Five Buckeyes Primed For Big Step In 2025

The Buckeyes will open their season next month, and with that opening will come a new batch of Ohio State stars. A year ago it was Jeremiah Smith, Will Howard, Caleb Downs, and others etching their names into OSU lore.

This will happen again, but with different players. The names may be familiar, but their impact is going to be greater. Here are five Buckeyes about to take a big step forward for themselves and their team.

Brandon Inniss | Junior | Receiver

Brandon Inniss has 15 receptions in his two-year career, with 14 of those coming last year as Emeka Egbuka’s backup. With Egbuka off to the NFL, the snaps for Inniss are going to increase greatly. The starting slot receiver for the Buckeyes since Ryan Day arrived in 2017 has averaged 65 receptions for 911 yards and eight touchdowns — and that’s with injuries and COVID limiting those numbers a tad. Parris Campbell, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Emeka Egbuka (twice) had 1,000-yard seasons out of the slot. Brandon Inniss could become the next.

James Peoples | Sophomore | Running Back

James Peoples carried the ball in eight games last year as the Buckeyes’ No. 3 running back. There just weren’t a lot of carries last year after Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, and Will Howard got done with things. Peoples finished the 2024 season with 49 rushes for 197 yards (4.0 ypc) and two touchdowns. Most of Peoples’ carries (35) came over the first five games, including career highs of 10 carries and 51 yards in week two against Western Michigan. This year, 10 carries for 51 yards is going to be a decent first half for Peoples. The Buckeyes will have a new starting running back this season, which generally brings with it at least a thousand yards rushing and a dozen touchdowns.

Julian Sayin | Redshirt Freshman | Quarterback

It has been 10 years since an Ohio State quarterback didn’t earn a spot on any of the three All-Big Ten teams. It has been a few years, however, since the Buckeyes have had a First-Team All-Big Ten quarterback (CJ Stroud, 2022). Assuming Julian Sayin wins the job, he’s going to have a decent shot to get back to the top of the B1G board. First-time starting quarterbacks under Ryan Day have averaged 3,927 yards, 40 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Sayin certainly has the weapons to make those numbers happen, but it would be more fair to expect him to end up somewhere between those numbers and Kyle McCord’s 3,170/24/6 in 2023. Regardless, it’s going to be a big step up from the 5-of-12 passing for 84 yards and a touchdown last year as a true freshman.

Kenyatta Jackson | Fourth-Year Junior | Defensive End

In his first three years with the Buckeyes, Kenyatta Jackson has compiled 25 career tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, and 3.0 sacks. He should hit those numbers in the first half of the season this year now that Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau are no longer standing in his way. Even as a key reserve and regular member of the rotation last year, Jackson’s 16 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks should fall far short of his production this year as a full-time starter.

Eddrick Houston | Sophomore | Defensive Tackle

Eddrick Houston’s migration to Tyleik Williams’ backup last year as a true freshman may be the biggest gift last year’s team gives to this year’s team. Houston only played one game of more than 16 snaps last year. He’s going to have to play three times that number against the Buckeyes’ toughest opponents this year. Houston finished last year with just seven tackles, which is the same number that Williams had in the Michigan game alone. Expectations are very high for Houston, and for Ohio State’s sake, he must come close to reaching them.

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