Buckeyes to face many challenges

CHICAGO – Big Ten Media Days is in the books and now Ohio State football fans are counting down the days until the start of Fall Camp (August 6th appears to be the word on the street) and the official start of the 2016 football season.

Stop me if you have heard this one before but the 2016 roster will look nothing like the 2015 roster with 44 of the 85 scholarship players on the roster having zero game experience.

Departures mean opportunities and mass departures (graduation/early NFL declarations) mean mass opportunities for the Buckeyes as they look to get back to the top of the mountain in the Big Ten.

Last year saw the team come up short against Michigan State, their only blemish but a costly one. That loss cost the Buckeyes a return trip to the Big Ten Championship Game and a potential opportunity to return to the College Football Playoff for a shot to defend their championship.

The expectations are different this year for Urban Meyer's Buckeyes. Last year it was a matter of everyone expecting the Buckeyes to be the last team standing. Now the expectations are different and in turn, fall camp 2016 will be unlike any of Meyer's previous ones in Columbus.

"I have never spent this much time on practice schedules and I stare at that board for two hours a day," Meyer said during a breakout session during Media Days. "Every practice I have probably gone over five, six, seven times to make sure we are getting everything accomplished."

In past years with the core of the team returning from previous seasons there was not as much of a premium on going over certain aspects with players having a depth of knowledge from previous games to draw upon. That safety net is gone and now Meyer and the assistants have to focus on getting almost a whole new team ready to go with 16 new starters set to enter the lineup when the season starts against Bowling Green.

"I am trying to say prioritize, we have to get this situation or we don’t," Meyer added. "Then you look at your schedule, who do you play? We don't play a two-tight, Michigan State or Wisconsin style team until later on so I am evaluating if we do that early. Just giving you examples of what goes through my mind to get them ready."

From that grind however will come some 'intense position battles' for the Buckeyes and the potential is there for this to be one of the most talented Ohio State rosters in recent memory. But there is a long way to travel from potential to on-the-field success and that will be on the players and coaches.

"Even in 2014, we had some really great players step up but you did not see the competition that I am hoping to see the next couple of weeks," Meyer said.

Only one of those 16 new starter positions have been filled with Jamarco Jones being named a starter on the offensive line for the Buckeyes.

"At some point you have to say, 'this is our guy'. We have not done that yet," Meyer said. "Jamarco Jones is the only guy that we have done that with. So I am putting a lot of pressure on our coaches to, I need to know by this scrimmage who is our starting outside linebacker, is it Chris Worley or is it Jerome Baker."

Of course it also appears that Mike Weber will have to fill the very big shoes vacated by the departure of Ezekiel Elliott at the running back spot. The growth of Weber since coming into the program has been noticeable and Meyer has taken special notice of his young running back since arriving in Columbus.

"I saw his little (social media) post of his before picture and after picture," Meyer said. "A little fat kid that turns into a good looking running back. You can tell him that I said that too."

The Buckeyes will need more players to step up if the team is going to realize their team goals of winning the Big Ten and being in the national title picture.

"I would say going into this this is as talented a group top to bottom as we've had. Now how do we get them game-ready," Meyer said.