Players to Watch: Key players on the Ohio Bobcats

We’ve made it through FCS Week. Now, it’s time to get to what should be a fun in-state matchup with the Ohio Bobcats.

This game will also serve as a good tune-up for the Buckeyes ahead of Big Ten play. Ohio is coming off an 11-win season in 2024, which culminated in a Mid-American Conference championship. This is a team with a dynamic quarterback in Parker Navarro and a strong defense up front.

Ohio is 1-1 this season, with a 34-31 loss at Rutgers in Week 1, and a 17-10 home win over West Virginia

in Week 2.

Let’s look at Navarro and four other players to watch on the Ohio Bobcats Saturday night.

Quarterback: Parker Navarro

Playing in his eighth season of college football, Navarro is off to a solid start through two games.

Navarro has completed 43-of-62 passes for 486 yards and four touchdowns so far this season, while adding 27 rushes for 180 yards and a touchdown with his legs. He’s gone over 85 rushing yards in both of the Bobcats’ games, while also throwing for over 235 passing yards in both games.

In 2024, Navarro was a MAC Second-Team member after rushing for over 1,000 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also had over 2,400 passing yards.

Four Players to Watch on Ohio

1. Chase Hendricks (WR)

Hendricks has been prolific through two games for the Bobcats, catching 17 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns. He’s also averaging 13.9 yards per reception.

2. Michael Molnar (LB)

Molnar is going to be a tough player for the Buckeyes to handle. He’s proved to be a menacing presence through two games, with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while also tallying 14 tackles. This is a player who’s going to look to get into the backfield and make plays.

3. Anas Luqman (DL)

Luqman is also a player capable of disrupting plays in the backfield. He has two tackles for loss and a sack this season, his first as a Bobcat. Prior to Ohio, Luqman played three seasons at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

He’s coming off a 2024 season where he had 33 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and two sacks.

4. Jake Bruno (TE)

Although Bruno has only two catches this season, both are for touchdowns — from 14 and 13 yard out. both against Rutgers. Think of him as like a Mike Vrabel when he was the Patriots. When he catches the ball, he scores. The Buckeyes have to be mindful of that.

Bruno played in 14 games in 2024 with the Bobcats after playing two seasons at Saint Francis.

Head Coach: Brian Smith (1st Season, 1-1; 2-1 Overall)

Taking over for Tim Albin before Ohio played in the Cure Bowl in 2024, Smith has worked his way up the coaching staff to be the head man since he joined the Bobcats coaching staff in 2022.

Albin’s Bobcats won the Cure Bowl for their first 11-win season in school history and their sixth straight bowl win. He spent the 2024 season as the Bobcats’ offensive coordinator, helping Navarro become the first quarterback in program history to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards.

In addition, wide receiver Coleman Owen broke the program’s single-season record with 1,245 receiving yards.

Prior to Ohio, Smith was the offensive coordinator at Washington State and Hawaii. At Hawaii, Smith’s offense ranked No. 9 in passing with 310 yards per game.

Smith played at Hawaii for four seasons as a long snapper before signing professional contracts with the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers in 2002 and 2003.

Offensive Coordinator: Scott Isphording (1st Season)

Isphording is in his 12th season on the Bobcats coaching staff, a tenure that began with him serving as quarterbacks coach for the first seven seasons and as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the previous four seasons.

Coaching the three of the biggest quarterbacks in school history, Nathan and Kurtis Rourke and Parker Navarro, Ohio’s offense has been one of the best in the MAC throughout Isphording’s tenure. The Bobcats led the MAC in scoring, yards per game, average yards per play, and most passing yards in 2022, while Nathan Rourke went 24-13 and won three straight bowl games for the Bobcats.

Isphording was the Bobcats’ tight ends coach in 2009, before heading to Toledo for four seasons as the Rockets’ quarterbacks coach.

Before his first stint at Ohio, Isphording was the offensive coordinator for two seasons at Eastern Michigan, where the Eagles set a school record with 5,010 total yards in 2008.

Defensive Coordinator: John Hauser (2nd Season)

Hauser is in his fourth season with the Bobcats, starting in 2022 as the safeties coach for two seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2024.

The Bobcats became the first team in MAC Championship history to not allow a touchdown.

Prior to Ohio, Hauser spent eight seasons at Miami (Ohio), including the last six as co-defensive coordinator. He helped develop Quinten Rollins into a MAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, with Rollins becoming an eventual second round pick by the Green Bay Packers in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Keys to the Game

1. Start fast

The Buckeyes can’t afford to give Ohio any chance of winning this game or any hope of winning it. A fast start will go a long way towards putting the Bobcats on their heels early.

2. Stop the run

Ohio wants to run the ball, and they have the offense to do it. If the Buckeyes can prevent Navarro from getting going with his legs, that’s going to put Ohio’s offense into a tough spot and situations they don’t want to be in. That will open the door for players in the Buckeyes’ secondary to take the ball away.

3. Impose your will

Against an Ohio defensive front that is capable of causing disruption, it’s paramount that Ohio State’s offensive line pushes them back and controls the line of scrimmage. With all the playmakers on the outside, it’s important that the Buckeyes still establish an ability to run the ball and make defenses know they have to stop it in order to win it.

4. Don’t take your foot off the gas

After a fast start, the Buckeyes need to replicate their performance against Grambling State and continue scoring. Ryan Day isn’t going to stop coaching until there are triple zeros on the clock in the fourth quarter. That should continue on Saturday.