Ohio State’s offense is already stacking up as one of the biggest storylines of the 2026 season, and now three of its headliners are getting preseason national recognition. Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin and Bo Jackson were all named to the Maxwell Award preseason watchlist, giving the Buckeyes the most players from any one team on the list.
That fits the profile Ohio State is carrying into the year. The Buckeyes are expected to be one of the best teams in the country, and a big reason for that is the firepower coming back on offense. Seven returning starters give this group a strong foundation, and the names at the top of the depth chart are impossible to miss.
Smith is widely viewed as the best player in the country, while Sayin enters the season after being a Heisman Finalist a year ago. Jackson, meanwhile, took over as the starting running back and looks ready for a bigger role if he can stay on the field.
Sayin was a finalist for the Maxwell Award last season, but Fernando Mendoza beat him out for both that honor and the Heisman. Sayin and Smith are both among the preseason favorites for the Heisman again, and Jackson is hoping to join them as a true difference-maker.
Jackson’s spring was wiped out after offseason surgery, but Ohio State expects him to be fully healthy when practice begins in a few days. That matters even more now with Arthur Smith stepping in as offensive coordinator, since the Buckeyes figure to lean harder on the run game.
Ohio State is the only team with three players on the Maxwell watchlist. Miami also has three, but no program has more than the Buckeyes, which says plenty about the talent still in Columbus even after the roster losses from last season.
Jackson is the only one of the three who counts as a slight surprise on the list, but he’s also in position for a major sophomore season. If he’s fully healthy and operating in an offense that wants to run the ball, the Buckeyes believe he could push for 1,700 yards.
And the scary part for everyone else? Those three may only be the beginning.
Chris Henry Jr. could be the next elite Ohio State receiver as a freshman, and the five-star talent has a real shot to line up alongside Smith. The Buckeyes also have two new tight ends they’ll work into the offense.
Everything, though, still comes back to the offensive line. That group was Ohio State’s weakest spot late in 2025, and it played a major part in the Buckeyes dropping their final two games of the year.
Ohio State has a month before its Week 1 matchup with Ball State, a game that looks like it should be one-sided. The real early test comes in Week 2 against Texas. If the Buckeyes are going to handle the Longhorns, Smith, Sayin and Jackson figure to be central to making it happen.
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For the Buckeyes, that kind of camp progress matters because so much of the offense depends on players taking a step when the lights come on. The same is true across the college game, where quarterback play and the growth of a few pivotal skill guys can influence not just a starting job, but how far a team can go once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States WRU Edge Is Still Turning Heads With Elite Recruits
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Under Cortez Hankton, the current room still carries that same appeal for top-end talent, and it is showing up early in the recruiting cycle too. Four-star 2028 receiver Hayden Koo recently included Ohio State among his top schools after landing an offer from the Buckeyes, another sign that elite recruits are watching the programs track record closely and taking note of how often it turns promise into something much bigger. [Read more 🡒]