For the first time since the beginning of the 2019, Ohio State enters the year without a national championship to defend.
The Buckeyes graduated NCFA legends Kellyn Gerenstein, Casey Scroggins and Jordan Griffith-Simmon and will be forced to replace multiple starters on the offensive line. Defensively, the Buckeyes will have to replace two of their top three tacklers from a year ago with Colby Stahl lost to graduation and Lance Wickham to injury.
However, the largest recruiting class in program history comes in with high expectations as the Buckeyes look to get back to the NCFA postseason for the fifth straight season. Ohio State’s 2023 recruiting class features members representing six different states and includes five transfers covering three different divisions of NCAA football.
The cupboard isn’t exactly bare for Ohio State either, as the Buckeyes are set to return 18 players from last year’s squad, including 14 players with starting experience.
“I am looking forward to the 2023 season for a variety of reasons. Primarily, I am excited to see how our incoming recruiting class meshes both on and off the field with our veteran players,” said James Grega, Jr., who enters his sixth year as head coach. “I think this team has a chance to be special as long as we commit to the work it takes to reach the NCFA postseason.”
Defensively, safety Christian Allen returns as Ohio State’s leading tackler from a season ago while two-way starter Jackson Rittman should patrol the middle of the Buckeye defense at linebacker. Allen collected 53 total tackles in his first season with the program, adding two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. Entering his third season with Ohio State, Rittman has 45 career tackles, adding 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries, the last of which went for a touchdown in the 2022 NCFA National Championship Game.
2022 NCFA Academic All-American Joe Umba returns as Ohio State’s top cornerback while James Smith, Trey Jones and Daniel Sankiewicz – who combined for 11.5 sacks a season ago – anchor the Buckeye defensive front. The Buckeyes will have to replace Scroggins and 2022 starting cornerback Spencer Newkirk in the secondary while also finding production at linebacker to replace Stahl and Wickham. Lake Erie College transfer Nick Fay should immediately compete for playing time at linebacker along with freshman Owen Jeffries, while any number of Ohio State’s incoming freshmen defensive backs could factor into the starting secondary.
Offensively, the Buckeyes will have a new signal caller for the first time since 2018. Following the record-breaking career of Gerenstein, Spencer Moore figures to take the first snaps as Ohio State’s quarterback in 2023.
Moore, who has primarily played tight end since joining the program in 2019, has waited his turn to be QB1. Moore has completed 38-of-54 career pass attempts for 608 yards and seven touchdowns to just one interception, including a 381-yard performance against Michigan State in 2022 while filling in for an injured Gerenstein.
Whoever lines up at quarterback for the Buckeyes will have no shortage of weapons around them. Ohio State returns running backs Johnathan Thiele and Jalen Haley for the third straight season while NCFA First Team All-American Abdou Keita returns as the Buckeyes’ top returning wide receiver. Thiele and Haley have combined for 2,079 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns over the last two years, while Keita exploded onto the scene in 2022 with 29 receptions for 666 yards and 10 total touchdowns. Veteran utility man David Cooper, who has seven career catches for 204 yards, and incoming freshman Zach Hayes add to what should be an explosive receiver unit.
Up front, Zach Davis and Sam Dominguez will anchor an Ohio State offensive line that will feature a handful of new faces in 2023. Newcomers Shawn Czado, Cam Fries and Daniel Zirkle will immediately compete for playing time, as will Capital transfer Jaret Dyer. Rittman and Nicholas Carbuccia also add talent, depth and leadership to the unit.
On special teams, the Buckeyes return kicker David Rive for his third season. In his career, Rive has connected on 8-of-11 field goal attempts with a long of 41 and has converted 71-of-77 extra points. Ohio State added former FCS punter Garrett Junk to the roster for the 2023 season. Junk, a graduate of Upper Arlington High School, spent the 2021 season at Saint Francis University before transferring to Ohio State, where he will debut for the Buckeyes in 2023.
Ohio State’s coaching staff features several new faces as well. Longtime offensive line coach Matthew Thiede and wide receivers coach Geoff Green are gone, however Grega has revamped his staff to be his biggest yet. Dylan Barron returns as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach after a year away, while defensive backs coach Raheem Massenberg returns for his third season. Ryan Walsh, a member of the team from 2018-19 replaces Thiede as offensive line coach while Hamzah Masood, a former 3x All-American offensive lineman has been added as an assistant offensive line coach. Caelan Allmon (special teams coordinator and tight ends), Todd Thiele (wide receivers), Brendan McNeill (defensive line), Nick Untch (running backs) and Lance Wickham (hybrids) round out the 2023 staff. Allmon (2013), Untch (2019) and Wickham (2022) are all former players while Thiele and McNeill enter their first full seasons with the program.
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