11 other Ohio State players to keep an eye on this season
· Yahoo Sports
Every year, from the start of preseason camp until the first game of the season, the LGHL staff writes an article about a different Ohio State player that fans should be familiar with as the season approaches. These Player to Watch articles are released daily and highlight a Buckeye who could have an important role to play this season, be they a returning All-American, incoming true freshman, or a transfer addition. But when you have a roster as absurdly deep and talented as the one Ryan Day and Co. have assembled in Columbus, you run out of days long before you run out of players worthy of spotlighting.
So, before the season officially gets underway in just a few hours, I wanted to make sure that we at least took a little time to introduce you to 11 more Buckeyes who didn’t get their own individual “Player to Watch” article, but still deserve to be on your radar.
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Some of these guys will be starters, others will be prominent members of the rotation, and a few might spend most of the season waiting for an opportunity that never fully arrives. But every single one of them has a realistic path toward helping Ohio State this fall, and with the Buckeyes once again entering the season with national championship expectations, the difference between a really good roster and a title-winning one can often be found well beyond the first 22 names on the depth chart.
Jay Timmons | Defensive back
Of everyone on this list, Jay Timmons is probably the biggest oversight from our month-long series, because the true freshman isn’t just preparing to contribute immediately; he is going to be a Day 1 starter for the Buckeyes. But in our defense, we thought he would be a depth piece and eventual contributor, as most true freshmen are, but catapulting to the starting lineup like this is insanely impressive.
Timmons arrived in Columbus as one of the most highly regarded cornerbacks in the 2026 class. Rivals ranked him as the No. 1 cornerback in the country, while 247Sports had him as a top-50 overall prospect. Still, there is a rather significant difference between being an elite high school corner and immediately playing meaningful snaps at Ohio State. Timmons has apparently decided that this distinction does not apply to him.
Throughout preseason camp, he worked with the first-team defense at nickel, impressing teammates enough that this week, Devin Sanchez described the freshman as someone who has no problem talking trash to veterans and then backing it up on the field. His emergence has even helped reshape Ohio State’s secondary, with Earl Little Jr. moving into a more traditional safety role while Timmons handles the slot.
As we saw with Lorenzo Styles Jr. last season, playing nickel in Matt Patricia’s defense requires considerably more than covering the third-best receiver. Timmons will have to defend the run, blitz, communicate, and occasionally deal with considerably bigger players working across the middle. Yet everything we have heard suggests he is ready for that responsibility.
If Timmons is as good as advertised — and the early evidence suggests that he just might be — the Buckeyes could have found another long-term star before he has even played his first collegiate snap. No matter how good Timmons proves to be, he will still have a lot to learn about playing college football, especially given OSU’s rigorous schedule. So I am not anticipating him being a perfect, finished product, but as long as he brings the talent and instinct that he apparently has since arriving on campus, we very well could be looking at the next B.I.A. superstar.
Beau Atkinson | Defensive end
I have written a lot this offseason about my uncertainty surrounding Ohio State’s defensive line, but that uncertainty has more to do with figuring out exactly how the pieces fit together than worrying about whether there are enough talented pieces.
At the start of the season, it appears that Beau Atkinson will slot in on one side of the defensive line opposite Kenyatta Jackson Jr. The fifth-year defensive end transferred from North Carolina before last season after putting together a breakout 2024 campaign in Chapel Hill, recording 35 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. His first season in Columbus, however, was considerably quieter — 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack — but there were only so many snaps available behind an experienced defensive front.
Now, that equation has changed dramatically. With Kayden McDonald, Caden Curry, and Tywone Malone Jr. gone, Larry Johnson has the opportunity to get a lot of guys in across the defensive line, especially since I’m not sure that — aside from Jackson — any of them have yet proven to be the type of players who you don’t want to take off the field.
At 6-foot-6 and 260 pounds, Atkinson has spent much of preseason camp taking first-team reps opposite Jackson and enters the season as a favorite to start. The encouraging thing is that we don’t need to project what Atkinson might become; we have already seen him be a disruptive Power 4 defensive end.
If he can rediscover something close to his North Carolina form while benefiting from another year in Johnson’s program, Ohio State could go from wondering how it will replace its defensive-line production to having a proven veteran edge rusher creating problems opposite Jackson.
In fairness, I am not incredibly high on Atkinson. I think it will be another transfer defensive end who will end up making a splash this season, but more on him… well, next.
Qua Russaw | Defensive end
Qua Russaw is one of the more intriguing additions to Ohio State’s defense because he gives Matt Patricia and Larry Johnson something a little different from the typical Buckeye defensive end.
The Alabama transfer stands 6-foot-2 and 244 pounds and brings both experience and versatility. Russaw appeared in nine games for the Crimson Tide last season, starting three, and Johnson has praised his strength, explosiveness, speed, and ability to line up both as a traditional end and in a hybrid, stand-up position.
That versatility is what makes him especially interesting, and I think that he is not only going to make the most of his opportunities, but that he is going to grab them and run with them. In the aforementioned predictions article, I took Russaw to lead the team in sacks with 12.
Atkinson might be the more conventional defensive end opposite Jackson, but Russaw gives Patricia the ability to change the look of the front without necessarily changing personnel. He can rush from the edge, stand up, move around before the snap, and create uncertainty for opposing offenses.
I think that given the level of competition that the Buckeyes will face this season, having a guy who has the potential dynamism of Russaw, who is tough to pin down for opposing offensive coordinators, can go a long way against the top offensive lines in the country.
Zion Grady | Defensive end
If you are searching for a younger defensive lineman capable of making the traditional Year 1-to-Year 2 leap, Zion Grady should be very high on the list.
The sophomore got onto the field for 108 snaps across 10 games as a freshman, finishing with 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, and a sack. More importantly, by the second half of the season, he had established himself as one of Ohio State’s top rotational defensive ends.
The fact that L.J. trusted a true freshman enough to put him into the rotation is meaningful in itself. Now Grady — who is 6-foot-4 and 262 pounds — is a year older and stronger, and playing at a position where Ohio State wants to create considerably more depth. He is expected to back up Kenyatta Jackson Jr., but with Johnson talking about getting back to a deeper rotation, second-string shouldn’t mean disappearing for entire games at a time.
The Buckeyes don’t need Grady to become an All-American, at least not this season. If he can simply turn last season’s flashes into consistent pressure off the edge, Ohio State suddenly has another defensive end it can confidently put on the field without much drop-off, and then build around for 2027.
Given his pedigree and what he already showed as a freshman, I wouldn’t be surprised if his role grows substantially as the season goes along.
Cam Calhoun | Cornerback
Cam Calhoun has taken one of the stranger paths imaginable to eventually becoming a Buckeye. The Cincinnati native committed to Michigan while visiting Ohio Stadium for The Game in 2022, then went from Ann Arbor to Utah to Alabama before eventually ending up back in The Horseshoe, this time as a Buckeye. Welcome to the modern era of College football.
Calhoun appeared in 14 games for Alabama last season and arrives with legitimate Power 4 experience. He isn’t likely to start ahead of Devin Sanchez or Jermaine Mathews Jr., but he gives Ohio State an experienced third or fourth corner who can step onto the field without the entire defense having to change. On a team with championship expectations, that kind of depth matters.
Kyle Parker | Wide receiver
If Kyle Parker were playing for almost any other program in the country, he almost certainly would be one of the most talked-about receivers in whatever conference he is in.
The LSU transfer caught 31 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns last season, including five starts, before coming to Ohio State. The problem — if having too many good receivers qualifies as a problem — is that Jeremiah Smith, Brandon Inniss, Chris Henry Jr., Devin McQuinn, and Brock Boyd are all competing for touches.
Parker still gives Ohio State an experienced SEC receiver who can be trusted if his number is called, and he could also factor into the return game. He might not put up huge numbers, but Arthur Smith should be able to find situations where that experience and athleticism are useful.
Ja’Kobi Jackson | Running back
It is almost unfair to describe Ja’Kobi Jackson as merely a depth running back considering how much football he has already played. Jackson is entering his seventh season in college football and rushed for 509 yards and seven touchdowns in his last fully healthy season as a Florida Gator.
At Ohio State, he enters behind Bo Jackson and Isaiah West, but that veteran experience is exactly what makes him valuable in such a young running back room that also includes Legend Bey and Turbo Rogers.
Jackson gives Carlos Locklyn a reliable option in pass protection, short-yardage situations, and games where Ohio State wants to distribute carries. You hope the Buckeyes never need him to become the featured back, but he is more than capable of handling a larger role if circumstances demand it.
Tarvos “TJ” Alford | Linebacker
TJ Alford quietly got useful experience as a freshman, appearing in 11 games and playing 139 snaps between linebacker and special teams.
The former top-100 prospect now enters his sophomore season behind Payton Pierce at Mike linebacker and figures to remain part of the broader linebacker rotation while continuing to contribute on special teams. His biggest opportunity this season might simply be proving that he can be trusted with increasingly meaningful defensive snaps, positioning himself for a much larger role in 2027.
Garrett Stover | Linebacker
Buckeye legacy Garrett Stover is presumably behind Pierce and Alford at Mike, and a bit buried in perhaps Ohio State’s deepest position room. However, his name continues to come up regularly, much like his former Buckeye tight end cousin Cade’s did.
The former four-star in-state prospect played primarily on special teams last season and was named an Iron Buckeye this offseason. Significant defensive snaps could still be difficult to find, but Stover should remain a core special teams contributor while continuing to develop behind Pierce, Alford, Christian Alliegro, Riley Pettijohn, and the rest of the stacked LB room.
Khary Wilder | Defensive end
Of Ohio State’s younger defensive ends, Khary Wilder might be one of the most intriguing long-term options. The 6-foot-4, 257-pound freshman arrived as a top-50 national prospect after recording 29 sacks in high school. Ohio State has enough veteran depth that Wilder shouldn’t be forced into a major role immediately, but if he can earn rotational snaps as the season progresses, that would be an encouraging sign for the future.
Anything substantial he gives the Buckeyes in 2026 is probably a bonus. The upside, though, is obvious.
Luke Fahey | Quarterback
Finally, Luke Fahey is probably the player on this list Ohio State fans should hope they only see late in comfortable wins. The three-star freshman quarterback threw for more than 7,000 yards during his high school career and gives the Buckeyes another talented developmental option behind Julian Sayin and the more experienced quarterbacks in the room.
Heading into preseason camp, the assumption was that Tavian St. Clair would be the default backup quarterback, but the word out of the Woody is that he has struggled a bit at times and that the freshman Fahey is looking surprisingly competent for someone who has never taken a collegiate snap.
I would still expect that St. Clair will be QB2 whenever Ryan Day decides to get Sayin out of the game, but if Fahey is truly pushing for backup snaps, that can only be good for the strength and depth of the quarterback room.