You can always count on former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer to speak confidently about the Buckeyes and he had a very bold statement to make about his former team this week.
On the first episode of The Triple Option, Meyer said that he recently spoke to former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel about the state of the team’s roster. He said that the two of them agree that they might have “the best roster in college football in the last decade.”
Meyer explained that they are so deep in terms of depth that their backups could probably go in the first round of the NFL draft.
“I talked to Jim Tressel about this,” Meyer said. “I’ve read about them, I’ve watched them. This might be the best roster in college football in the last decade – as far as NFL talent, as far as depth. The second string running back, whoever it is, is probably gonna be probably a first-round draft pick. I mean, they are loaded. They’ve got Will Howard, who’s gonna be a big question mark. But I think the combination of him and Chip Kelly, the new offensive coordinator, they’re married for each other. He’s an athletic quarterback, he’s surprisingly fast. I was told he ran 22 miles an hour in practice. You’re sub 4.5. That’s fast-fast. And he’s a big dude. He’s a big dude. I think he’s the perfect fit.
“Here’s the challenge… how do you keep all happy? Their schedule’s kind of a joke early on. I mean, they’re gonna be 50-point favorites in the first three games. They have a bye week and then they play Michigan State, which is a shell of themself right now. So the starters will probably play 30-40 plays in the first month of the season. That means statistically, they’re not gonna have many catches, the running backs are not gonna have many carries because you’re not gonna play those guys in the second half of those games.”
The past three seasons have seen Ohio State miss out on the Big Ten Championship by losing to arch-rival Michigan. That same loss resulted in them missing the College Football Playoff in two of the past three years.
But 2024 marks a new era of Michigan football and Big Ten Football – an era that could be to a massive benefit for Ohio State.
If the Buckeyes roster is as deep as Meyer said, then they should cruise to the Big Ten title and into the College Football Playoff.
Do you agree with Meyer?