Camp Opens: March 28
Spring Game: April 21
Despite going just 6-7 last year, it’s still all rainbows and butterflies in Columbus, as the great Urban Meyer gets set to open his first spring camp as head coach at Ohio State. After a year away from the sport, the 47-year-old Meyer is back, and brings with him two BCS titles and an 81 percent winning percentage in 11 seasons as a head coach to Columbus.
However, those smiles may quickly turn to frowns when Meyer and company see what they have to actually work with this spring. For a team which won 12 games just two years ago, this is a painfully thin and inexperienced group, one which is going to need time to adjust to Meyer’s schemes, especially on offense. The fact that the Buckeyes are ineligible for the postseason doesn’t make things any easier on a program where expectations are always through the roof.
Simply put, there is a lot to be excited about in Columbus right now. But entering spring ball, there’s a whole lot to work on as well.
Stability Factor (1= Chaos; 5= Rock Solid): 4.0
Had you asked us to rate the stability of the program a year, or even six months ago, this number would’ve been much lower. But credit to the folks at Ohio State who did what they needed to do, saw the program through the eye of the storm, and somehow came out relatively unscathed on the other end. Given everything we were hearing a year ago, the expectation was that Ohio State could be something much more serious than a one-year bowl ban and a couple scholarship losses.
And oh by the way, for a program that lost a head coach as successful as Jim Tressel, it’s hard to imagine them doing any better in finding his replacement than Meyer (short of maybe digging Vince Lombardi straight out of the grave). He’s still young (at 47) and refreshed from a year off, and assuming he can keep his health in check, there’s no reason to think that Meyer won’t be at this program for quite a long time.
As long as this program has Meyer in charge, it will be the epitome of “stable.”
Under The Microscope: The Offensive Line
Ask most Ohio State fans, and one of the few complaints they had during the Tressel era was the former coach’s seemingly apathetic view to recruiting offensive linemen. With so much focus on defense and the skill positions, this spot was always solid, but never deep or brimming with talent.
Well, this could be the year that Tressel’s recruiting comes back to bite the Buckeyes.
There’s no doubt that with so much inexperience across the entire offense, Meyer will try to keep the ball on the ground. The question now is, how successful will they be?
We know what quarterback Braxton Miller and running backs Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde are capable of, but will they have room to run with a young and inexperienced group in front of them? Ohio State must replace tackles Mike Adams, J.B Shugarts and center Michael Brewster on the line, with only guards Andrew Norwell and Jack Mewhort returning with experience. Everyone else on the roster is young, and for the most part hasn’t seen game action.
Forget building depth. At this point Meyer and his offensive staff need to just find five worthy starters.
Locked and Loaded: Quarterback Braxton Miller
Not much is certain on the two-deep in Columbus these days, but the one thing that seems to be is Braxton Miller starting at quarterback. Things weren’t easy for the freshman from Huber Heights, OH last year, but he did show flashes, throwing for 13 touchdowns, and rushing for an additional seven.
Miller is the perfect fit to lead Meyer’s spread scheme.
Jockeying For Position: Wide Receiver
Even in the best of times under Tressel, Ohio State was never known to throw the ball. Well that trend only became more apparent in 2011, when the Buckeyes ranked dead last in passing in the Big Ten (and 115th nationally), throwing the ball for just 127 yards a game. Yikes!
And while a lot of that blame fell on Miller’s shoulders, frankly that wasn’t entirely fair. With Dane Sanzenbacher gone to graduation and DeVier Posey suspended the first 10 games of the year, this unit was inexperienced to begin with, and other than tight end Jake Stoneburner, nobody really stepped up. He led the team with seven touchdown catches.
Well, this spring, it’s time to figure out what everyone else is capable of. Devin Smith and Corey Brown are the two names that need to develop, and we also wouldn’t be surprised to see running back Jordan Hall catch a few balls out of the backfield.
Still, out of every position on the field, this might be the one where Meyer needs to do the most work.
Name To Know: Linebacker Ryan Shazier
When I put out a note on Twitter asking Ohio State fans “who is the name that non-Ohio State fans need to know entering spring” the answer unanimously came back “Ryan Shazier.” Looking at his big freshman year, it’s not hard to see why.
In his first season in 2011, Shazier immediately stepped into the starting lineup, and alongside Storm Klein and Etienne Sabino, became part of one of the most feared linebacking units in the Big Ten. Just one year removed from high school, Shazier finished sixth on the team in both total tackles (56) and tackles for loss with four.
With another year under his belt, it’s terrifying to think how good Shazier may be in 2012. The scarier part? He’s only now a sophomore.
Spring Will Be A Success If…
For virtually every other program, we would finish this answer by saying “build depth” or “avoid injuries” but really, we can’t think of one thing that really needs to “go right” for Ohio State this spring.
The truth is, just getting to this point is already a success in its own right. The program survived some of the toughest times any has faced in recent memory, and came out surprisingly ok. They know that 2012 is a rebuilding year, but they’ve got the coach and staff in place for future success.
What will make Ohio State’s spring a success?
In a lot of ways, it’s already been a success before the team has even stepped on the field.
For all his insight, opinions and articles on sports, be sure to follow Aaron Torres on Twitter @Aaron_Torres.
