The 1971 season was about change. Woody Hayes needed to replace 17 starters and AstroTurf replaced the grass field at Ohio Stadium.
Technically, Hayes needed to find 18 new starters because he lost guard John Hicks for the season to a knee injury. Don Lamka and John Bledsoe locked down two of the 18 spots at quarterback and fullback.
Lamka won the battle for the quarterback position that Rex Kern and Ron Maciejowski vacated, a somewhat surprising move because he previously played on defense.