If you want to talk about "reloading" instead of "rebuilding," the ohio state buckeyes football roster 2016 is basically the textbook definition.
I remember the vibe going into that season. It was weird. The year before, in 2015, the Buckeyes had one of the most talented rosters in the history of college football—literally a squad full of first-round NFL draft picks—but they somehow missed the playoff because of a rain-soaked loss to Michigan State where they forgot to feed Ezekiel Elliott the ball.
Then came the exodus.
Twelve players were taken in the 2016 NFL Draft. Five went in the first round. Urban Meyer was staring at a depth chart that looked like a ghost town. Honestly, most programs would have taken a massive step back, but the 2016 roster became one of the youngest and most surprisingly lethal groups in the country.
The Quarterback Room and the Offensive Spark
It’s easy to forget now, but J.T. Barrett was the absolute glue holding this thing together. People used to joke that he was 40 years old and had been at Ohio State since the Woody Hayes era, but in 2016, he was a redshirt junior and the unquestioned leader.
Barrett wasn't a "wow" guy with his arm, but his efficiency was ridiculous. He threw for 2,555 yards and 24 touchdowns, while adding another nine scores on the ground. But the real fun was looking at the guys backing him up. Check out these names on the 2016 bench:
- Joe Burrow: A redshirt freshman who eventually became, well, Joe Shiesty.
- Dwayne Haskins: A true freshman who was just starting to learn the system.
Imagine being a defensive coordinator knowing if you knocked out the starter, you might have to deal with a future Heisman winner or a first-round pick anyway.
The Curtis Samuel Factor
If J.T. Barrett was the brain of the offense, Curtis Samuel was the heart, the lungs, and the legs. He was the only player in the country that year to have over 700 yards rushing and 700 yards receiving.
Urban Meyer used him as an "H-Back," which is basically a fancy way of saying "get him the ball and get out of the way." He was a nightmare matchup. If you put a linebacker on him, he'd blow past them. If you put a corner on him, he’d just out-muscle them in the flat.
And then there was Mike Weber. Filling Zeke Elliott’s shoes is an impossible task, but as a freshman, Weber put up 1,096 yards. He was a bowling ball. He didn't have Zeke’s top-end speed, but he was frustratingly hard to bring down on first contact.
A Defense That Just Kept Scoring
The ohio state buckeyes football roster 2016 defense was, frankly, terrifying.
Greg Schiano had just come in as the co-defensive coordinator to work alongside Luke Fickell, and they turned the secondary into a "no-fly zone." This was the year of Malik Hooker. If the ball was in the air, it belonged to him. He had seven interceptions, and it felt like he returned half of them for touchdowns.
The roster depth in the secondary was actually stupid. You had:
- Marshon Lattimore: A future NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
- Gareon Conley: A lockdown corner who would also go in the first round.
- Denzel Ward: Just a sophomore at the time, rotating in and looking like a track star in pads.
Up front, a kid named Nick Bosa was a true freshman. He wasn't even a starter yet because the line was so deep with guys like Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard, but every time Nick stepped on the field, you could see he was different. He had that same "twitch" his brother Joey had, maybe even more.
The Linebacker Core
Raekwon McMillan was the man in the middle. He was the signal-caller, the guy with the high football IQ who made sure everyone was lined up. Jerome Baker was the "speed" guy next to him. If you remember the Oklahoma game in Norman—the one where the Buckeyes basically announced to the world they were back—Baker’s pick-six was the moment the momentum shifted for the entire season.
Why the Penn State Loss Was a Fluke (Sort Of)
You can't talk about the 2016 roster without talking about Beaver Stadium.
Ohio State was ranked No. 2. They were rolling. They dominated most of that game against Penn State, but the roster’s youth finally showed up on special teams. A blocked field goal returned for a touchdown is a freak play. It happens.
But looking back at the roster, that loss was the best thing that could have happened to them. It woke them up. They went on a tear after that, absolutely obliterating Nebraska 62-3 and Maryland by the same score. It was like they decided to take out their frustration on the rest of the Big Ten.
That Michigan Game (The Spot)
Everything about the ohio state buckeyes football roster 2016 comes down to one play against Michigan.
Fourth and one. Double overtime. J.T. Barrett keeps the ball.
Whether you think he got the first down or not depends entirely on which side of the Toledo Strip you live on, but the roster's "will to win" was on full display there. Curtis Samuel’s game-winning touchdown run on the very next play is etched into Buckeyes lore forever.
That win vaulted a team that didn't even win its own division into the College Football Playoff. It was controversial, sure. Penn State won the Big Ten, but the selection committee looked at the Buckeyes' roster and their wins over top-10 teams (Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan) and realized they couldn't leave them out.
The NFL Legacy of the 2016 Group
When you look at this roster through the lens of history, it’s one of the most successful "pro factories" ever.
It's not just that they were good in college; it's that they became the stars of the NFL. Michael Jordan (the offensive lineman), Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin—yes, "Scary Terry" was on this team! He was mostly a special teams ace and a rotational receiver back then, which tells you everything you need to know about the depth.
| Position | Key 2016 Roster Member | Future NFL Impact |
|---|---|---|
| CB | Marshon Lattimore | Pro Bowler, Saints legend |
| WR | Terry McLaurin | 1,000-yard receiver in DC |
| DE | Nick Bosa | NFL Defensive Player of the Year |
| QB | Joe Burrow | Super Bowl starter, Heisman winner |
| S | Malik Hooker | First-round ball hawk |
| OC | Pat Elflein | Rimington Trophy winner, NFL starter |
What We Get Wrong About the 2016 Team
Most people remember the end—the 31-0 loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.
It was ugly. It was the first time an Urban Meyer-coached team had ever been shut out. But that loss doesn't define the roster; it defined the offensive coaching struggles that year. The Buckeyes had a hard time stretching the field vertically, which eventually led to Urban hiring Ryan Day.
But if you judge the 2016 roster solely by the Clemson game, you’re missing the forest for the trees. This was a team that replaced 16 starters and still finished 11-2 with a win over their biggest rival and a trip to the Final Four.
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Actionable Insights for Fans and Historians
If you’re looking to truly understand the impact of the ohio state buckeyes football roster 2016, you should:
- Watch the 2016 Oklahoma game film: It shows the raw potential of the young roster before the grind of the Big Ten season slowed them down.
- Track the "Development Chain": Look at how players like Jerome Baker and Dre'Mont Jones moved from rotational players in 2016 to superstars in 2017 and 2018.
- Study the H-Back position: If you’re a coach or a football nerd, analyzing how Curtis Samuel was used in 2016 provides a blueprint for modern "positionless" football.
The 2016 Buckeyes weren't perfect, but they were a bridge between the 2014 championship era and the high-flying Ryan Day era. They proved that at Ohio State, you don't rebuild. You just wait for the next first-rounder to step up.