billmac91
Head Coach
I always enjoy prognosticating future line-ups. Next year is obviously quite interesting with the 5 suspensions. IMO, we'll become a power-team that relies on a solid run game and special teams...shocking, I know. I think our passing game through the first 5, will be entirely based on play-action. I think JT will rely on the offensive line and defense to win until we get a full compliment of players.
My projected line-up:
QB: Bauserman - I think we'll be in mostly I formation, 2 WR's, FB, and TE sets. I think JT tries to win conservatively, and goes with the pocket passer. Braxton will have specific packages, but Bauserman gets the nod until TP gets back. Personally, I'd like to see Guiton grab a hold of the job, but I think JT will take the experienced player and coach him up to limit turnovers and play for field position.
RB: Committee....I think Hall and Berry will get the starts until Herron comes back. I also think even if Hall/Berry get the start, Rod Smith will get a heavy workload to keep the chains moving.
FB: Boren - He's going to get a heavy dose early next year. When I say Ohio State is going to rely on the run, I'm not talking about zone read out of the shotgun. Boren will be an intricate part of the offense early next year as we smash teams in the mouth with a lead run-blocker.
TE: Stoneburner/Fragel - Think we'll see a lot of double TE sets and lot of each player. Stoneburner will get the start, but like Boren, Fragel will be very important to the run game.
WR: Corey Brown - field stretcher, but lacks polish
WR: TY Williams - great size, lacks experience...you hope TY has the type of athleticism that allows a QB to recognize him in man coverage and you just put air under the ball and let him make a play. That remains to be seen, but his size is Randy Moss-esque.
LT: Andrew Norwell - Starts until Adams returns and plays well
LG: Corey Linsley - great pulling guard with a nasty attitude
C: Brewster comes back, enough said
RG: Marcus Hall - mans the spot until next year when Shugarts graduates
RT: Shugarts
Defensively:
DE - Nathan Williams - Enough said
DT - John Simon
DT - Hankins/Bennet
DE - Adam Bellamy/Keith Wells - I think Wells has the higher upside, but how long does it take him to get back into the swing of things? I think we'll also see a lot of Simon at DE similar to the way Cameron Heyward was used. Michael Bennett will see some time at DT like Hankins did this year with Goebel providing nice depth.
*BTW, did anyone else notice the push Hankins was getting against Arky? It's worth re-watching. Time to get the stamina up big-boy.
SLB: Andrew Sweat - solid point of attack tackler
MLB: Bino - waited his turn, he gets rewarded
WLB: Dorian Bell - great athlete and plays mean
CB: Travis Howard - impressed with his limited time against Arky. Nice size and good athleticism.
CB: Dominic Clarke - pre-Sugar Bowl I was reluctantly thinking Doran Grant would be the first starting true-freshman in our secondary (to start the season) in JT's history. I think Clarke will get the opportunity to prove himself, especially after a gritty performance against Ryan Mallett in the Sugar Bowl.
SS: Christian Bryant - tough call here but Bryant is a physical player for his size and too good of a player to keep off the field.
FS: Orhian Johnson - stepped up as the season went on and became a dependable player.
Star: Moeller - Enough said.
*Wild Card - CJ Barnett is coming off of a nasty knee surgery and will likely need a full year of recovery. I expect him to bounce back in his career, but it is probably too much to expect him to be starting at safety by week 1 next year. It may even be more realistic to expect him back mid-season.
On paper I really like this team to start the season 4-1 or 5-0. The Miami game makes me nervous because they can match our athletes. It will be interesting to see how Golden gets that team moving. They have a QB controversy, and will have to replace several very good receivers and defensive starters. Again, on paper I like the Buckeyes, but you can't sleep on the Canes.
Michigan State falls into the same boat as Miami. They are down their two best receivers in Cunningham and Dell, but Cousins is very good. I feel like we should win that game based on it being in the Shoe, and our defense still looking solid.
In general, I think the coaching staff has done a tremendous job along the front 4 and it should keep us competitive in any game we play. The versatility of guys like Simon, Bellamy, and Keith Wells really allows Heacock some freedom in terms of substituion packages and keeping players fresh. Even with the loss of Cam Heyward, I'm loving the size of next years starting DL and think it should be solid against the run and capable of pressure as a unit.
At LB it will be tough to replace the production of Rolle and Homan. Those guys were rocks at the second level. I think we actually get more athletic back there next year, but the lack of experience is scary. Sabino has so much talent it's hard not to see him as a big-time player, but we'll see. And the way Dorian Bell demolishes kick-coverage teams, it's easy to see him as a wrecking ball against the run. Homan was very solid against the pass, and I'd expect these guys to struggle with that early.
In the secondary, what had me concerned pre-sugar bowl, now seems much better. I don't know if I have a false sense of security based on the Sugar Bowl, but these guys really stepped up and played well. Yes there were a lot of drops by Arky, but for the most part they were in position and there to make a play. I think Howard is poised to be an All-Big 10 player, and Dominic Clarke will be stingy. It will be interesting to see how Dionte Allen fits in and where Christian Bryant gets placed with the return of Moeller. Similar to the DL, I feel like a lot of these guys have versatility and the ability to play multiple positions.
At this time I think Bryant gets moved to safety with Moeller at the star. In Nickel packages Allen comes in. I was really high on Grant coming in a freshman and getting a lot of time, but I think its unrealistic at this point. A little seasoning will do Doran a lot of good early in his career. While our safeties appear undersized in this projected line-up, it's exciting to think about the coverage they can provide. Barnett was undersized as well, but he was supporting well enough, but covering the pass extremely well. I think Bryant is capable of the same. Biggest concern is the bubble screen that Hines used to blow up. Can O.J. or Bryant be physical enough on the edge to fight through blocking WR's??
Kicker - Basil
Punter - Buchanon
Special teams are a bit scary. Beyond the blocked punt on Buchanon, his hang time and kicking distance were putrid, inside a dome for that matter, in the Sugar Bowl. I'm not sure how realistic it is to expect a stronger leg next season, but all year he seemed to struggle with distance on his kicks. Hopefully with maturity and experience, next year is a breakout season.
Drew Basil gets his first year at kicker. I'm less concerned about the place kicking than punting to be truthful. Just seems we've always had consistent kickers inside of 50 yards, and I expect the same from Basil. Hopefully he keeps the tradition alive.
Look forward to other opinions....
My projected line-up:
QB: Bauserman - I think we'll be in mostly I formation, 2 WR's, FB, and TE sets. I think JT tries to win conservatively, and goes with the pocket passer. Braxton will have specific packages, but Bauserman gets the nod until TP gets back. Personally, I'd like to see Guiton grab a hold of the job, but I think JT will take the experienced player and coach him up to limit turnovers and play for field position.
RB: Committee....I think Hall and Berry will get the starts until Herron comes back. I also think even if Hall/Berry get the start, Rod Smith will get a heavy workload to keep the chains moving.
FB: Boren - He's going to get a heavy dose early next year. When I say Ohio State is going to rely on the run, I'm not talking about zone read out of the shotgun. Boren will be an intricate part of the offense early next year as we smash teams in the mouth with a lead run-blocker.
TE: Stoneburner/Fragel - Think we'll see a lot of double TE sets and lot of each player. Stoneburner will get the start, but like Boren, Fragel will be very important to the run game.
WR: Corey Brown - field stretcher, but lacks polish
WR: TY Williams - great size, lacks experience...you hope TY has the type of athleticism that allows a QB to recognize him in man coverage and you just put air under the ball and let him make a play. That remains to be seen, but his size is Randy Moss-esque.
LT: Andrew Norwell - Starts until Adams returns and plays well
LG: Corey Linsley - great pulling guard with a nasty attitude
C: Brewster comes back, enough said
RG: Marcus Hall - mans the spot until next year when Shugarts graduates
RT: Shugarts
Defensively:
DE - Nathan Williams - Enough said
DT - John Simon
DT - Hankins/Bennet
DE - Adam Bellamy/Keith Wells - I think Wells has the higher upside, but how long does it take him to get back into the swing of things? I think we'll also see a lot of Simon at DE similar to the way Cameron Heyward was used. Michael Bennett will see some time at DT like Hankins did this year with Goebel providing nice depth.
*BTW, did anyone else notice the push Hankins was getting against Arky? It's worth re-watching. Time to get the stamina up big-boy.
SLB: Andrew Sweat - solid point of attack tackler
MLB: Bino - waited his turn, he gets rewarded
WLB: Dorian Bell - great athlete and plays mean
CB: Travis Howard - impressed with his limited time against Arky. Nice size and good athleticism.
CB: Dominic Clarke - pre-Sugar Bowl I was reluctantly thinking Doran Grant would be the first starting true-freshman in our secondary (to start the season) in JT's history. I think Clarke will get the opportunity to prove himself, especially after a gritty performance against Ryan Mallett in the Sugar Bowl.
SS: Christian Bryant - tough call here but Bryant is a physical player for his size and too good of a player to keep off the field.
FS: Orhian Johnson - stepped up as the season went on and became a dependable player.
Star: Moeller - Enough said.
*Wild Card - CJ Barnett is coming off of a nasty knee surgery and will likely need a full year of recovery. I expect him to bounce back in his career, but it is probably too much to expect him to be starting at safety by week 1 next year. It may even be more realistic to expect him back mid-season.
On paper I really like this team to start the season 4-1 or 5-0. The Miami game makes me nervous because they can match our athletes. It will be interesting to see how Golden gets that team moving. They have a QB controversy, and will have to replace several very good receivers and defensive starters. Again, on paper I like the Buckeyes, but you can't sleep on the Canes.
Michigan State falls into the same boat as Miami. They are down their two best receivers in Cunningham and Dell, but Cousins is very good. I feel like we should win that game based on it being in the Shoe, and our defense still looking solid.
In general, I think the coaching staff has done a tremendous job along the front 4 and it should keep us competitive in any game we play. The versatility of guys like Simon, Bellamy, and Keith Wells really allows Heacock some freedom in terms of substituion packages and keeping players fresh. Even with the loss of Cam Heyward, I'm loving the size of next years starting DL and think it should be solid against the run and capable of pressure as a unit.
At LB it will be tough to replace the production of Rolle and Homan. Those guys were rocks at the second level. I think we actually get more athletic back there next year, but the lack of experience is scary. Sabino has so much talent it's hard not to see him as a big-time player, but we'll see. And the way Dorian Bell demolishes kick-coverage teams, it's easy to see him as a wrecking ball against the run. Homan was very solid against the pass, and I'd expect these guys to struggle with that early.
In the secondary, what had me concerned pre-sugar bowl, now seems much better. I don't know if I have a false sense of security based on the Sugar Bowl, but these guys really stepped up and played well. Yes there were a lot of drops by Arky, but for the most part they were in position and there to make a play. I think Howard is poised to be an All-Big 10 player, and Dominic Clarke will be stingy. It will be interesting to see how Dionte Allen fits in and where Christian Bryant gets placed with the return of Moeller. Similar to the DL, I feel like a lot of these guys have versatility and the ability to play multiple positions.
At this time I think Bryant gets moved to safety with Moeller at the star. In Nickel packages Allen comes in. I was really high on Grant coming in a freshman and getting a lot of time, but I think its unrealistic at this point. A little seasoning will do Doran a lot of good early in his career. While our safeties appear undersized in this projected line-up, it's exciting to think about the coverage they can provide. Barnett was undersized as well, but he was supporting well enough, but covering the pass extremely well. I think Bryant is capable of the same. Biggest concern is the bubble screen that Hines used to blow up. Can O.J. or Bryant be physical enough on the edge to fight through blocking WR's??
Kicker - Basil
Punter - Buchanon
Special teams are a bit scary. Beyond the blocked punt on Buchanon, his hang time and kicking distance were putrid, inside a dome for that matter, in the Sugar Bowl. I'm not sure how realistic it is to expect a stronger leg next season, but all year he seemed to struggle with distance on his kicks. Hopefully with maturity and experience, next year is a breakout season.
Drew Basil gets his first year at kicker. I'm less concerned about the place kicking than punting to be truthful. Just seems we've always had consistent kickers inside of 50 yards, and I expect the same from Basil. Hopefully he keeps the tradition alive.
Look forward to other opinions....
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