2023 Ohio State University
Ohio State has welcomed in 27 new members into the Brotherhood this offseason with 19 of them being high school recruits and the other eight coming from the transfer portal. It's not too often the Buckeyes have space to allow true freshman to have significant playing time, but they have found a few hidden gems in the last recruiting cycle that they may find impossible to leave on the sidelines for a full season. With a lot of new faces and numbers to remember for this upcoming season we've put together a list of who the fans should to see on the field this year to make things a little easier.
No. 11 - Brandon Innis (Wide Receiver)
If you haven't heard about his young star yet then you have been missing out on one of the top players in the country. In just his first few months on campus he gone from being a high rated prospect to a serious threat to see a lot of playing time this season. He showed off his skills in this years spring game and has only continued to improve in the meantime. While Ohio State's top three receiver positions are locked up by veteran wideouts, Innis has put himself in position to take over as the backup-slot receiver on the depth charts which would lead to a lot of downs played this season. Watch out for what this young star will do this season.
No. 17 - Carnell Tate (Wide Receiver)
Thanks to one of the top recruiters and WR developers in Brian Hartline the Buckeyes have plenty of depth at the wideout position. Typically that means incoming freshman would find themselves buried deep in the depth charts with no chance of seeing the field. However, that is not the case for Carnell Tate as he has quickly established himself as one of the best freshmen in the country going into the 2023 season. He will see the field a ton this season and will be the backup to Marvin Harrison Jr. in the X-position which is typically the wide receiver on the left side of the formation lined up on the field numbers.
No. 20 - Davison Igbinosun (Cornerback)
He comes into Ohio State through the transfer portal from Ole Miss where he played in all 13 games as a freshman and had five pass deflections and 37 total tackles. He was one of the highest rated transfer portal players this year and has many members of the media viewing him as the top corner alongside Denzel Burke going into the season.
No. 24 - Jermaine Matthews (Cornerback)
He came out of high school as the No. 1 cornerback in the state of Ohio and since stepping foot on campus has continued to make an impact as he looks to garnish that same title in the college ranks. He's got a lot of guys in front of him, but he was the No. 2 player in the Buckeyes recruiting class this season. He has talent and he's got athleticism and with as often as Ohio State rotates players on and off the field at this position the fans should get a good look at No. 24 this season.
No. 43 - John Ferlmann (Long Snapper)
Maybe it's not the most glorious position and we certainly won't see any highlights of this guy this year, but he's a new face that plays a very important role for any team. Ferlmann was a zero-star transfer from Arizona State after being there for two years. He was redshirted his freshman season, but handled all long snapping duties in last years campaign. He will be the day one starter for the Buckeyes this season and hopefully this is pretty much the only time we hear his name this year. Because if we hear it more than once, it typically means that he did something wrong and that's not good for anyone.
Those are the five newest members of the scarlet and gray family that we should see the most of this season. Now there are a few guys that are buried deep on the depth charts, but still might make some impact plays this season.
- QB Tristan Gebbia
- QB Lincoln Keinholz
- TE Jelani Thurman
- WR Bryson Rodgers
- WR Noah Rogers
- OL Will Smith Jr.
- S Malik Hartford
All of these guys joined Ohio State this season with high praise and much fanfare. While they won't see the field much for most of the game, we may see them in a mop up role when the game is in the bag late in the fourth quarter.
For a full list of the Ohio State class of 2023 please click here.
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