Ohio State spotlight: Jim Cordle, J.B. Shugarts
Thursday, November 5, 2009 10:00 PM
By Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Going into the season, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said the play of the offensive tackles would be critical in determining whether the Buckeyes would become true contenders for a fifth straight Big Ten championship.
"I feel as if we're contending right now," Tressel said as he prepped his team for today's game at Penn State, the 10th game on the schedule.
But will Ohio State, tied with the Nittany Lions for second place behind unbeaten Iowa, still be a contender when the day is done? Right tackle J.B. Shugarts and left tackle Jim Cordle, at right, will have a lot to say about that, considering that they are going against the No.1 defense in the conference, anchored by active defensive ends Jack Crawford and Eric Latimore.
When the season started, Shugarts was Cordle's backup at right tackle before a foot injury sidelined Cordle. Andrew Miller started at left tackle but was replaced by Mike Adams three games later and, after that, Miller missed two games with the flu. Adams is hurt now, which necessitated Cordle's move to left tackle.
So about those tackles
"If we continue to contend, we're going to need good tackle play," Tressel said. "I think J.B. Shugarts has shown a lot of improvement and I think (freshman backup) Marcus Hall has shown a lot of improvement."
On the other side, having to juggle starters has hampered development, Tressel said, "But the good news is, both those kids (Cordle and Miller) have been back for a couple weeks now.
"If we're going to contend, they're going to have to play well against very good players."