Remember when people were concerned about Ohio State's youth and depth after losing 16 starters from its national championship team? That's laughable now.
Thanks to the Urban Meyer Talent-Developing Machine, sending 12 players to the NFL Draft is nothing to worry about for the next season. Meyer just plugs in new players and churns out championships.
The Buckeyes are on that path right now.
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Of course, it helps that J.T. Barrett is finally healthy enough to play a full season. With his four touchdowns against Rutgers on Saturday, Barrett broke the Ohio State record for most passing touchdowns in program history (58), and through four games, has 17 total touchdowns. The junior's been efficient, going 70-for-102 passing — a 68.6 completion percentage — and has 1,047 total yards. He's the best player on the team, no question.
But Barrett's got such a talented surrounding cast that he doesn't even have to put up those numbers. Ohio State has 12 different offensive players who have scored touchdowns this season, not to mention the four different defenders who have taken interceptions to the house. There aren't many other teams in the country that can trust a dozen players to score on any given play, but the Buckeyes can.
Take a look at the names that make Ohio State the deepest, most dangerous team in the country:
Junior Curtis Samuel and redshirt freshman Mike Weber have become yard-eating machines on the ground. Samuel is the star guy on offense not named Barrett with 328 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and 345 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Weber's been a great compliment with 495 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and a highlight reel-worthy 46 yard score against the Scarlet Knights.
Like Samuel, senior Dontre Wilson's been an asset as a runner and receiver with 221 total yards and four touchdowns, and he's only listed as the Buckeyes' third-string running back.
The receiving corps is insanely deep even with the loss of Michael Thomas. Sophomore Noah Brown is back from his leg injury and is Ohio State's best true receiver (149 yards, five touchdowns), but Samuel, Wilson, K.J. Hill, Terry McLaurin and tight end Marcus Baugh have all caught a touchdown.
Add in Demario McCall, Paris Campbell and Johnnie Dixon as backups with touchdowns and it's not even fair.
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Lamar Jackson and Louisville can't compete with that. Alabama's talent isn't nearly as explosive as these guys. There's no team in the country that can match up with this cast. You could play roster roulette and the Buckeyes would still blow out their competition with their insane 57 points per game average, third-best in the nation.
Good luck to the remaining teams on Ohio State's schedule.
