College football analyst reveals area of concern for Ryan Day at Ohio State next season

College football analyst Greg McElroy sees a glaring area of concern for Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2025. On "Always College Football" on Wednesday, he discussed how losing key pieces on the defensive side of the ball could pose an issue for the defending national champions.

Losing players such as JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Tyleik Williams takes away a ton of quality pass rush that helped Ohio State make its way to the national championship game.

"You look at what they have on the defensive side, I think there's talent on this side by the way, but I don't know if there's enough people paying attention to what was lost," McElroy said.

"You can look at the recruiting rankings and the star power that's back. I get that, but the presence, the veteran presence that was JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams – guys that were playing as far as depth is concerned.

"You lose a lot of really quality pieces on the defensive side. I mean, Sawyer and Tuimoloau by themselves accounted for 115 pressures last year. So, that's not going to be easily replicated. And, can Kenyatta Jackson potentially do that? Sure.

"Will they be fine off the ball with Sonny Styles and with Caleb Downs? Yes. I'm not concerned about those positions whatsoever. But I am a little concerned about replicating the presence of what we saw up front defensively down the stretch en route to a national championship."

McElroy also added that Ohio State's schedule is a tough one, especially opening up the season against the Texas Longhorns in a nonconference game. There are also road games against Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as a tough matchup against Penn State.

Syndication: The Columbus Dispatch - Source: Imagn

Ohio State looking to get back to a national championship in 2025

Ohio State capped off a great 2024 season with a national championship victory. However, going into 2025, Ohio State will be losing a lot of key players to the 2025 NFL draft. Quarterback Will Howard, starting receiver Emeka Egbuka and defensive starters such as Tuimoloau, Sawyer and Williams are all NFL-bound. It will be a different-looking Ohio State team in 2025.

Even so, the likes of quarterback Julian Sayin, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and a number of players on defense will have to step it up for the Buckeyes to get back to the national championship game in 2025 and successfully defend their title.