Ohio State has never been shy about playing its best players.
In Columbus, talent matters. Freshmen who arrive with five-star rankings, elite recruiting profiles and expectations of immediate impact are given every opportunity to prove they belong on the field. The Buckeyes have built one of the deepest and most competitive rosters in college football, and maintaining that standard requires a willingness to put the most talented players into meaningful roles as quickly as they are ready.
But there is another principle operating inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, one that cannot be measured by recruiting rankings, NIL valuations or preseason projections.
Ohio State wants its most talented freshmen to play. It also wants them to understand what it means to become part of something bigger than themselves.
That distinction matters.
The Buckeyes’ culture has been constructed over years, not recruiting cycles. Every new class enters a program shaped by the players who came before it, and few have done more to define that standard in recent years than wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
Smith arrived at Ohio State surrounded by enormous expectations and quickly demonstrated why he was considered one of the nation’s premier prospects. His talent was obvious. His production followed. But his significance to the program has extended beyond statistics.
He became an example of what can happen when extraordinary ability is matched with preparation, accountability and an understanding of responsibility.
That is the balance Ohio State now has to protect.
The temptation in modern college football is obvious. With recruiting rankings receiving more attention than ever, young players can arrive on campus expecting immediate playing time. The transfer portal has accelerated that mentality. Players have more mobility, more leverage and more opportunities to find a program where they believe their path to the field is clearest.
Ohio State, however, cannot afford to let that environment erase the standards that made the program attractive in the first place.
The Buckeyes want elite freshmen to contribute. They also want those freshmen to learn why certain players earned their opportunities.
That can mean waiting.
It can mean watching an older teammate practice, understanding how he prepares and learning what separates potential from dependable production. It can mean accepting a role that is smaller than what a recruiting ranking suggested. And sometimes, it means discovering that earning trust is just as important as demonstrating athletic ability.
Those lessons can be uncomfortable for young players.
They can also be invaluable.
College football is ultimately bigger than the depth chart. The sport can teach discipline, patience, resilience, leadership and accountability in ways that extend well beyond Saturdays. A player who learns how to handle adversity at 18 or 19 can carry those lessons into the NFL, into a career outside football and into every other part of life.
That is why Ohio State’s approach cannot simply be reduced to a question of whether a freshman is talented enough to play.
The question is whether playing that freshman now strengthens the team and develops the player at the same time.
There will be situations when the answer is unquestionably yes.
If a freshman proves during practice that he is one of the best players at his position, there is little reason to keep him on the sideline simply because of his age. Ohio State’s standard demands competition, and competition must ultimately be settled by performance.
But talent alone cannot become the only currency.
The Buckeyes have veteran players who have invested years in the program. They have endured difficult practices, injuries, losses and periods when their own opportunities were limited. Some waited behind established starters before eventually earning their chance.
That investment carries value.
A healthy program recognizes that value without becoming resistant to change.
This is where Ohio State’s challenge becomes more complicated. The Buckeyes operate under a championship-or-bust expectation. Recruiting classes are filled with players capable of contributing immediately, and the margin for error in the Big Ten is increasingly narrow. Programs such as Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, Indiana and others are accumulating talent at a level that makes roster development an ongoing strategic battle.
Ohio State cannot afford to sit its best players merely to preserve tradition.
At the same time, it cannot sacrifice its culture in pursuit of short-term results.
The answer is not choosing one philosophy over the other. It is finding the balance.
That balance begins with understanding what Smith and other established stars represent. They are not obstacles standing between freshmen and playing time. They are examples of the standard freshmen are being asked to meet.
A young receiver should not simply look at Smith and see a player occupying a valuable spot on the depth chart. He should see the preparation required to earn that position.
A freshman defensive back should not view an established veteran as competition alone. He should study how that player handles film sessions, meetings, practices and adversity.
That is how a championship culture reproduces itself.
The most successful programs do not simply recruit talent. They transfer knowledge.
That process is particularly important at Ohio State because the program’s expectations are different from those at most schools. Being highly recruited gets a player through the door. It does not guarantee him a role.
Once inside, everyone has to prove something.
The message is straightforward: Your recruiting ranking explains why Ohio State wanted you. It does not determine what Ohio State owes you.
That may be one of the most important lessons a young player can learn.
There is also a larger responsibility for coaches. Developing freshmen requires more than deciding whether they can help win a game. Coaches must determine whether the player is physically prepared, mentally prepared and capable of handling the responsibilities that come with increased exposure.
A freshman who plays 30 snaps may be ready for that role. Another may need another month of development. Treating both situations identically would be poor roster management.
Ohio State’s depth allows coaches to make those decisions carefully.
And when a freshman does earn significant playing time, the standard should remain unchanged.
The player should not receive special treatment because of his recruiting pedigree.
He should be held accountable because he represents Ohio State.
That is ultimately what makes the Buckeyes’ approach sustainable.
The program can embrace young talent without abandoning veteran leadership. It can reward extraordinary ability without teaching entitlement. It can chase championships while still recognizing that college football is supposed to develop young people as much as it develops football players.
There will always be pressure to accelerate the process.
Recruiting services will rank the next class. Fans will demand to see the newest stars. Social media will turn practice clips into debates about playing time. NIL has added another layer of urgency to roster decisions.
Ohio State cannot control all of that.
It can control its standards.
And those standards should remain bigger than any individual player.
The Buckeyes’ most talented freshmen deserve an opportunity. If they are good enough, they should play. But earning that opportunity should also mean understanding the foundation beneath them.
Players such as Jeremiah Smith did not merely inherit Ohio State’s culture. They helped strengthen it.
The next generation has a responsibility to do the same.
That is the real test facing the Buckeyes: not whether they can find talented freshmen, but whether they can integrate that talent without losing the identity that made the program what it is.
At Ohio State, winning matters.
Development matters.
And so does teaching young athletes that success is not simply about how quickly they can reach the top of the depth chart.
Sometimes the most important lesson is learning how to earn your place there — and, once you have it, understanding that you are responsible for leaving the program stronger for the players who come next.
