Honestly, if you look back at the Ohio State football roster 2016, it feels like a fever dream of talent. We’re talking about a team that replaced 16 starters from the previous year—including superstars like Ezekiel Elliott and Joey Bosa—and somehow still made the College Football Playoff. It shouldn't have worked. Most programs would’ve taken a "rebuilding year" mulligan, but Urban Meyer’s squad just reloaded with future NFL Pro Bowlers.
People forget how young this team was. It was basically a bunch of sophomores and redshirt freshmen running around the Shoe, yet they walked into Norman, Oklahoma, and absolutely dismantled the Sooners early in the season. That game was the "oh, they're actually good" moment for the rest of the country.
The Stars Who Defined the 2016 Season
The offensive identity centered around J.T. Barrett, but the real magic came from the versatility of the roster. You've got to remember that this was the year of Curtis Samuel. He was the only player in the country with over 700 rushing yards and 700 receiving yards. That stat is still wild to think about.
Samuel wasn’t just a "speed guy." He was the entire engine of the offense. Whenever things got stagnant, Meyer just gave the ball to #4. His walk-off touchdown in "The Game" against Michigan is probably the most iconic moment in the history of that rivalry, depending on which side of the Toledo Strip you live on.
Then there was the defense. Malik Hooker came out of nowhere. Seriously. Before the 2016 season, he was a name on a depth chart that only the die-hards knew. By the end of the year, he was a unanimous All-American with seven interceptions, three of which he took back to the house. His range was so ridiculous that quarterbacks just stopped throwing to the middle of the field.
Key Offensive Playmakers
- J.T. Barrett (QB): The leader. He threw for 2,555 yards and 24 touchdowns while adding 845 yards on the ground.
- Mike Weber (RB): He had the impossible task of following Zeke and still managed to crack the 1,000-yard mark.
- Noah Brown (WR): Remember that four-touchdown game against Oklahoma? The "pinning the ball against the defender's back" catch? That was 2016.
- Pat Elflein (C): The veteran. He won the Rimington Trophy and kept that young offensive line from falling apart.
A Defense Built on "Basic" Concepts
Greg Schiano arrived as the co-defensive coordinator that year, and he brought a simplified, aggressive press-man coverage style. It worked because the Ohio State football roster 2016 was loaded with elite secondary talent.
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Think about the secondary starters: Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Malik Hooker, and Damon Webb. Oh, and Denzel Ward was the "third" corner. That’s essentially four first-round picks playing at the same time. They were so fast that they could afford to be aggressive at the line of scrimmage.
Raekwon McMillan anchored the middle. He was the "quarterback" of the defense, finished with 102 tackles, and basically lived in the gaps. Alongside him, Jerome Baker was the breakout star at linebacker, especially after that pick-six against Oklahoma.
Defensive Leaders
- Raekwon McMillan: 102 total tackles, 7 tackles for loss.
- Malik Hooker: 7 interceptions, 3 TDs, 74 tackles.
- Tyquan Lewis: The Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year. He was a problem for every left tackle in the conference.
- Marshon Lattimore: 4 interceptions and shutdown coverage all season.
Why the 2016 Season Was Bittersweet
Look, we have to talk about the ending. You can't mention the 2016 roster without mentioning the 31-0 loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. It’s the elephant in the room.
The roster was talented enough to get there, but the passing game became incredibly predictable toward the end of the year. The offense struggled to stretch the field, and a defense that had carried them all season finally broke under the pressure of Deshaun Watson.
It was a weird ending to a season that included a double-overtime win over Michigan and a dominant run through the Big Ten. Many fans still argue that if the offense had just a little more verticality, that roster could have won it all.
The NFL Impact of the 2016 Buckeyes
If you want to know how good this group actually was, just look at the 2017 and 2018 NFL Drafts. The sheer number of starters from this specific 2016 team who went on to become high-level NFL players is staggering.
- Marshon Lattimore (Pro Bowler)
- Malik Hooker (First Rounder)
- Gareon Conley (First Rounder)
- Curtis Samuel (Long-time NFL starter)
- Pat Elflein (NFL starter)
- Raekwon McMillan (NFL starter)
Even the backups were future stars. Joe Burrow was on this roster. So was Dwayne Haskins. The quarterback room alone in 2016 was arguably the greatest in college football history, even if we didn't know it yet.
Basically, the 2016 season proved that Urban Meyer's recruiting machine was at its peak. They lost a historic amount of talent to the draft and replaced it with a roster that went 11-2 and finished ranked #6 in the nation. It was a bridge year that felt like a championship run.
If you’re looking to track down specific game film or deeper stats on these players, the best move is to check the official Ohio State Athletics archives or the Big Ten Network's classic game rotations. Watching Samuel and Hooker in their prime is still a masterclass in modern college football.