Just like Ohio State's 2014 championship season, Urban Meyer has his young team ahead of schedule.
COLUMBUS — This is how high the standards have become in Ohio State football.
As co-defensive coordinator/new Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell talked about the last five years with Urban Meyer as the Buckeyes' coach on Thursday, he referred to 2013 as "a bad year."
OSU won its 12 regular-season games that year, was upset by Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship game and lost 40-35 to Clemson in a game that the Tigers didn't put away until the final minute.
The 2013 season was the only time in Meyer's five seasons at Ohio State the Buckeyes have lost more than one game. And the fact they were expected to play for a national championship, similar to last season's expectations, goes a long way toward explaining why a 12-2 record can seem like a bad season.OSU, 61-5 in Meyer's five seasons, has played in the College Football Playoff twice in the three years of its existence.
And like 2014, when Ohio State won it all by beating Alabama and Oregon, this year's trip to the playoff came a season earlier than many people would have predicted.
No. 3 OSU (11-1) will have 16 first-year starters on the field when it plays No. 2 Clemson (12-1) on New Year's Eve in one of the College Football Playoff semifinals.
IN.#BeatClemson pic.twitter.com/G0r4Ju7hYh
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 4, 2016
Even Meyer said he doesn't have a good explanation for how this year's team got so good so fast.
"My closest confidant, my wife Shelley, said, 'How are we going to be this year?' I said, 'I don't know. I think next year's the year,'" Meyer said on Thursday at Ohio State's bowl media day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Ohio State has recruited well enough during Meyer's tenure that it didn't exactly have to hang up "Help Wanted" signs to replace 16 starters this season.
But it was not just a matter of quantity. There was also great quality in the departing group — nine underclassmen declared for the NFL draft, 12 Buckeyes overall were picked in the draft and two others signed as undrafted free agents.
First-year starters like defensive end Sam Hubbard, linebackers Chris Worley and Jerome Baker, safety Malik Hooker, cornerback Marshon Lattimore and others played like seasoned veterans.
RELATED: Predictions for every bowl game
"We kind of hit it right because a lot of those kids were ready to play when they got here," Meyer said.
Since the day he arrived at OSU, Meyer has preached that if a player is ready to play he will use him and not redshirt him.
Co-defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said Ohio State players know they have to grow up in a hurry because early departures to the NFL have become an annual occurrence.
"You know you can't stay young around here," Schiano said. "We have made it a habit of guys getting a call from the NFL early."
Hooker leads Ohio State with six interceptions and has returned three of them for touchdowns. Lattimore has four interceptions. Baker is second on the team in tackles with 79.
"Hey, who's got more touchdowns this year, you or me?"@MalikHooker24 to @JT_theQB4th, probably. pic.twitter.com/qZbBmawffh
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 15, 2016
"If you get better every day, hopefully at the end you're playing for it all," Schiano said. "Just keep recruiting great players. If you keep bringing them in and develop them, they'll be in intense competition for every one of those starting spots."
This article is written by Jim Naveau from The Lima News, Ohio and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network.
