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Ohio State Buckeyes (Last Year: 10-3)
2009 College Football Season Preview:
Star Players:
QB Terrelle Pryor, RB Daniel Herron, WR DeVier Posey, OL Jim Cordle, G Justin Boren, DE Thaddeus Gibson, DE Cameron Heyward, DT Doug Worthington, OLB Ross Homan, CB Chimdi Chekwa, SS Kurt Coleman.
Draft/Graduation Losses:
QB Todd Boeckman, RB Chris Wells, RB Maurice Wells, FB Ryan Lukens, WR Brian Hartline, WR Brian Robiskie, T Alex Boone, G Steve Rehring, G Ben Person, DT Nader Abdallah, OLB Marcus Freeman, ILB James Laurinaitis, CB Donald Washington, CB Malcolm Jenkins, K Ryan Pretorius, P A.J. Trapasso.
2009 Ohio State Buckeyes Offense:
We are officially underway with the Terrelle Pryor era in Columbus. No more splitting time with Todd Boeckman. This is Pryor’s team and this is Jim Tressel’s prized blue-chip recruit.
While Pryor still is young, much is expected of him as a sophomore. However, he put up pretty impressive numbers in his 166 passing attempts. Pryor had a 7.9 YPA, a 3:1 TD-INT ratio, and he completed more than 60 percent of his passes. Do not forget, he also accumulated a 7.23 touchdown percentage, which is very impressive.
Pryor has No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick potential if he can learn the nuances of the pro-style offense at Ohio State and become more of a pocket passer. Vince Young and Michael Vick didn’t have this opportunity to play for a coach that employs a pro-spread offense. Pryor does, and I hope he succeeds.
It will be very difficult to replicate the success he had in 2008 because gone are receivers Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline. DeVier Posey is an extremely talented player, but he only had 11 catches for 117 yards last season. He will need to have an increased role offensively for Pryor to be successful because I just don’t see Dane Sanzenbacher as an All-Big Ten-type weapon.
Who is going to replace Chris “Beanie” Wells? True sophomore running back Dan Herron will attempt to, but he will not have the same offensive presence Wells had. Wells was more of a thumping-type back, but could still break it open at any opportunity. Herron is a smaller back with average speed. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry last season as a backup, and will need his offensive line to step up to maintain this average.
Offensive coordinator and line coach Jim Bollman is moving two-year starting center Jim Cordle to left tackle for his senior year. Cordle has the size to play left tackle at 6-4, 297, but it will be interesting to see if he has the agility to play the position.
I think Steve Rehring and Ben Person will be replaceable. Bryant Browning and Justin Boren (Michigan transfer) will be the new guards. Highly recruited talent Michael Brewster will be the center replacing Cordle. Blue-chip prospect Mike Adams finally gets his shot at right tackle, and he should be good. Adams is 6-7, 308 pounds, and was rated as a 5-star talent by Rivals.
This offensive line certainly has the talent, but they must develop the chemistry and gel as a unit.
2009 Ohio State Buckeyes Defense:
I honestly think there is no chance Ohio State can live up to what last year’s unit did. The 2008 Buckeyes were 10th in the nation in yards per play, sixth in scoring defense, third in yards per attempt, and second in the Big Ten in total turnovers.
With the losses of James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, Malcolm Jenkins and Donald Washington, there needs to be star players to replace these talents and I just don’t see it at linebacker or cornerback.
The thing that needs to happen is players like Thaddeus Gibson, Cameron Heyward, Ross Homan and Chimdi Chekwa need to take their games to a different level.
Let’s talk about the Buckeye front. They are led by junior defensive end Thaddeus Gibson. Gibson is a convereted linebacker, and as expected, he is lightning quick off the edge, but a huge liability against the run. Cameron Heyward is a massive end who dominates against the run. Heyward had 36 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss last season.
Dexter Larimore and Doug Worthington are on the inside, and they do a good job maintaining their gaps and staying disciplined. Worthington is a force to get into the backfields, and I think he will be more productive next season.
The linebacking corps looks very depleted, but the emotional leader will probably be junior Ross Homan on the weakside. Homan had 67 tackles in 2008. Austin Spitler will be in the middle. With strongside linebacker Tyler Moeller suffering a season-ending injury, nobody is sure quite yet who will fill in for him.
The defensive backfield looks to be decent next season with one huge question mark. Chimdi Chekwa has the athleticism to be a bigger playmaker next season, but now teams will target him more often that he is the No. 1 corner in Columbus. Andre Amos is completely unproven, and Anderson Russell is a weak link at free safety.
Kurt Coleman is a playmaker and should walk away with All-Big Ten honors in his senior season. Coleman had four picks, 78 tackles, and five pass break ups last year.
This defense is strong on the line, but there is a lot of inexperience at linebacker and a few weak links in the secondary. Ohio State might be nothing more than a solid defense next season, and defensive coordinator Jim Heacock needs to find a way to get the most out of the talent he has on defense.
2009 Ohio State Buckeyes Schedule and Intangibles:
People may criticize Jim Tressel for choking lately in BCS games, but what you can’t criticize is he actually has a pair of balls when it comes to non-conference scheduling.
Ohio State opens the season against Navy, which is no cupcake. Navy ranked ninth in the country last year in rushing average and first in total rushing yards. Terrelle Pryor should dominate this unit, but the option might give the Buckeye defense fits.
Then, Ohio State has a nationally televised game as they face the Men of Troy, USC, in the Horseshoe on Sept. 12. This game will be hyped and Pryor will be the star. USC has questions with their defense and quarterback, but Pete Carroll should reload.
The Big Ten schedule is pretty rough only because Ohio State has to play Penn State in Happy Valley. This game will decide the Big Ten Championship, and all eyes will be watching. Much to the delight of Buck fans, Michigan is a non-factor and Rich Rodriguez will struggle to be bowl eligible again in 2009. There is a lot of replacing to be done on special teams. Ryan Pretorious is replaced as the place kicker by Aaron Pettrey, who was the kickoff specialist in 2008. Pettrey was 4-of-4 during the regular season from the 40-plus yard mark.
2009 Ohio State Buckeyes Positional Rankings (1-5 stars):
Quarterbacks |
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Offensive Line |
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Secondary |
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Running Backs |
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Defensive Line |
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Special Teams |
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Receivers |
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Linebackers |
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Coaching |
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2009 Ohio State Buckeyes Analysis:
Despite the defensive losses, expectations remain high in Columbus. However, I am simply not sold this team has the talent or experience to reload, and beat USC or Penn State. I think both are losses, and we might even see a defeat to a team like Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa or Purdue. I think this season is very much predicated on the skill positions offensively, the linebacking corps, and the weak links in the defensive backfield. If Ohio State can be better than I am projecting, they have a good chance to win the Big Ten.
Projection: 9-3
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