This offseason has featured less of my commentary on the team, but for good reason: all is well in Buckeye Country. While no team is perfect the general sense has been that the atmosphere around the OSU head coaches, especially Jim Tressel, is perfectly content with what is sure to come from the team in 2010.I will be breaking down the major units on the team (offense, defense, and special teams) this week, and today I will start with the most hyped group at Ohio State this season...and no, for once it is not the defense.
We need to get the talk about Terrelle Pryor out of the way now and be frank about it: his play last season was ALL OVER THE PLACE! Still, it is funny that people were saying "I hate Pryor", "let's bench his a**", "move him to wide receiver", "he will NEVER do anything at quarterback" a mere two and a half months previous to his first masterpiece as a Buckeye in the Rose Bowl. He began his career as the #1 player out of high school in America and started his first game four games into his collegiate career, so expectations soared through the roof even more than before (Possible? Yes sir). Pryor may have led the team to a 10-3 season with a 7-1 record as the starter, but mostly everyone was able to see that he had a lot of work to do in order to learn the quarterback position. A loss to Purdue on the road last year highlighted his struggles learning the position, and mass panic in Columbus ensued. Fast forward to now, and the attitude in Columbus -- along with Terrelle's own attitude -- has completely changed. He is now viewed as a true leader who has been through plenty in his first two years as a starter to lead this team to bigger and better pastures. Just how far has he come along heading into 2010? Stay tuned until September 2nd.
Phew... now on the to the rest of the offense. Runnin' backs Brandon Saine and Boom Herron return to handle the bulk of the carries, with Saine holding the starting edge over his counterpart. Saine showed big play potential both on the ground and as a receiver to go along with the durability to stay healthy all season long, so look for the senior out of Piqua to have a career season. Redshirt freshman Jamaal Berry and sophomore Jordan Hall will fight for scraps, however both are talented enough to make a big play every time they touch the ball. Carlos Hyde may in fact redshirt, but the Beanie Wells-type back has impressed just about everyone of importance this offseason.
The receiving corps is ready to blow up in 2010 under the #1 big play threat DeVier Posey and the ever-reliable Dane Sanzenbacher. The two receivers combined to produce 1,398 yards in an OSU attack that leaned heavily towards the run after the debacle in West Lafayette (you could say that Purdue caused OSU to "boiler-down" its play calling... ha ha....?). Posey is close to being NFL ready, while Sanzenbacher looks the part of the tough slot receiver at the next level. Beyond these two, though, many questions remain. Taurian Washington, Grant Schwartz, James Louis and Chris Fields will all battle for the #3 and #4 receiver slots, but nothing so far is certain as neither of the four candidates have separated themselves from the pack. Tight ends Jake Stoneburner and Reid Fragel will provide the best of both worlds at their position with Stoneburner providing the flash of a wide receiver and Fragel demonstrating more of a traditional Woody Hayes approach to playing tight end. Stoney has been one of the biggest stories this offseason and is hopeful to be highly involved in the offense. Pryor has been quoted as saying that Stoneburner is one of his first looks every time he drops back to throw.
Now on to the grand finale: the offensive line. This is by far, without a doubt, the most important aspect to whether this Buckeye offense will take flight to 2006-type heights, or stay grounded as a mediocre, run-of-the-mill attack. From left to right, the projected starters should be Mike Adams, Justin Boren, Michael Brewster, Bryant Browning and J.B. Shugarts, and out of the five starters, four return to start up front for the Buckeyes. Those four were all steady forces on the line last season after the Purdue game and are looking to take the next step this season. The key here is for the left tackle spot to provide smart, solid performances week in and week out. The leading candidate for that position is junior Mike Adams, and he wears the unwanted feather in his cap of being my player to keep an eye on this season. He is in the best shape of his life and has played well so far since the winter, but the time is now for Adams to elevate the OSU line from good to great. Boren and Brewster are studs when healthy, Browning is arguably the most consistent player on the line, while Shugarts is the first guy off the bus type at 6"7, 298.
The play of the line is the biggest question mark, yet the ultimate factor for this offense in 2010, while the rest of the pieces are already in place that could make this season more than special on offense for the Buckeye faithful.
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