CHICAGO — Given all that he has on his plate at the moment, one wouldn’t have blamed Urban Meyer had his appearance at this year’s Big Ten media days luncheon been his shakiest at the annual summer gathering yet.
The loss of 16 starters, 12 draft picks and five first-rounders, as well as the recent dismissal of the player pegged by many to be Ohio State’s new starting running back—all of it should seemingly cloud the outlook of a season where 44 of the Buckeyes’ 85 scholarship players have yet to make their college debuts. Factor in a Week 3 trip to Oklahoma to take on last year’s playoff participant Sooners, and optimism for OSU ought to be harder to find.
Yet there Meyer stood at the podium of Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center, as calmly as he ever has at one of these events. Meyer didn’t avoid his issues, either, but instead faced them head on, confident the momentum he has found in his first four years as the Buckeyes head coach isn’t in any danger of slowing down.
“The issue would be if it was a non-talented young team,” Meyer said of his 2016 outlook. “And that’s not the case at all. So it’s a very young team, but talented.”
A three-time national champion and one of college football’s preeminent recruiters, Meyer has never been confused for being a subpar public speaker. Nevertheless, his previous four appearances at Big Ten media days felt more like interrogations than they did platforms for Meyer to promote his program.
In 2012, the former Florida head coach was the new kid in class, forced to defend his discipline track record and controversial departure from Gainesville. A year later, the timing of Big Ten media days happened to highlight the summer arrest of star cornerback Bradley Roby and an investigation into an off-field incident involving running back Carlos Hyde.
On the eve of the Buckeyes’ 2014 campaign, the health of star quarterback Braxton Miller remained in question—just weeks before he was ultimately lost for the season. And even after Ohio State’s run through that year’s College Football Playoff, its head coach was forced to spend the ensuing conference media days discussing a litany of suspensions—including one to defensive end Joey Bosa—which were inconveniently announced just minutes prior to Meyer taking the stage in the Windy City.
But despite the distractions the Buckeyes have dealt with in the past four years, none proved capable of preventing progress in the Meyer Era. Then again, never before has Meyer experienced a mass exodus of talent like the one he did this past offseason.
Although if the fifth-year Ohio State head coach is supposed to be worried, someone should probably let him know.
“You’re talking about a very, very talented group of players that have waited their turn and a very talented group that got there in June,” Meyer said of his team’s stockpile of highly touted players. “My goal is to play every freshman. I know that doesn’t happen, but we want to play the freshmen as soon as we can.”
This is Meyer’s Buckeyes in full form, his roster exclusively featuring players he recruited—any holdovers from Jim Tressel’s tenure having since seen their eligibility expire. For the past four years, Ohio State has evolved into Meyer’s program with growing pains few and far between, winning a national championship a year earlier than even its head coach expected it to in 2014.
And even beyond the Buckeyes’ 50-4 on-field record under Meyer, the results have spoken for themselves. Ohio State has signed a top-five recruit in each year but one that its star head coach has been at the helm of the program.
The Buckeyes currently lay claim to the nation’s top-ranked recruiting haul in the 2017 cycle.
“We’ve had very, very good recruiting classes over the last three, four years and I see it,” Meyer said. “I see that completely throughout our program, guys who have been waiting for the opportunity and now the opportunity is there.”
The star of the show—and perhaps the biggest reason Meyer has allowed himself to relax this offseason—is quarterback J.T. Barrett, who returns to Ohio State as one of college football’s top players. After a season-long quarterback battle with Cardale Jones initially led to mixed results for Barrett in 2015, the 6’2″, 225-pounder ended his sophomore season on a high note, amassing a combined 559 yards and five touchdowns in wins over Michigan and Notre Dame to close the year.
His starting spot no longer in question, Barrett will find himself surrounded largely by unknowns. But his presence alone should be enough to keep the Buckeyes in conversation with the rest of the Big Ten title contenders throughout the 2016 campaign.
“I anticipate he’ll be as good a quarterback as we’ve had,” Meyer said. “It’s his show and he knows it.”
Barrett’s job will also be made easier by the return of offensive guard Billy Price and guard-turned-center Pat Elflein, who Meyer has already proclaimed as “the best” at his new position. Similarly, the Buckeyes’ defensive depth chart lacks a lengthy resume, but returns cornerback Gareon Conley, defensive end Tyquan Lewis and its own quarterback, middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan from last year’s team.
“You want that in the middle of your defense because you raise the level of play around them,” Meyer said of McMillan, “and so does J.T. and Pat.”
While Meyer’s program certainly seems to be reloading rather than rebuilding, it hasn’t been without its warts this offseason either. Just a week ago, Ohio State dismissed senior running back and potential starter Bri’onte Dunn after allegations of domestic violence.
Unlike previous years, however, the negativity was hardly harped on. It was a mere footnote in Meyer’s media day press conference that, for once, was just like every other head coach’s.
That’s how far the Buckeyes have come under their head coach. And even with the apparent holes on their roster heading into 2016, their best seems to be ahead.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report’s Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. Recruiting and class ratings courtesy of 247Sports‘ composite ratings.
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