Ohio State may have the highest ceiling in college football. After all, it's only three months removed from winning a national title.
Looking ahead to this fall, coach Ryan Day may have some fixing to do at key positions, but it's nothing of an impossibility.
After losing quarterback Will Howard to the NFL Draft, alongside 13 of his fellow teammates from last season's championship team, Day said recently he is ready to move forward.
"You can see it by the way he played, his accuracy and his efficiency in the playoffs," Day told WBNS last Wednesday. "I think the best thing that ever happened to Ohio State was Will Howard. I think the best thing that ever happened to Will Howard was Ohio State. It worked hand-in-hand. And I think now he's ready to go and jump into an organization, take it and run because he's going to learn fast and the guys are going to really gravitate to him."
Howard was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the 185th overall pick, much to the dismay of ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. Kiper Jr. called Howard "a backup,"so therefore, the championship-winning quarterback will have more to prove moving forward.
Despite the Buckeyes' potential talent gap, On3's Andy Staples wrote they're in a good spot if they can tie a few loose ends, ranking them No. 5 in his way-too-early assessment.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
"The Buckeyes have a lot to replace on both lines of scrimmage, and they’ll be breaking in a new quarterback," Staples wrote. "But having the nation’s best returning offensive player (receiver Jeremiah Smith) and the nation’s best returning defensive player (safety Caleb Downs) is [an] incredible foundation on which to build."
Ohio State gets a big test Week 1, rematching the Texas Longhorns. Only this time, the game is in Columbus with quarterback Arch Manning on the other sideline instead of Quinn Ewers.
For now, only time will tell.