Buckeye86;1223109; said:
Adams and Browning are going to humiliate people. All aboard the Saine for Heisman '10 bandwagon!!!
Upvote
0
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Buckeye86;1223109; said:
Dryden;1227814; said:Adams and Browning are going to humiliate people. All aboard the Saine for Heisman '10 bandwagon!!!
Ohio State football: Chase of freshman leads to haircuts
by Doug Lesmerises
Thursday August 14, 2008, 2:03 PM
D.L.Alex Boone
D.L.Steve Rehring - still normal
D.L.Jim Cordle
It started, so the story goes, with Ohio State's offensive line planning to shave the head of freshman center Michael Brewster. With his shaggy, curly locks, it's easy to see why the upperclassmen would be tempted.
It ended with several of the linemen sporting lightning bolts on the sides of their heads. Such results should never be a surprise when Alex Boone is involved.
cont'd...
Buckeyes' line depth may rival 2006 unit
Friday, August 15, 2008
By Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State hopes its breadth and depth on the offensive line can return to the level it reached in 2006.
The Buckeyes sent in their second-team offensive line at Texas that season to seize control in a game that was teetering. The win propelled Ohio State to an unbeaten regular season, a spot in the national championship and a Heisman Trophy for quarterback Troy Smith.
The only blemish, of course, was in the title game, when the line was overwhelmed by Florida's defensive front seven.
After last season, when five players were mainstays on the line, offensive coordinator Jim Bollman and coach Jim Tressel won't guarantee the same type of unit-for-unit substitution as in 2006. But they agree the ingredients are there.
"I think we're going to be deeper but have less experience," Tressel said. "From a talent standpoint, I think we're going to be a little better than we've been."
The core is the four returning starters from last season's national championship game loss to LSU -- left tackle Alex Boone, left guard Steve Rehring, center Jim Cordle and right guard Ben Person -- plus the sixth man, Bryant Browning, who has the lead at right tackle.
Backing them up is a group that includes, from left to right, former tight end Andy Miller, a sophomore; late-blooming senior Kyle Mitchum; junior walk-on Andrew Moses; sophomore Connor Smith, and sophomore walk-on Josh Kerr.
Pressing for playing time will be freshmen J.B. Shugarts at right tackle, Michael Brewster at center and Mike Adams at left tackle, depending on when he's cleared to compete after shoulder surgery last spring.
"I think overall the eight or nine guys competing for those backup spots are doing pretty well," Bollman said. "That's great, because we have a chance to have more depth than we've had for a couple of years.
"It could be a good situation, and I want to let it evolve, not force anything."
Big and incredibly nasty
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
08/15/2008
COLUMBUS -- Measured against typical football seasons, Ohio State was incredibly fortunate with its offensive line play last year. None of the five starters suffered a serious injury, and Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel estimated the starters took about 95 percent of the season's snaps.
''That was lucky,'' Tressel said.
Expecting that to happen again would be foolish, which is why the Buckeyes enter 2008 cautiously optimistic that this could be the deepest offensive line under Tressel. The problem is the inexperience of that depth.
Continued......
1. Oklahoma
The line was going to be good no matter what, and then it was assured of being special (again) with the decision of the left side of the line, tackle Phil Loadholt and guard Duke Robinson, to return for another year. This might not just be the nation's best line; it might be the nation's best line by a wide margin. There are two sure-thing NFL starters in Loadholt and Robinson on the left side, a fringe NFL starter at right guard in Brandon Walker, and an all-star center in Jon Cooper to anchor everything. There's depth to burn, more help on the way from the recruiting class, and talent, talent, talent. Now the expectations will be through the roof for this group to be unbelievable every week, and the potential is to meet them. Now the front five has to act like the best in America. For about ten games, this starting five, in whatever configuration it'll be, will destroy opposing defensive lines, but for those two games when there are problems, and you don't know when those games will come, like against Colorado last year, the machine breaks down. For all the returning talent, this line has to bring it every week.
3. Penn State
All five starters return to the line with one big twist. The 6-3, 288-pound sophomore Stefen Wisniewski, the nephew of former Penn State star and longtime NFL starter, Steve, saw time as a true freshman and was fantastic when he got the chance. Now he has pushed Mike Lucian out of a job. A.Q. Shipley and Rich Ornberger will earn All-Big Ten honors, and Dennis Landolt and Gerald Cadogan will get their share of looks for the post-season all-star teams, but Wisniewski is about to become the main man and one of the Big Ten's most dominant guards. The line paved the way for 194 rushing yards per game, and if it's Daryll Clark under center, the offense will crank out well over 200 yards per outing behind this group. Pass protection is hardly a problem, even though the tackles are very good, and not next-level superior. This is a talented, smart, experienced line that'll be the reason the Nittany Lions win a few games. Few defensive lines will be able hold their own for a full 60 minutes against this group. The big task will be preparing for next year by getting several new players prepared to take over at key spots.
4. Ohio State
After two very good years, the Buckeye O line should be among the best in the nation again with four starters returning. Alex Boone should be one of the country's premier tackles, while Steve Rehring is an NFL-caliber guard to help form a dominant left side. There's a question about the relatively inexperienced backups, and the Buckeyes can't have the same luck with durability again, so there will be a bit of a panic if there's an injury issue early on. It's been hard to get playing time over the last few years behind the rock-solid starting five, but it's not like several players have stepped up. You were a superstar high school player if you're on the OSU two-deep, but veterans like Kyle Mitchum and Jon Skinner never lived up to their prep hype. Now the hope will be for true freshmen, Mike Adams and Brewster, to be the real deal.
Cont;d ...