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Now that the class of 2007 is more or less in the books, I thought it would be fun to take a look at next year’s team. Here’s my best guess at the depth chart.
First, the defensive line. Ohio State has been moving toward a plug and play defense, and many of these guys can play all four spots across the front. This gives the coaches maximum flexibility in getting the best players on the field. With that in mind, and the fact that I’m hearing Rose is going to play many snaps at DT this year, here’s my guess at the two deep:
DE: Wilson, Barrow
DT: Rose, Worthington
DT: Denlinger, Larimore
DE: Gholston, Williams
Note that the Buckeyes have only one returning starter, Gholston, but Wilson, Rose, Denlinger, and Barrow all received a significant amount of PT in the two deep last year. That’s the beauty of JT’s system where everyone in the two deep plays: everyone loses starters, but Ohio State replaces them with other guys in the two deep who aren’t green. They’ve been playing a good deal, in some cases about as much as the starters!
Traditional football wisdom tells you that you need a pair and a spare to have good depth, b/c of injuries and what not. You start 4, so the 8 above gives you the pair, now you just need 1 DT and 1 DE to have your spares. At DE, OSU has Dublin, and at DT they have Heyward and Nadar. If the Buckeyes don’t have any injuries in the two deep, Heyward will likely redshirt.
Next, the linebackers. Spitlers moving to FB, but the Buckeyes are still loaded with talented players.
OLB: Terry, Gibson
MLB: Laurinaitis, Grant
OLB: Freeman, Homan
That gives OSU more or less three returning starters, and two thirds of the second string being made up of guys who’ve had a lot of PT. (Gibson will be a RS freshman.)
To complete the pair and a spare, they will need one more OLB and one more MLB. On the outside they have Moeller and the inside Mark Johnson. With the talent and numbers ahead of them, I will fall out of my seat if incoming freshman Rolle and Hines don’t redshirt.
Finally, the defensive backfield. When you consider that Russel was starting at the beginning of the year before his injury, and that with how often the Buckeyes played nickel Washington was also basically a starter, that means they have 4 starters returning. In the second string, Amos and Patterson also received significant PT last year:
CB: Jenkins, Clifford
CB: Washington, Amos
S: Russel, Paterson
S: O’Neil, Gant
There are the pairs, now for spairs. At CB they still have Chimdi Chekwa & Shaun Lane, and at Safety there is Grant Schwartz & Kurt Coleman. On top of that there will be 5 other true freshmen on the team, most of which will likely redshirt.
I think the defense will be fine. They will be at least as good and probably better than the defense in 2006. Now, am I talking about the defense that through 11 games was one of the best in the country, or the defense that gave up 80 points in its last two games? I guess we’ll find out!
Up next, the offense. Stay tuned.
First, the defensive line. Ohio State has been moving toward a plug and play defense, and many of these guys can play all four spots across the front. This gives the coaches maximum flexibility in getting the best players on the field. With that in mind, and the fact that I’m hearing Rose is going to play many snaps at DT this year, here’s my guess at the two deep:
DE: Wilson, Barrow
DT: Rose, Worthington
DT: Denlinger, Larimore
DE: Gholston, Williams
Note that the Buckeyes have only one returning starter, Gholston, but Wilson, Rose, Denlinger, and Barrow all received a significant amount of PT in the two deep last year. That’s the beauty of JT’s system where everyone in the two deep plays: everyone loses starters, but Ohio State replaces them with other guys in the two deep who aren’t green. They’ve been playing a good deal, in some cases about as much as the starters!
Traditional football wisdom tells you that you need a pair and a spare to have good depth, b/c of injuries and what not. You start 4, so the 8 above gives you the pair, now you just need 1 DT and 1 DE to have your spares. At DE, OSU has Dublin, and at DT they have Heyward and Nadar. If the Buckeyes don’t have any injuries in the two deep, Heyward will likely redshirt.
Next, the linebackers. Spitlers moving to FB, but the Buckeyes are still loaded with talented players.
OLB: Terry, Gibson
MLB: Laurinaitis, Grant
OLB: Freeman, Homan
That gives OSU more or less three returning starters, and two thirds of the second string being made up of guys who’ve had a lot of PT. (Gibson will be a RS freshman.)
To complete the pair and a spare, they will need one more OLB and one more MLB. On the outside they have Moeller and the inside Mark Johnson. With the talent and numbers ahead of them, I will fall out of my seat if incoming freshman Rolle and Hines don’t redshirt.
Finally, the defensive backfield. When you consider that Russel was starting at the beginning of the year before his injury, and that with how often the Buckeyes played nickel Washington was also basically a starter, that means they have 4 starters returning. In the second string, Amos and Patterson also received significant PT last year:
CB: Jenkins, Clifford
CB: Washington, Amos
S: Russel, Paterson
S: O’Neil, Gant
There are the pairs, now for spairs. At CB they still have Chimdi Chekwa & Shaun Lane, and at Safety there is Grant Schwartz & Kurt Coleman. On top of that there will be 5 other true freshmen on the team, most of which will likely redshirt.
I think the defense will be fine. They will be at least as good and probably better than the defense in 2006. Now, am I talking about the defense that through 11 games was one of the best in the country, or the defense that gave up 80 points in its last two games? I guess we’ll find out!
Up next, the offense. Stay tuned.