Greg McElroy questions Ohio State's spot in preseason AP poll: 'A bit too much'

Ohio State was ranked at No. 3 in the AP Poll that dropped earlier this week. Greg McElroy doesn’t exactly believe that’s where the Buckeyes belong.

In his rankings, McElroy slated Ohio State at No. 8. During the latest episode of his Always College Football show, the former Alabama star elaborated on why he’s not as high on the Buckeyes as other pundits at the moment.  

“I know Ohio State’s can be crazy talented. I really believe that they have tremendous, tremendous personnel. But if you really look at Ohio State’s roster, there are legitimate question marks coming into this year,” McElroy stated. “The quarterback, frankly, is a bit of a question mark.

“I look at some of the key pieces that were lost offensively. There are some pieces that need to be replaced there on that side of the ball. I’m curious to see what’s going to happen with their running back rotation, even though I think it’s going to be a pretty good group, and I like their offensive line. 

“There are legitimate question marks around Ohio State. To have them at No. 3 ahead of say, Clemson at No. 4, to me, feels like a bit too much. We’re giving a lot of credit to Ryan Day in Ohio State. By all means, they deserve it, but it just feels like it’s a little bit too high, at least for me.”

Don’t worry Ohio State fans, McElroy isn’t all the way out on the Buckeyes. He cut them a bit of slack earlier this summer, placing them within the national title contender conversation while evaluating their potential, mainly due to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

“I think, after the national championship run, they still have quality guys to take over that quarterback spot, regardless of who ends up being the guy. … I’m not concerned about the supporting cast and the personnel they have at wide receiver, how they’re likely going to be able to run the football, how the offensive line should fare,” said McElroy. 

“I think they’re going to be just fine. So, whoever ends up being the starter – like I said, I think it’ll be Julian Sayin? He should be well-equipped with a tremendous supporting cast to go out there and probably not drop off much from what we saw from Will Howard last year.

“It all starts and ends with Jeremiah Smith, who’s ridiculous. Probably the best player pound-for-pound in all of college football. Lived up to the name last year. And, how he played in the postseason? That can kind of be the norm going forward. 

“I think that every single team that prepares for Ohio State’s offense this upcoming year? They’re going to have to be really, really careful in not letting Jeremiah Smith take over the game because he has already proven, time and time again, he’s absolutely capable of doing that.”

Of course, Smith is far from the only talented player on Ohio State’s roster. The Buckeyes boast arguably one of the top collections of players in the entire sport, and they’re primed to make another run at a national title in 2025.

All told, Greg McElroy thinks Ohio State is ranked a bit too high at the moment, but he’s thinking the Buckeyes can still be a top team. It’s just up to them to prove it right out of the gate.

— On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this article.