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Ohio State football: 3 Buckeyes that must step up to win Big Ten in 2021

By Shayne Nissen

Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Sevyn Banks (7) during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Sevyn Banks (7) during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports /
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Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Sevyn Banks (7) picks up the fumble and returns it for the touchdown during the third quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Sevyn Banks (7) picks up the fumble and returns it for the touchdown during the third quarter against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports /

If Ohio State football is going to repeat as Big Ten champs and make the College Football Playoff, it’s going to need these three players to have breakout seasons.

Ohio State is going to be keeping any secrets from anyone headed into the 2021-2022 college football season.

They are going to be really good. Again.

But as with every power football program, it isn’t very often that you return a veteran team. Most years are spent reloading and trying to develop the next NFL stars while trying to win championships.

That will be the case for the Buckeyes this season. They’ll replace key players to their national championship run last season at both quarterback and running back. They will also replace a ton of key players on defense, as they only see five returning starters from last season.

So who will be the players that have to step up for the Buckeyes to continue their run of dominance in the Big Ten and win their fifth-straight Big Ten title?

Ohio State looks to see key defensive players improve after a below-average season on that side of the ball last year.

3. Sevyn Banks

Sevyn Banks will be the next man up for an Ohio State secondary that seemingly puts a player into the NFL every single year.

Shaun Wade may not have had his best season last year for the Buckeyes, but he is off to the NFL and it is Banks’s turn to take the reigns of a secondary that underperformed last season.

Last year, Ohio State gave up an average of 303.6 passing yards per game, placing them at No. 122 of 130 FBS teams in the country. It wasn’t a pretty season for the secondary and that showed in their final game of the season against Alabama for the national championship.

Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones went 36-for-46 through the air and threw for 464 yards and three touchdowns. Heisman winner DeVontae Smith caught 12 passes for 215 yards and three touchdowns, with most of those stats coming in the first half.

It wasn’t a pretty sight for the Buckeyes and former secondary coach for the Buckeyes turned defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs. But it showed a glaring need for improvement, and that is exactly what Sevyn Banks and the Buckeyes will be looking to do this season.

Banks will be the feature cornerback for this team, taking the place of names like Jeffery Okudah, Marshon Lattimore and Denzel Ward. For this secondary to succeed, it will be a complete unit effort, but it will all start with him and how he defends the opposing team’s best receiver.

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