressel are both speaking highly of the Buckeyes’ roster for the upcoming football season.
“As of now, this is one of the most talented rosters in the last decade, maybe ever,” Meyer said when asked about the team Monday when he was in Columbus for a charity golf outing.
While Ohio State lost a few key playmakers to the NFL Draft – including WR Marvin Harrison Jr., LB Tommy Eichenberg and DT Michael Hall Jr. – 16 starters will return for this season. Among the Buckeyes who are back include, RB TreVeyon Henderson, WR Emeka Egbuka, DE JT Tuimoloau, DE Jack Sawyer and CB Denzel Burke.
There were also 23 newcomers on the spring roster this year, including 15 true freshmen from the 2024 recruiting class who enrolled in classes in January. Among those is highly touted wideout Jeremiah Smith, who is expected to make an immediate impact on the offense.
The Buckeyes also added serious talent through the transfer portal, including RB Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss), SAF Caleb Downs (Alabama) and QB Will Howard (Kansas State).
“They gotta play, but you look at the quality of athlete at every position, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Meyer said.
Tressel had similar praise for the Buckeye roster.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that many great players in that building all at once. Every position, every place you’ve turned,” Tressel said. “Ryan’s done a great job, Ohio State has done a great job.”
The starting quarterback remains uncertain for the upcoming season, but it’s expected that Howard will win the job over Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz. The Buckeyes have five signal callers on the 2024 roster including freshman Air Noland and Julian Sayin.
During a press conference on Tuesday, head coach Ryan Day says he has high expectations for this season, but that's how it is every year.
"You gotta beat the team up north and win every game after that. That's just the expectations," Day said. "When you come up short, you gotta figure out a way to get those things fixed. I think we have done that."
2024 Ohio State football schedule
Aug. 31 – Akron (3:30 p.m., CBS)
Sept. 7 – Western Michigan (7:30 p.m., BTN)
Sept. 14 – Off
Sept. 21 – Marshall
Sept. 28 – at Michigan State
Oct. 5 – Iowa
Oct. 12 – at Oregon
Oct. 19 – Off
Oct. 26 – Nebraska
Nov. 2 – at Penn State
Nov. 9 – Purdue
Nov. 16 – at Northwestern
Nov. 23 – Indiana
Nov. 30 – Michigan (Noon, FOX)