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The 2026 college football season is finally here, and the Ohio State Buckeyes will look to right their wrongs from last season in 2026.

Head coach Ryan Day and his squad, however, will have a difficult task this season after facing many departures from the NFL Draft. But similar to previous years, the Buckeyes must turn to some of the youth on the roster in order to make another run at the National Championship.

Here are three Buckeyes players that are in line for a breakout year during the 2026 college football season.

Legend Bey, RB

Ohio State's pipeline of highly touted running backs to the NFL has been a key reason for its success over the past few seasons. Sophomore Bo Jackson was nothing short of impressive in his first season with the program, but the Buckeyes could use another rusher in 2026.

Luckily for Day and newly-hired offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, freshman running back Legend Bey has the perfect skill set to complement the rest of the room. The former four-star prospect in the 2026 class posted over 4,000 rushing yards throughout his high school career, and his game-breaking speed works perfectly alongside Jackson's bruiser mentality. Fans have seen how dynamic Ohio State's offense can be with two stout running backs (Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, most notably), which means Bey could slide into the RB2 role at some point this season.

Nate Roberts, TE

The 2026 NFL Draft completely depleted the Buckeyes' tight end room with both Will Kacmarek and Max Klare out of the picture for this upcoming season. Fortunately for the offense, sophomore Nate Roberts is in line to take the next step in his college career.

Roberts did manage to see some playing time during his freshman year as a fullback and blocking tight end, but only recorded four catches for 30 yards. However, Day clearly envisions a bigger role for the former four-star prospect, and with Smith taking over the offense in 2026, his heavy usage of Swiss-Army knife tight ends should pave the way for Roberts to have a big role within the passing game.

Devin Sanchez, CB

On defense, Ohio State has a star in the making in sophomore cornerback Devin Sanchez.

The once highly-rated defensive back prospect showed plenty of promise throughout his freshman year with the Buckeyes, tallying 15 tackles and two pass deflections. Now, with Davison Igbinosun off to the NFL, Ohio State is in desperate need of a true lockdown top cornerback. Sanchez possesses all the tools to take the mantle – a 6-foot-2, 198 lbs. defensive back who is uber-athletic could quickly become the next-best cornerback to come out of Columbus.

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