There are 20 true freshmen on Ohio State’s roster this year, and over a dozen of them have already played.
This is a stark contrast to past seasons, such as 2015 when only four true freshmen played, or 2016 when that number was eight.
Urban Meyer has been talking up the 2017 signing class since signing day, and they continue to impress enough to see playing time at various positions.
There are a couple of freshmen who could start seeing even more playing time.
“Yeah, I could see Pete Werner and Baron Browning, they have really made strides, plus they’re very talented guys,” Meyer said this week.
Don’t expect either to necessarily rotate in on defense while a game is still in doubt, but Meyer does want to see more from them based on their play in practice and their limited action in games so far.
What are their teammates seeing?
“Just their confidence,” defensive tackle Dre’Mont Jones said. “They’re a lot more vocal and they play a lot faster than what they used to play. They’re not as timid anymore being freshmen, so they’re starting to understand how it is around here.”
It is the rare freshman that can come to Ohio State and start from day one, especially at a position that is bringing back returning starters. J.K. Dobbins did it at running back, but he had Mike Weber’s faulty hamstring to thank for that.
OSU wasn’t looking for new starters at linebacker, just more depth. They are starting to find that depth in the young Buckeyes.
“Pete these past three weeks it’s like he’s a new person,” junior Jerome Baker said. “He finally learned to go out there and just do what you do and go hard as much as you can. He’s definitely learned that. Baron, the same thing. I feel comfortable with him playing next to me at Mike. He’s definitely learning. He’s learning how to be a pro and go hard every play. It’s fun just to watch those two grow.”
Werner came to Ohio State from Indianapolis and was a former Notre Dame commit. He didn’t enroll early, so it took him a little bit of time to acclimate himself to college football. He is gaining a better footing by the day.
“I always make fun of him, but he’s physically gifted,” Baker said. “It’s just fun to see him out there manhandling people and doing what he loves. It’s fun watching him.”
While Werner was your standard 4-star prospect in high school, Browning came to Ohio State as a 5-star prospect and one of the top recruits in the entire 2017 class.
Once a player hits campus, however, that all goes away.
“I told him that nobody cares that he was a 5-star or anything like that,” Baker said. “You’re gonna have to start from the bottom and work your way up. And even now he’ll get on me and be like, ‘Let’s go watch film after practice.’”
Neither Werner or Browning came to Ohio State expecting to be handed anything, which is why they continue to work for every snap they can get.
“Just to see guys like that grow and really evolve, it’s kind of cool just to see that with me being here for three years now,” Baker said. “It’s kind of fun seeing a young guy being young and still doing that.”
