Big Ten Football Preview - Ohio State Buckeyes
No. 3 Ohio State 2006 record- 12-1
Projected Finish in 2007- 9-3, 5-3 Big Ten
Will it be a return to the old formula of using defense and special teams to win the field position battle in order to win games for Jim Tressel in 2007? That is the question. It would appear that with the strength of this year's team being the direct opposite that it was a year ago at this time, the style of play would turn to be more defensive with a more conservative style of play on offense. While the schedule sets up well for the Buckeyes until they travel to West Lafayette, Ind., on Oct. 6 to face Purdue in a night game, the Buckeyes will have to travel to Penn State and Michigan while getting Wisconsin at home in 2007.
Offensive coordinator Jim Bollman may very well have to rely on the running game this season in order to slowly develop the confidence at the quarterback position and he will have the luxury of fielding a veteran offensive line and a potential 1000 yard rusher in Chris Wells in the backfield. The wide receivers have plenty of experience, but the question will be whether the quarterback can be consistent enough in delivering the ball to allow them to be productive throughout the season. With Wells in the backfield two potential All-Big Ten lineman, the Buckeyes will probably turn to the running game similar to the way they did when a player with the last name Clarett suited up as a freshman in 2002.
The defense should be the strength of the team this season, but they do replace relatively the whole defensive line which might bring some challenges against the run where the defense ranked third in the Big Ten in 2006. However, the depth on the defensive side of the ball poses a significant advantage for the Buckeyes and the schedule presents itself in a manner that should allow the team to develop at a considerable pace before facing their toughest challenges later in the season.
Quarterback
Everyone is wondering whether it will be Boeckman, Schoenhoft or Henton and while Jim Tressel has confirmed that all of them will see action in the first three games, it appears as though the job is Boeckman's to lose. The redshirt junior begins the season having seen limited action over the last two seasons as the backup to Troy Smith and Justin Zwick and will offer a more conventional style of quarterback play as a drop-back passer instead of the double threat passer that Buckeye fans grew used to the last couple of years behind Heisman winner Troy Smith. Boeckman has the arm to throw the downfield pass, but accuracy is the key and the results will certainly be noticeable after the first few weeks as the Big Ten season gets underway.
Running Back
Chris Wells will take over after leading rusher Antonio Pittman decided to forgo his senior season to play in the NFL. Wells was the second leading rusher last year with 576 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Wells is a legitimate candidate to register 1000 yards and could even make a push for 1500 with a rushing attack that is expected to, for the most part, dominate the playbook for the Buckeye's offense this season. Maurice Wells will be the backup having rushed for just 176 yards and one touchdown in 2006. Chris Wells offers a good balance of speed and power while Maurice Wells adds additional speed and shiftiness in the backfield as a bit of a change in pace back. While his carries are expected to double and possibly to even triple this season, Wells will have every chance to show Ohio State fans what they have waited to see this whole offseason.
Wide Receivers
While the loss of Ted Ginn, Jr., Anthony Gonzalez and Roy Hall looms large now, the talent of junior Brian Robiskie and sophomore Brian Hartline have the coaches excited and will make the trasition for Boeckman as the starting quarterback perhaps a little easier to swallow. Robiskie and Hartline combined for 639 yards receiving and 7 touchdowns last season as the third and fourth options in the passing game for Troy Smith, however being No. 1 and No. 2 on the depth chart brings with it a whole new attitude of how to attack the defense. Robiskie can no longer excel by being simply overlooked in an offense that will now require him to be a first option and attract the attention of the defense as opposed to finding seams in the defense because of the attention being paid to other receivers. The same can be said for Hartline as the two will now experience what it is like to have to go one-on-one with a Big Ten corner every down and being able to get themselves open by running crisp routes instead of finding open holes in the defense. The injury to Ray Small who figures to be another integral part of the receiving corp leaves the question of his level of production up in the air, but between Small and junior Devon Lyons, the Buckeyes have the talent needed to be productive in the passing game.
Tight End
Rory Nicol really established himself last season as a legitimate receiving tight end and weapon in the passing game after catching 13 passes for 151 yards and three scores. Nicol enters his junior season as the starter at tight end with sophomore Jake Ballard being the first backup and second tight end in two tight end sets. With the inexperience at quarterback, look for Nicol to play a vital role in the offense this season as being a potential third option in the passing game. Often the tight end can be the safety outlet for a new quarterback who is trying to win the job by not making mistakes, so before Boeckman forces a ball into coverage he might be more willing to dump it off to Nicol or the other tight ends in order to avoid making a mistake by throwing a pick.
Offensive Line
Left tackle Alex Boone, right tackle Kirk Barton and left guard Steve Rehring lead an offensive line that that will introduce two new starter this season in right guard Ben Person and center Jim Cordle. Boone and Barton are both potential All-Big Ten lineman and return along with Rehring from a line that helped the Buckeye's rushing attack rank third in the Big Ten last season with an average of just less than 170 yards per game. It will also be important for Person and Cordle to grasp the protection assignments because the last thing that Jim Tressel wants to see is his new starting quarterback getting sacked and losing confidence in his offensive line. Last season OSU ranked second in the conference with the least amount of sacks allowed, but they also had a quarterback that could escape the pressure and get out of the pocket and make plays with is feet. It should help that both tackles return, especially with Boone protecting the backside of Boeckman and the line should be able to consistently open holes for Wells and the Buckeye's backfield.
Defensive Line
Losing the likes of Quinn Pitcock, Jay Richardson and David Patterson leaves a great void in a defense that is expected to do great things this fall. Vernon Gholston showed great strength last year and has shown significant process in becoming one of the premier defensive ends in the Big Ten after racking up 8.5 sacks last season which was best on the team and finishing tied with the most tackles for loss on the defense as well with 15. Joining Gholston will be junior defensive end Lawrence Wilson who played in 11 games last season and recorded three sacks as a backup. The defensive tackles will be the biggest question as Todd Denlinger and Doug Worthington are expected to be the starters. The two played in just nine and seven games, respectively, last season but will need to use whatever experience they did gain the best that they can as they will be thrown into the mix right off the bat on Sept. 1. Similarly to the way the offense needs development, the schedule works in their favor as they will have time to develop and mesh as a unit before the toughest part of the schedule hits.
Linebackers
Once again, another Butkus Award candidate in James Laurinaitis leads the Buckeye defense as the returning leading tackler after making 115 tackles last season and leading the team with five interceptions a year ago. Laurinaitis showed great poise, toughness and aggressiveness last year as the leader of the defense and when the defense needed to make a play the most, it seemed that Laurinaitis rose to the occasion and made the plays that needed to be made. Larry Grant and Marcus Freeman are the remaining two starters at linebacker along with Laurinaitis. Freeman was tied for the second leading tackler in 2006 with 71 tackles as Grant registered just 18 in limited action over 12 games. Freeman and Laurinaitis are not only the physical leaders of the defense, but will be expected to be the vocal leaders as well as the linebacker position will greatly influence the way the rest of the defense plays by setting the tone.
Defensive Backs
Malcolm Jenkins is one of the best cover corners in the Big Ten and probably one of the top 10 around the country. Last season he recorded four interceptions while playing opposite of Antonio Smith, who has since graduated. Offenses were weary of throwing in his direction as he has great cover skills with the closing speed to make up for most any mistake he makes early in the play. Donald Washington is expected to compete and start at the other corner position where he gained experience last season after making 41 tackles. Being somewhat untested, expect offenses to attack him and challenge him to make plays with Jenkins on the other side. The safeties will be Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell. Coleman competed with Jamario O'Neal at one of the two safety positions and eventually won out with his strong play in the spring. Coming off an injury, Anderson Russell has won the other starting spot in the back end of the secondary after playing in just five games last season. Game experience may be an issue in some ways, but the depth in the defensive secondary, and the defense overall, will be a positive for Jim Heacock's defense.
Special Teams
A.J. Trapasso will be one of the top punters in the conference after averaging 40.6 yards per kick last season while placing 17 of his 49 kicks inside the 20. Ryan Pretorius has won the field goal kicking job, for now, as he outplayed returning starter Aaron Pettrey this fall. Pettrey hit on eight of 11 attempts last season with all but one of his attempts coming from 30 yards or further. Pretorius won the accuracy battle this fall, however, after only attempting two field goals last season hitting on just one, coming from 52 yards out. Ray Small and Malcolm Jenkins are expected to compete for the punt returner job and with Small suffering from an ankle injury this fall, it is yet to be seen if he can hold onto the job that was projected to be his following in the footsteps of one of the best in college football over the last few seasons in Ted Ginn, Jr.. Maurice Wells and Jenkins will be the kick returners. Neither have extensive experience at returning kicks, so the return teams will be a work in progress, replacing the several weapons from last year's team.