Please patronize our advertisers to help
keep theOzone.net free for everyone.

The-Ozone.net Mall

Interesting, Fun companies with interesting, quality products - and the-Ozone gets a piece of the action!

Football
Projected Spring Depth Chart: Defense
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Buckeyes will hit the practice field this afternoon for the start of spring practice.

Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock expects an exciting spring , with a lot of competition as Ohio State looks to replace seven starters on defense.

New assistant head coach Luke Fickell, who also coaches the linebackers, said the Buckeyes must replace 1,100 production points on defense, something they haven’t had to do since after the 2005 season.

Here’s a look at how the depth chart projects on defense heading into spring ball.

(Editor’s Note: We chose to drop all suspended players to second-string except for Pryor, who likely will not take part in much, if any, of spring practice. Also, heights, weights and numbers have been updated to reflect the latest roster.)

STRONGSIDE DEFENSIVE END

54 John Simon (6-2, 270, Jr.)
+91 Melvin Fellows (6-5, 249, rSo.)
90 Darryl Baldwin (6-4, 267, rFr.)

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

53 Garrett Goebel (6-3, 281, rJr.) OR
93 Adam Bellamy (6-4, 295, rSo.)
68 Evan Blankenship (6-3, 288, rSr.)

NOSE TACKLE

+54 Johnathan Hankins (6-3, 335, So.)
*51 Joe Hale (6-4, 310, Fr.)
95 Don Matheney (6-0, 310, Sr.)

WEAKSIDE DEFENSIVE END (LEO)

43 Nathan Williams (6-3, 260, Sr.)
^98 Solomon Thomas (6-5, 255, rSr.)
50 J.T. Moore (6-1, 246, rFr.) OR
33 David Durham (6-1, 231, rFr.)

WEAKSIDE LINEBACKER (WILL)

42 Andrew Sweat (6-2, 238, Sr.)
11 Dorian Bell (6-1, 225, rSo.)
+38 Scott McVey (6-0, 218, rFr.)

MIDDLE LINEBACKER (MIKE)

32 Storm Klein (6-2, 230, Jr.)
39 Jordan Whiting (6-1, 238, rSo.)
41 Tony Jackson (5-11, 220, rSr.)

STRONGSIDE LINEBACKER (SAM)

6 Etienne Sabino (6-3, 240, rJr.)
55 Jonathan Newsome (6-3, 219, Jr.)
*10 Ryan Shazier (6-2, 210, Fr.)

NICKEL BACK (STAR)

2 Christian Bryant (5-9, 178, So.)
+26 Tyler Moeller (6-0, 210, rSr.)
20 Nate Oliver (6-0, 215, rSr.)

WIDESIDE CORNERBACK

7 Travis Howard (6-0, 190, rJr.)
25 Bradley Roby (5-11, 176, rFr.)
29 Taylor Rice (5-10, 177, rSo.)

SHORTSIDE CORNERBACK

5 Dominic Clarke (5-10, 190, rSo.) OR
8 Dionte Allen (5-11, 182, rJr.)
30 Donnie Evege (5-11, 180, rSr.)

FREE SAFETY

19 Orhian Johnson (6-2, 205, rJr.)
16 Zach Domicone (6-3, 211, rJr.)
*17 Jeremy Cash (6-2, 190, Fr.)

STRONG SAFETY

+4 C.J. Barnett (6-0, 190, Jr.)
21 Jamie Wood (6-1, 198, rSo.)
*28 Ron Tanner (6-1, 190, Fr.)

Legend

*Early enrollee
+Injured or coming off injury from last season
^Suspended first 5 games of 2011 season

Projected Depth Chart - Offense

Projected Depth Chart - Special Teams

Donate by Check :

Ozone Communications
1380 King Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43212

Help us bring you more Buckeye coverage. Donate to the-Ozone.

Click here to email this the-Ozone feature to a friend...or even a foe.

(c) 2010 The O-Zone, O-Zone Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.