Ohio State football final 2023 season grades: Assessing each of the Buckeyes' positions

Ohio State ended its football season in the Cotton Bowl with a 14-3 defeat to Missouri on Dec. 29.

It was a disappointing finish for the Buckeyes, who were left stumbling into the offseason on a two-game losing streak after already falling short of reaching the College Football Playoff earlier in the month.

Despite featuring one of the nation’s top defenses, regression on offense and continued mistakes on special teams cost them.

To assess a handful of areas of the Buckeyes’ performance from 2023, here are position-by-position grades:

Quarterback

Grade: B

After edging out Devin Brown in a tight competition that spilled over into September, Kyle McCord was unable to measure up to his predecessors, a trio of prolific passers who were all Heisman Trophy finalists, totaling the fewest touchdowns by a starting quarterback since Ryan Day joined the staff in 2017. Slow starts and inconsistent stretches plagued McCord, who often needed time to find a rhythm. But he was still among the more efficient signal callers in the Football Bowl Subdivision as only 13 of them posted a higher passer rating. His composure leading a late comeback in a win at Notre Dame also drew deserved plaudits.

Running back

Grade: B-

TreVeyon Henderson bounced back after torn ligaments and a broken bone in his left foot limited him as a sophomore the previous year and was as explosive as any back in the Big Ten, tied with Purdue’s Tyrone Tracy Jr. with 10 runs of at least 20 yards, the most in the conference. But it was also the second straight season in which the backfield was unable to produce a 1,000-yard rusher and the overall production from the position group remained down as the Buckeyes finished with their fewest net rushing yards since 2004.

Wide receiver

Grade: A-

There wasn’t another playmaker as critical to the Buckeyes as Marvin Harrison Jr., who carried their offense even as he seemingly drew more attention from defenses in pass coverage. He won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver as a result. But the rest of the receiving corps wasn’t as productive as the previous fall. Emeka Egbuka, a 1,000-yard receiver as a sophomore, missed three games after injuring his left ankle and finished with 41 receptions for 515 yards and four touchdowns. Julian Fleming, the other starting wideout, also did not catch a touchdown after scoring six in 2022.

Tight end

Grade: B+

Not only did Cade Stover provide McCord with a reliable security blanket, but also a major weapon. He was Ohio State’s most productive pass-catching tight end in four decades and the second-leading receiver after Harrison. But the unit’s blocking seemed to suffer without Mitch Rossi after the veteran exhausted his eligibility in 2022, contributing to the Buckeyes’ running game woes.

More: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy

Offensive line

Grade: C

The losses of All-American tackles Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones and center Luke Wypler left a significant rebuilding job in the trenches. Inevitable growing pains with pass protection and run blocking followed. The Buckeyes allowed nearly twice as many sacks from the previous year, increasing from 12 to 23. McCord faced pressure on a slightly higher percentage of his dropbacks at 24.9% than Stroud had at 23.4% in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus data. They also ranked No. 55 in the Football Bowl Subdivision in adjusted line yards, down from No. 8 the year earlier, a metric used by CollegeFootballData.com to measure the number of rushing yards attributed to the line. The unit was not as bad as it looked in the Cotton Bowl, but it remained Ohio State’s biggest weakness.

Defensive line

Grade: A-

The Buckeyes were not always flashy up front, ranking No. 79 in front seven havoc by CollegeFootballData.com, the percentage of plays in which they forced a fumble, pass breakup or tackle for loss, and No. 49 in sack percentage. But the line kept them as one of the nation’s better run-stuffing units and was the catalyst for their win over Penn State in October, leaving quarterback Drew Allar under pressure on nearly half of his dropbacks and sacking him four times. It also improved down the stretch, led by Jack Sawyer who had five of his six sacks in the last three games during a late surge.

Linebacker

Grade: B+

The bedrock of the revamp of the defense under Jim Knowles the last two years was Tommy Eichenberg, the Big Ten linebacker of the year. He maintained a heavy share of pre-snap responsibilities as the middle linebacker and was among Ohio State’s top tacklers, often shooting gaps to chase down running backs. But he could be exploited by quarterbacks in pass coverage. When targeted 24 times, he allowed 18 catches for 207 yards, per PFF. Steele Chambers, who formed the prolific tandem with Eichenberg, also gave up 30 passes on 36 targets for 224 yards.

Defensive back

Grade: A

After it was a liability at times in the previous season, the secondary was a strength. The Buckeyes led the FBS in pass defense, giving up only 5 yards per pass attempt, and cut down on busts in coverage that led them to surrendering explosive plays late in 2022, surrendering only pass longer than 40 yards. No defense allowed fewer. It helped that Denzel Burke reestablished himself as a shutdown cornerback and others stepped up from Mississippi transfer corner Davison Igbinosun and Jordan Hancock, who rotated between corner and nickel safety. Sonny Styles also emerged as a sophomore and filled multiple safety spots following Lathan Ransom's season-ending foot injury.

Special teams

Grade: D

Repeated gaffes were a major issue on special teams and drew repeated questions throughout the season. There was a miscommunication that resulted in a botched fake punt attempt at Rutgers and a snap that slipped to the upback against Maryland.  On a return against Penn State, a ball bounced off Lorenzo Styles Jr. for a turnover. The Buckeyes committed 10 accepted penalties between punt coverage and returns, including three in the Cotton Bowl. Even when there were no flags, no Big Ten team allowed more yards on average on punt returns than Ohio State. Kicker Jayden Fielding and punter Jesse Mirco were dependable, but other continued mistakes defined the overall performance.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch and can be reached at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football position-by-by grades from 2023 season