We’re all about audience service here at TheOzone, so on Monday morning when one of our long-time posters asked for an update on which freshmen had played so far this season, we figured “why not?”
So here we are. It’s a good time to look at it because the Buckeyes will play their fifth game of the season this Saturday at Nebraska.
Game five marks a milestone of sorts for a handful of freshmen on the team who will likely officially burn a year of eligibility by participating in the game.
Just as a refresher, under NCAA rules that went into effect before the 2018 season, a player who participates in 4 or fewer games in a season can get back that year of eligibility.
You can only do that once, but it means that your career can effectively include four seasons plus up to four more games.
This season, a number of OSU freshmen have already played in four games, meaning the next time they step on the field, they will officially have given up that chance for a redshirt this year.
All data below comes directly from the participation reports published by OSU. However, those aren’t always infallible. For example, freshman OL Dawand Jones played on the field goal block unit against Cincinnati and Miami, but he wasn’t listed on the official participation report for either game.
You can find those participation reports for each game here: Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati, Indiana, Miami.
Five players have played in all four games so far and are close to locks to use a year of eligibility this season. Those include DE Zach Harrison, OL Harry Miller, WR Garrett Wilson, RB Marcus Crowley, and LB Craig Young.
Jameson Williams, the speedy WR who scored his first career touchdown in the Miami game, has played in three games and appears likely to use a year this season as well.
When you get to the guys who have played in only two games so far, things get a little more uncertain. LB Cade Stover, DE Noah Potter, and RB Steele Chambers have played in two of the four games. They could see a little action later in the year and still take a redshirt year, or could earn their way onto the field and burn the year.
As mentioned above, Jones has played on the field goal block unit, helping clear the way for Chase Young to block a kick against Cincinnati, and then seeing the field again against Miami. Ryan Day clearly likes what he sees out of Jones in that role, but didn’t sound like he was interested in using a year of eligibility on it.
“We’re not going to be foolish about it,” Day said on September 12. “We’ll try to be smart and make decisions based weekly on what we’re seeing. We don’t want to burn his redshirt on field goal blocks, but at the same time you get four games now so we’ll do the best we can. At the same time, if we think it can win us a game, we’ll do it.”
SAF Bryson Shaw saw his first action of the season against Miami, as did DT Jaden McKenzie, who missed time with an injury earlier in the fall.
LB Tommy Eichenberg also made a cameo on defense at the end of the Miami game, but was not listed on the official participation report.
The joys of doing a “which freshmen have played?” piece: Tommy Eichenberg was not on the official participation report, but he was on the field against Miami. pic.twitter.com/xN8as1wTGg
— Tom Orr (@TomOrr4) September 24, 2019
Four freshmen have yet to see the field. SAF Ronnie Hickman is still out with an injury, while TE Cormontae Hamilton was dressed for the first time this season for the Miami game after recovering from an injury of his own.
OL Ryan Jacoby and Enokk Vimahi have not appeared in a game yet, either.
| Name | FAU | UC | IU | MU | UNL | MSU | NW | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Harrison | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 5+ |
| Garrett Wilson | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | 5+ |
| Harry Miller | X | X | X | X | X | 5+ | ||
| Marcus Crowley | X | X | X | X | X | X | 5+ | |
| Craig Young | X | X | X | X | X | X | 5+ | |
| Jameson Williams | X | X | X | X | X | X | 5+ | |
| Dawand Jones | X | X | X | 3 | ||||
| Steele Chambers | X | X | X | 3 | ||||
| Cade Stover | X | X | 2 | |||||
| Noah Potter | X | X | 2 | |||||
| Bryson Shaw | X | 1 | ||||||
| Jaden McKenzie | X | 1 | ||||||
| Tommy Eichenberg | X | 1 | ||||||
| Ronnie Hickman | 0 | |||||||
| Enokk Vimahi | 0 | |||||||
| Ryan Jacoby | 0 | |||||||
| Cormontae Hamilton | 0 |