The biggest change for Ohio State will be on the sideline. Last year, interim HC Luke Fickell was in an impossible situation following the very successful, yet ending in disgrace, tenure of Jim Tressell. Now the Buckeyes have something to look forward to, and that is all because of Urban Meyer.
Meyer inherits a young, inexperienced offense. Braxton Miller will get the call as the full time starter this year. He is not nearly the athlete that Terrelle Pryor is, but he is still more than capable of running Meyer's offense. Remember, Meyer won a National Championship with Chris Leak, so Braxton Miller will be just fine. As for the other skill positions, Jordan Hall should line up as the starting tailback, but I don't expect it to take long before SO Rod Smith starting getting carries. He is their most talented back, and Meyer will want him to gain some game reps. At WR, SO Devin Smith is the team's top returner despite only picking up 294 years all season. He flashes some potential, but has a long way to go. Upfront, the big fellas lost two very good players in Mike Adams and Mike Brewster. 4 JRs and 1 SR will be asked to pull the load, and they should do alright.
The strength of this Buckeyes ball club is on their defense, specifically their front 4. JR NT Johnathan Hankins and SR DE John Simon are two of the best at their position anywhere in the nation, and both will garner strong consideration for a first round selection in next year's draft. SR DE Nathan Williams returns from injury, and he is another very talented ballplayer, with very good upside. SO OLB Ryan Shazier joins two SRs in the starting lineup this year for Ohio State. Shazier played well last year as a FR, so I expect him to continue to improve. The most exciting player in this unit however is still SO MLB Curtis Grant. I expect to see him on the field a lot more in 2013, and he has the potential to be talked about in Ohio State circles with guys like Speilman, Katzenmoyer, and Hawk. In addition to MLB, the secondary at Ohio State has a storied history of producing top notch NFL talent. This year's unit is led by SR CB Travis Howard. Right now, Howard projects as a day two selection on draft night, but a strong SR season could boost his stock.
Things are really looking up for Ohio State. In 2013, they will go as far as their defense takes them. Next year however, this could be one of the scariest offenses in college football.
No comments:
Post a Comment