Football
20 Questions You Were Dying to Have Answered About the Buckeyes
By Tony GerdemanSo two weeks ago we answered twenty questions about the nation. Last week we answered "twenty" questions about the Big Ten. This time, we tackle twenty questions surrounding the Buckeyes. (Again, these are not to be considered predictions unless they actually happen.)
1. Can Todd Boeckman be a National Champion quarterback?
Let me answer that question with a question. Do these numbers look like the numbers of a championship quarterback: 14-29 for 129 yards and two interceptions; 4-10 for 79 yards; and 7-21 for 122 yards and two interceptions? Well, they are. Those are Craig Krenzel's stats against Cincinnati, Washington State and Miami in 2002. As you can see, having the best single-season won-loss record in recorded college football history doesn't necessarily mean it's always going to be pretty. Would it help if Boeckman didn't have three interception games? Of course. Are quarterbacks generally better their second year of starting as opposed to their first? Absolutely. Will that also hold true for Todd Boeckman? I don't see why not. Boeckman will cut down on his turnovers this season and you will see marked improvement in that area. I have no doubt that Boeckman can be a championship quarterback.
2. How much Terrelle Pryor will we see?
Well, everybody likes to presume that the Buckeyes will use Pryor a lot like Florida used Tim Tebow in 2006. And if we look back to 2006, Tebow had 122 touches in 14 games. He threw 33 passes and carried the ball 89 times for an average of 8.7 touches per game. Of course, he had more actual snaps than that, because he would also hand off on rare occasions. So this gives us a base of what we might see from Pryor. However, Tebow was used as the team's power back—and the Buckeyes already have that. Tebow was also the team's second leading rusher. I doubt the Buckeyes need that, either. Basically, Tebow was used out of necessity. Pryor will be used out of luxury. But he will still be used. The number most are tossing around would be 10-15 snaps, and that's what I'm going with as well. I think that could be low, however, based on whether or not Pryor is going to be given a series or two, or whether he's going to be substituted in. If he is going to get an actual series or two, then those numbers could go up because he would also be used for situational plays throughout the game. However, I think we've found that siding conservatively with statistical projections of Jim Tressel's teams is usually the wiser course.
3. How do you replace Vernon Gholston's 14 sacks?
With depth. Yes, Vernon Gholston is gone, but the Buckeyes will be deeper at defensive end than they were a year ago. Consider that at this time a year ago, many believed that Lawrence Wilson was the best player on the defensive line. Wilson is now healthy. Also ready to go should be Robert Rose, who was injured nearly all season, yet still started four games. And then there's the surprise of the freshman class last season, Cameron Heyward. Heyward made an impact quickly and ended up starting the last eight games of the season while Robert Rose spelled him when possible. Oh, and we can't forget Thaddeus Gibson. All you need to know about Gibson's potential can be summed up in one sack in the Wisconsin game last season where he tossed aside a 320-pound right tackle and leveled Tyler Donovan with extreme prejudice. And then there's the blitzing. Oh, the blitzing…
4. Can the Buckeyes be the first team since the 1927 Wolverines to win a fifth consecutive game in this series?
Yes. This will only be the Buckeyes' third attempt at winning a fifth consecutive game in this series. In 1938, Michigan came into Columbus and undoubtedly cheated and gouged their way to an 18-0 win. Then in 1964, given the extreme homefield advantage that Michigan enjoyed, they stole one from the Buckeyes 10-0. (This was a pretty easy question to answer.)
5. Is the Pony Back a token set, or will it actually be used?
Yes. (These options aren't exactly mutually exclusive. The Pony Back set will just be a token set, but it will also actually be used. Next time, maybe you should formulate the questions better.) If you're not sure what the "Pony Back" set is, it's basically just split tailbacks--much like we saw in the mid-90's when Walt Harris was the quarterbacks coach for the Buckeyes. As we saw when the coaching staff went to New Orleans last year to learn about using two tailbacks together, just because they study it doesn't mean they implement it. However, with the added emphasis of dumping the ball off, having a running back or two in the flats is always a great option. Keep in mind, Eddie George had 47 receptions his senior season--most via the dump off, so flipping the ball into the flats doesn't always need to be a fall-back plan.
6. Who will be the third linebacker?
It depends. There will be plenty of different situations which warrant different combinations. When it's a passing down, we may see somebody like Tyler Moeller who is a little bit better in pass coverage. When it's a running down, we could see Curtis Terry in there as a run-stopping specialist. And then you also have to have Ross Homan out there somewhere. And who knows how often the Buckeyes will even need a third linebacker. In 2006, the Buckeyes started five defensive backs about nine times. Of course, in 2006, they were also replacing Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Schlegel and A.J. Hawk, so there weren't as many choices back then as there are now.
7. Who is going to be Ohio State's starting right tackle?
Bryant Browning. He was with the ones in the spring and I don't expect that to change this summer. He held up well in the spring and proved to be a pretty immovable force. Many were expecting incoming freshman Mike Adams to win the right tackle job and handle that side for a year before moving over to left tackle--much like Orlando Pace did back in the day. However, Adams missing the spring due to surgery has foiled those plans...for now.
8. Where will Chris Wells finish (assuming 2008 is his finisher) on the all-time Ohio State rushing list?
Second. Wells currently has 2,185 rushing yards in his career--good enough for 16th all-time (even though Ohio State's record book has him 15th). He is currently 1,583 yards behind Eddie George, who has held down the second spot since his graduation. Last season, Wells rushed for 1,609 yards, which was the fourth-highest total in the history of Ohio State. He would have to be a pretty good bet to match or better those numbers this season--if Jim Tressel wants him to. In case you were wondering, Chris Wells would only have to rush for 3,405 yards to claim the top spot from Archie Griffin.
9. Aside from Terrelle Pryor, which freshman will make the biggest impact this season?
If he was healthy, Mike Adams would probably be the easy answer here. Just looking at the freshmen, it's amazing that for a class so highly-rated, the Buckeyes could choose to redshirt the vast majority of them because they won't necessarily be needed this year. However, since the Buckeyes will lose so many players after this season, getting the incoming freshmen on the field this season will pay dividends in 2009. I really have no idea who to pick here. I'm thinking the answer is probably going to be tackle J.B. Shugarts since he's been here since the Spring and has been healthy and completely immersed in football. But then how can you name the third or fourth or fifth tackle as the freshman that's going to have the biggest impact? So let's go with wideout Jake Stoneburner. At 6'5" 230-ish, he's a match-up problem wherever he lines up. I can see him getting a handful of touchdown catches this season.
10. Who will lead the Buckeyes in interceptions?
Free safety Anderson Russell. Yes, I know he dropped the ball like he was Braylon Edwards on a crucial third down all season long, but I don't care. He was in a position to make interceptions, and he will be in that same position this season. Except now, hopefully, he is no longer dealing with acute manus iratus ("angry hands"). It is probably safe to assume Anderson Russell has been working on catching the ball like he's never done before--and I'm predicting that it will pay off this year. Besides, who's gonna throw at Malcolm Jenkins now that Anthony Morelli is gone?
11. Will 2008 see Ohio State's first 1,000-yard receiver since Michael Jenkins in 2002? (There have only been four.)
I'm torn on this one. On one hand, Todd Boeckman will throw fewer interceptions this season, which means more yards for his receivers--namely Brian Robiskie, who finished with 935 yards receiving last year. On the other hand, there are a lot of people to throw to this season, so I would be surprised to see the numbers so skewed to just Robiskie and Hartline (694 yards) this season. But since the question must be answered, I'll go with "no". In the Buckeyes' final seven games last season, Robiskie only averaged 48.7 yards receiving per game. Perhaps the staff will want the catches to be spread out better so that the defense can't just key on one guy like it appears they did with Robiskie.
12. Will we see a second-team offensive line unit that gets quality playing time this season?
Definitely. The Buckeyes have more depth than they did a season ago and with three starting linemen playing their final season this year, the staff will want to get as much experience for the young kids as possible in an effort to make the 2009 transition an easier one. The scary thing is, if everybody could stay healthy, they'd actually be able to field a third line as well.
13. Will anybody other than Beanie have a 100-yard rushing game this season?
No. With three or four back-up running backs and a back-up quarterback that can run like Terrelle Pryor, there are just too many carries to split up to expect one player to get enough carries to reach 100 yards--without a 65-yarder mixed in somewhere, at least.
14. Is this the year Ray Small "steps it up"?
I'm not in the group that feels he has underperformed to this point, but I'm also not convinced that this is the year he does something outrageous. People are waiting for Ray Small to emerge as the next Ted Ginn, but how many Ted Ginns did we see before Ted Ginn? One? Ray Small has done pretty much what every other quality wide receiver has done at Ohio State in his first two seasons. And with so much receiver depth, I don't really see enough passes going Small's way to think that he'll have a breakout season in 2008. I do, however, think he could add more than he has on special teams. Averaging 17.8 yards on kick returns and 7.3 yards per punt return are very below average. Hopefully, things will improve in this area greatly in 2008.
15. If linebacker Brian Rolle leaves the train station traveling at top speed and the opposing team's kick returner leaves slightly after, also traveling at top speed, when the two meet, which county does the ball-carrier end up in?
Either Delaware or Pickaway County, depending on which direction the kick came from.
16. Who will be the offense's breakout performer this season?
Running back Brandon Saine. He probably won't take too many carries from Chris Wells, but they'll still find ways to get him the ball. Last season, Saine had 72 touches, but that number will definitely go up this season. Brandon Saine was the fourth-leading receiver in terms of yardage for the Buckeyes last season--and he was the third-string tailback. Obviously, the staff wants him involved in many different ways, and they've spent an offseason trying to find ways to put him in positions to succeed. Expect to see him lined up everywhere except quarterback and offensive line.
17. Who will be the defense's breakout performer this season?
Defensive end Lawrence Wilson. I'm not sure people really understand what Wilson is capable of. Wilson should be able to do it all at defensive end this season. He can stop the run and he can rush the passer. And after missing all of last season, save for the Youngstown State game, I'm guessing there isn't a hungrier player on this defense. Without a doubt, Wilson will have to be accounted for on every single down this year.
18. Who will lead the Buckeyes in sacks this year?
Defensive end Lawrence Wilson. He's shooting to pick up the entire Gholston slack this season, so that's fourteen sacks he's looking for. I'll go with twelve.
19. Will the Wisconsin game be a tougher matchup than the USC game?
It won't be tougher, but it will be just as tough. The Badgers are actually in a similar situation to the Trojans in that they've got a ton of offense and defense back, but they're both breaking in new quarterbacks. USC probably has more individual talent, but the Wisconsin game will be a tougher venue. The Badgers have won three of the last five games against the Buckeyes and Ohio State hasn't won consecutive games in this series since 1995 and 1996.
20. Aside from USC, the schedule is cake, right?
Wrong. ESPN and the like will tell you that the coast is clear after the USC game, but four conference road games against probable bowl teams (Wisconsin, Michigan State, Northwestern and Illinois) isn't exactly a breeze. Yes, they'll likely be favored in each game, but go ask USC or Stanford about being favored.
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