Let’s forget, for a moment, about the established stars and returning vets on Ryan Day's Ohio State roster who played major roles for the Buckeyes last season and will do so again in 2021.
Let us also put aside the promising true freshman prospects who could emerge as future standouts in the Big Ten conference with breakout performances during the forthcoming season.
Instead, as Ohio State’s season opener at Minnesota looms just five days away, we’re looking into a group of Buckeyes at several positions on both sides of the ball who have been around but are expected to step into considerably larger roles for the first time in 2021.