COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State will send 21 seniors through pregame Senior Day activities before Saturday's noon kickoff vs. Michigan.
You can read the entire list here, but only seven of the seniors are guys who are contributing this season. Only one starts on offense or defense - center Pat Elflein. The next two most valuable are punter Cameron Johnston and kicker Tyler Durbin.
So the Buckeyes aren't losing a lot with this senior class.
But that doesn't mean they won't lose a lot off this team, and that there won't be a lot of starters taking the field for the No. 2 Buckeyes that fans won't ever see play again in Ohio Stadium.
Check out every underclassmen with a choice to head to the NFL - these are 11 very familiar names.
Ohio State's 11 underclassmen who could leave for NFL
By Doug Lesmerises
cleveland.com
Nov. 23, 2016
Juniors Tyquan Lewis (left) and J.T. Barrett (right) are two of the Ohio State underclassmen who could be playing their final home game Saturday. Check out the rest of the OSU juniors and redshirt sophomores with decisions to make after this season.
(AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Last year, nine Ohio State underclassmen left for the draft
A year ago, nine OSU underclassmen declared for the draft, with only offensive lineman Pat Elflein (photo) returning among the guys who really had a choice.
So while 11 players on our list of underclassmen this year may feel like a lot, last year should have taught everyone that guys who could leave may leave, even if it doesn't make sense to fans. For instance, Jalin Marshall and Tyvis Powell both turned pro and didn't get drafted. Yet both made teams and are earning NFL checks, with the New York Jets and Seattle Seahawks.
Not every underclassmen possibility is listed
We didn't evaluate every single underclassmen who starts. There are guys like left tackle Jamarco Jones, receiver Noah Brown, receiver Parris Campbell (photo), defensive tackle Michael Hill, safety Damon Webb and linebacker Chris Worley who start and contribute and would have the right to leave, after putting at least three years in at Ohio State.
So maybe there's a shocker in that group.
The 11 Buckeyes that we looked at are players we think have real decisions to make. There are a few guys that almost everyone can see are almost certainly headed out, and many more that could go either way.
Beat writers Bill Landis and Ari Wasserman and columnist Doug Lesmerises offered their opinions on each of these 11 players and whether Saturday is their last home game.
Remember, last year the Buckeyes had 10 players with real choices, and nine went pro.
Here we go.
Malik Hooker, safety
The redshirt sophomore is a first-year starter but he flashed as a rare talent from the opener. Projected as a first-round pick, he almost has no decision to make.
Doug: Leave
Bill: Leave
Ari: Leave
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Marshon Lattimore, cornerback
Lattimore has almost the same story as Conley, a redshirt sophomore who is starting for the first time, lighting it up and projecting as a first-rounder.
Doug: Leave
Bill: Leave
Ari: Leave
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Gareon Conley, cornerback
Conley was one of six returning starters this season and an obvious talent, in line to assume the mantle of the next top corner at Ohio State ready to go on to an NFL career.
He has done that in his fourth season and the redshirt junior will head to the pros as another likely first-round choice.
Doug: Leave
Bill: Leave
Ari: Leave
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Raekwon McMillan, linebacker
The five-star recruit and key contributor and co-starter at middle linebacker for the national title team in 2014 has been on a three-year plan from the start.
Is he a sure first-round pick, as he was seen before the year? Maybe not. But he'll still go high. And he's still moving on.
Doug: Leave
Bill: Leave
Ari: Leave
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Sam Hubbard, defensive end
The redshirt sophomore was drawing Joey Bosa comparisons before the season, and you can see what people mean when he gets after quarterbacks and tracks down running backs.
He's an interesting case. He has three sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, and he probably could show scouts even more in 2017. But he's also going to be drafted on his talent, either in 2017 or 2018, based on his talent, not his production.
Doug: Leave
Bill: Stay
Ari: Stay
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Tyquan Lewis, defensive end
Ohio State's sack leader a year ago is having another great season. Lewis leads the Buckeyes with 10 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
He's also the emotional leader of the defensive line and a rock solid foundation piece of the roster. You could imagine him wanting to stay as a fifth-year senior and third-year starter because this is what he's all about.
You could also imagine him striking while the iron is hot. He's never been talked about as a first-round pick, but he has two years of numbers to show and it's hard to imagine what more he could do to impress the NFL.
Tough call.
Doug: Stay
Bill: Stay
Ari: Stay
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Jalyn Holmes, defensive end
You may wonder why Holmes, a true junior who doesn't even start, is on the list.
Have you see him play? He's an end who has moved to tackle on passing downs this year and gotten after quarterbacks from both spots. His eight tackles for loss rank second on the team. At 6-foot-5 and 274 pounds, Holmes has shown he can move and looks ready for the NFL.
That said, he still has goals he could accomplish as a senior. But when he does go pro, this year or next, the NFL may like him a lot.
Doug: Stay
Bill: Stay
Ari: Stay
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Marcus Baugh, tight end
Ohio State has seen tight ends Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett taken in the third round of the last two drafts. Baugh, a redshirt junior starting for the first time, isn't as good as either of them.
But he has 21 catches for 242 yards and the talk all year has been that he's gone.
Doug: Leave
Bill: Stay
Ari: Leave
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Billy Price, guard
Price's situation looks a lot like Pat Elflein last year, as a veteran starter and redshirt junior who has reasons to go and reasons to stay.
Price, like Elflein, is an NFL player on the inside of the line. Could he slide to center next season as a fifth-year senior and help his draft status even more, as Elflein did this year? Maybe.
Elflein stayed, the only guy with an NFL choice last season who did stay. But his decision wasn't easy. Price's decision isn't easy either.
Doug: Stay
Bill: Leave
Ari: Stay
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
Curtis Samuel, H-back
You sure you want to think about this, Buckeye fans?
It's impossible to imagine the OSU offense this season without Samuel. It's also not hard to see the NFL liking him.
At 5-foot-11 and 197 pounds, he's not an every-down NFL back or a first-round choice. But if Giovani Bernard could be a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2013 at 5-8 and 202 pounds, and if LaMichael James out of Oregon could be a second-round pick in 2012 at 5-9 and 200 pounds, Samuel can interest NFL teams.
He's a true junior, and the Buckeyes have freshman Demario McCall ready behind him. He'd better be ready.
Doug: Leave
Bill: Leave
Ari: Stay
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
J.T. Barrett, quarterback
Barrett's mediocre year throwing the ball hasn't helped his NFL stock. Urban Meyer isn't worried about that, and he'll take Barrett every day of the year as total package when it comes to running, leading and controlling the offense.
But the NFL will care about his arm. It doesn't seem like he has a reason to be in a hurry to get there. A final season as a fifth-year senior in 2017 would cement his Ohio State legacy.
Doug: Stay
Bill: Stay
Ari: Stay
(Marvin Fong / The Plain Dealer)
How many underclassmen will turn pro?
How many OSU underclassmen will you be watching for the final time in Ohio Stadium on Saturday?
Doug said 7.
Bill said 6.
Ari said 5.
Vote for how many you think will leave. And realize on Saturday you're not just saying goodbye to the seniors.
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