Nine Buckeyes leave Ohio State early for 2016 NFL Draft

With nine Ohio State players with remaining eligibility leaving early and declaring for the NFL Draft, head coach Urban Meyer and company are going to have plenty of work to do this offseason, both on the recruiting trail and with his young but talented new-look squad. Here are the nine players that are leaving Columbus early for the NFL:

• Cornerback Eli Apple
• Safety Vonn Bell
• Defensive end Joey Bosa
• Running back Ezekiel Elliott
• Quarterback Cardale Jones
• Linebacker Darron Lee
• Wide Receiver Jalin Marshall
• Safety Tyvis Powell
• Wide Receiver Michael Thomas

Obviously, nine players leaving school early and declaring for the draft is a lot for any school in just one year. Let’s look in depth at each of the early enrollees, in alphabetical order.

The team’s top cornerback in 2015, Eli Apple blossomed into quite a star for the Bucks defense following the departure of cornerback Doran Grant. In his two seasons in Columbus, the redshirt sophomore finished with 86 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, and 10 pass breakups. Apple also earned the Defensive Most Valuable Player for his five-tackle, one pass-breakup performance in the Buckeyes Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame.

When you think quarterback the offensive side of the ball generally comes to mind, but safety Vonn Bell was the quarterback of the Silver Bullets. In three years, he finished his Buckeye career with 176 tackles, nine interceptions (one pick-six), and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. During his junior campaign, Bell tallied 65 tackles en route to an All-America selection.

Joey Bosa, who all but declared for the draft before the Fiesta Bowl (it was confirmed by Meyer just before the game), will undoubtedly be a top-five pick. Although he was ejected from the Fiesta Bowl for a questionable targeting penalty, the junior was one of the best defensive ends to ever don an Ohio State jersey. While fighting through double- and triple-teams, the All-American finished the 2015 season with 47 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, five sacks, and one very impressive interception in his final rivalry game against that team up north. In his three years at Ohio State, the 6-foot-6, 275-pound All-American accumulated 146 tackles, 50.5 tackles for loss, 26 sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries (both returned for touchdowns), and that one superb interception.

Like Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott also declared before the Fiesta Bowl. The junior totaled 289 carries for 1,821 yards and 23 touchdowns during his final season in Columbus, while also snagging 27 catches for 206 yards. While Zeke dominated during the regular season, he was in full-on Beast Mode in Ohio State’s postseason games. In four career bowl and playoff games, No. 15 ran for 845 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns. During his three years as a Buckeye, Elliott racked up 3,961 yards and 43 touchdowns on 592 carries, while also catching 58 passes for 449 yards and a touchdown. He ran for over 100 yards in 15 consecutive games between his sophomore and junior seasons well. In addition to filling up the stat sheet, Zeke was also one of the best blocking running backs in the country and had all the intangibles as well.

It’s amazing what Cardale Jones went through at Ohio State. He went from being a third-string quarterback with no chance of starting to leading the Buckeyes to their three biggest wins of 2014 and to winning the inaugural College Football Playoff Championship. The junior was 11-0 as a starter in 2014 but was still knocked out of the QB1 role by J.T. Barrett. Even though he didn’t play much in 2015, Jones completed 109-of-175 passes for 1,459 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions while rushing for 193 yards and two touchdowns. He totaled 2,322 yards, 15 touchdowns, and seven interceptions while rushing for 617 yards and four touchdowns in his three years wearing scarlet and gray.

A quarterback in high school, Darron Lee was nothing short of impressive as a linebacker during the two seasons that he played at Ohio State. He not only had tremendous speed, but the redshirt junior was great in pass coverage and always had a nose for the ball. In 28 career games, Lee totaled 146 tackles, 11 sacks, 27 tackles for loss, three interceptions, one touchdown, five pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. In his final season as a Buckeye, he had 66 tackles, one interception (a pick-six), two pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.

Jalin Marshall didn’t have the gaudiest stats, but the wide receiver had the speed and quickness and made anyone miss when he wanted to. The redshirt sophomore was a hybrid receiver in Urban Meyer’s offense and also handled punt returns. During his junior campaign, he finished with 36 catches for 477 yards, and five touchdowns.

Known as Cardale Jones’ roommate and “son,” Tyvis Powell co-piloted the defensive backfield along with Vonn Bell. In his short career in Columbus, he had 197 tackles, nine pass breakups, and eight interceptions, while making the opponent’s wide receiver have a fire tough time. During the 2014 championship season, he accumulated 76 tackles, fourth most on the team.

The ninth and final Buckeye to be an early enrollee for the draft is Michael Thomas. He didn’t have burning top-end speed or the best numbers, but Thomas was by far Ohio State’s top target over the past two years. He pulled in 17 touchdowns and had 1,602 receiving yards in his three years as a Buckeye. 2014 was his best season, when as a junior he had 56 catches for 781 yards and nine touchdowns. To make up for his speed, No. 83 had tremendous route-running skills, which led to wide-open passes downfield.

The 2016 NFL Draft is set to start on April 28 in Chicago.