Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws a pass to a teammate during the Ohio State spring game on April 17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
A season removed from a record fourth-straight conference title and a national championship run, the Buckeyes are set to take a new direction in 2021.
Redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud will start at quarterback when No. 4 Ohio State travels to Minnesota Thursday to kickoff the new season at 8 p.m. on FOX, succeeding Justin Fields under center after two-straight College Football Playoff berths and a Heisman trophy finalist selection.
Head coach Ryan Day enters his fourth season at the helm of the Buckeyes and said despite the challenge of beginning the year on the road and against a conference opponent, the focus is to go 1-0.
“The hard part is you’re not allowed to lose around here, so you got to win, you got to find a way to win games and get out of that environment 1-0,” Day said. “That’s the only expectation right now. The exciting part is you have a new challenge year in and year out.”
The Golden Gophers are a veteran team, returning 22 starters from last season under head coach P.J. Fleck. They disappointed with a 3-4 record in 2020 after rising to the top 10 in the AP poll and earning its most victories since 1904 — 11 in 2019.
Redshirt senior Tanner Morgan will take snaps under center with Minnesota for a fifth season, ranking sixth all-time among Golden Gophers gunslingers in passing yards. Expected to be nearby will be redshirt senior running back Mohamed Ibrahim, who was the 2020 Big Ten Running Back of the Year and averaged over 150 yards per game.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs — who took over sole responsibility of the role after Greg Mattison’s retirement — said Ibrahim reminds him of former Michigan State ball-carrier Le’Veon Bell, in terms of sitting back, waiting for a play to open and exploding to make an impact.
“I think their running back is dynamic. I think he’s the gas that makes the engine go,” Coombs said. “When he sees a crease, he goes and he attacks it. We got to hold our gap, build that wall so he’s eventually got nowhere to go.”
On defense, Minnesota finished ninth in the Big Ten in total defense last year. The Golden Gophers return sacks leader redshirt senior Boye Mafe and tackles leader senior linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin.
Minnesota received help defensively via the transfer portal in graduates linebacker Jack Gibbens from Abilene Christian, as well as defensive linemen Val Martin from North Carolina State and Nyles Pinckney from Clemson.
In addition to the trio, Buckeyes senior tight end Jeremy Ruckert said the Golden Gophers are sound in terms of technique, and it will take high effort to match up against them.
“You can see they’re really good with their fundamentals. They got really strong guys,” Ruckert said. “I think when you’re watching them on the field, you got to bring your ‘A’ game fundamentally and really just trust the game plan because our coaches are going to put us in a great position to win.”
For as much experience as Minnesota boasts, Ohio State is in a much different boat. The Buckeyes lost all four starting linebackers from 2020, and will see a brand new cast of contributors that aren’t new to the program.
Senior linebacker Dallas Gant offers the most game experience with 33 over three seasons, but missed much of spring practice with a foot injury. Day also said he expects senior K’Vaughan Pope to bring experience, and sophomores Tommy Eichenberg and Cody Simon may factor into the rotation as well.
Captain and senior Teradja Mitchell has 28-career games played, third-most among linebackers on the roster. Mitchell said he knows Ohio State’s linebackers are a question mark in the eyes of the public, but the unit has something to prove in 2021.
“There’s definitely no uncertainty. We all believe in coach [Al] Washington and his plan,” Mitchell said. “Whatever he puts out there, we know whoever is going to play is going to ball. Everybody prepares the same because we all come in and do extra work. Whoever goes out there, we’re confident in everybody.”
After allowing a conference-high passing yards total, Ohio State’s secondary will look to rebound and reload following the departure of Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year Shaun Wade.
Up front, the Buckeyes’ defensive line will be led by All-American senior Haskell Garrett, who is tied with junior Zach Harrison as the team’s returning sacks leaders.
Ohio State’s defensive line has presented decorated competition against its offensive counterpart. Offensive lines coach Greg Studrawa has notably shuffled players along the line during the preseason, including sliding graduate Thayer Munford inside to left guard in the emergence of 6-foot-8, 340-pound junior right tackle Dawand Jones.
That means senior Nicholas Petit-Frere will flip sides from right to left tackle, and he said the mission of the shuffling has been to find the best five offensive linemen to provide protection and create lanes.
“We need to have a whole entire unit of offensive linemen that are ready to go out and roll,” Petit-Frere said. “That’s something that coach Stud has always been proficient about, making sure that we have an entire unit that’s ready to roll and play when their number is called, no matter who it was or what position it was or where they felt that they were at, in terms of any type of depth chart. All that matters is that you’re ready to play when your number is called.”
Speaking of when a players’ number is called, Ohio State will likely call on a committee of running backs to carry the rock entering the season. Graduate Master Teague III is often called the “incumbent” in the room, as the former Third Team All-Big Ten rusher has over 1,400 yards gained on the ground in his three-year career.
A room with less incumbents within is the Buckeyes’ special teams room. Ohio State expects to see fresh faces at kicker and punter, and Australian freshman Jesse Mirco has spent time adjusting to both American football and the Buckeye culture.
Day said he will rely on the veterans within the program to provide “a veteran presence” when entering Minnesota territory.
Ohio State has won each of its last 21 season openers and is a perfect 14-0 when beginning a season against Big-Ten opponents. It’ll seek a third-straight trip to the CFP, but Day said the road to a successful season starts at square one.
“You can’t get anywhere down the road if you don’t win this game,” Day said. “That has to be it, and it doesn’t need to be perfect. It doesn’t need to be anything other than just the gritty win on the road. It needs to be a start, and that’s all that matters in this thing.”
Alongside favorable season-opening trends, Ohio State hasn’t lost to the Golden Gophers since 2000. The Buckeyes will put those records on the line at Huntington Bank Stadium in the first game of the season against Minnesota at 8 p.m. on FOX.
