Ian Cuevas
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Ohio State-Indiana 2015 depth chart: Cardale Jones lone starter at quarterback
Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The fifth depth chart of the season doesn't stray much from the previous weeks as the Buckeyes prepare for their Big Ten opener against Indiana.
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For the first time this season, Ohio State heads into Saturday with a clear-cut No. 1 at quarterback. Although Urban Meyer hasn't strayed from his decision to start Cardale Jones since the season opener against Virginia Tech, Jones' performances against Hawaii and Northern Illinois left much to be desired. The calls for J.T. Barrett began, but after Jones threw for just under 300 yards and two touchdowns against Western Michigan, it's clear that the quarterback controversy is over for the foreseeable future. Barrett remains the backup, but there's no OR between he and Jones.
Ezekiel Elliott continues to rack up 100-yard games as the starting running back for Ohio State. Elliott ended with 16 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown against Western Michigan. It was the ninth consecutive 100-yard game for the junior back. Bri'onte Dunn remains the backup with Warren Ball still listed as third-string.
Last week, Curtis Samuel was listed as the starter at one of the outside receivers and though he did have two catches for 49 yards, he still pretty much operated as an H-back, lining up in different spots in multiple formations. He even took a few handoffs, but remains the starter in place of the injured Parris Campbell. Michael Thomas and Jalin Marshall man the other starting wide receiver positions. Thomas has been a workhorse and added six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos. Jalin Marshall hauled in two receptions for 48 yards and had a touchdown of his own.
Braxton Miller remains the starter at H-back, though the coaching staff seems to still be having trouble figuring out how to best get the ball to Miller during games. He touched the ball just six times (four carries, two receptions) but isn't a key part of the offense like he was against Virginia Tech. Dontre Wilson is still the backup to Miller.
The tight end spot is firmly locked down by Nick Vannett, with Marcus Baugh listed as the backup once again. No change there, nor would I expect one for the remainder of the season, barring injury.
The offensive line stays the same up front, with Taylor Decker, Billy Price, Jacoby Boren, Pat Elflein, and Chase Farris (from left to right). A somewhat better performance against Western Michigan, but going against a less-talented team might have masked some of the issues. Indiana should be a better test to look for any improvement.
Switching to defense, from one end to the other, the starters on the defensive line are listed as Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington, Tommy Schutt, and Tyquan Lewis. Sam Hubbard is the backup to Bosa, while Donovan Munger OR Tracy Sprinkle backs up Washington. Joel Hale OR Michael Hill back up Schutt, while Jayln Holmes backs up Lewis with Darius Slade closing that side of the line out.
The linebackers remain the same with Joshua Perry at weak outside linebacker, Raekwon McMillan in at middle linebacker, and Darron Lee finishing at strong outside linebacker.
At cornerback, nothing has changed as Gareon Conley and Eli Apple man the outside edges with Marshon Lattimore replacing the suspended Damon Webb for backup along with Denzel Ward. For safeties, the starters are still Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell. Erick Smith is listed as the backup to Bell, while Cam Burrows is under Powell. While it's not clear how long Webb is suspended for, there were a couple of plays that the nickel in at the time (whether it be Lattimore or Cam Burrows) struggled against a strong wide receiver such as Western Michigan's Daniel Braverman who lit up the secondary with 10 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Jalin Marshall remains the starter at punt returner. Ezekiel Elliott makes a return to the punt returner spot as the backup, which I find a bit odd. Braxton Miller isn't listed on the depth chart as a punt returner.
Jack Willoughby and Sean Nuernberger are still listed as starters with OR in between them for place kicking. Willoughby, however, seems to be the lone starter based off the opportunities and him being on the field for the entirety of the games this season thus far. Willoughby connected on his only field goal Saturday for 30 yards and was 5-of-5 on extra points. Cameron Johnston is still the starting punter and that won't change for the foreseeable future. It seems Curtis Samuel and Warren Ball have locked up kick returner spots as this hasn't changed so far this season.
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Ian Cuevas via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The fifth depth chart of the season doesn't stray much from the previous weeks as the Buckeyes prepare for their Big Ten opener against Indiana.
For the first time this season, Ohio State heads into Saturday with a clear-cut No. 1 at quarterback. Although Urban Meyer hasn't strayed from his decision to start Cardale Jones since the season opener against Virginia Tech, Jones' performances against Hawaii and Northern Illinois left much to be desired. The calls for J.T. Barrett began, but after Jones threw for just under 300 yards and two touchdowns against Western Michigan, it's clear that the quarterback controversy is over for the foreseeable future. Barrett remains the backup, but there's no OR between he and Jones.
Ezekiel Elliott continues to rack up 100-yard games as the starting running back for Ohio State. Elliott ended with 16 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown against Western Michigan. It was the ninth consecutive 100-yard game for the junior back. Bri'onte Dunn remains the backup with Warren Ball still listed as third-string.
Last week, Curtis Samuel was listed as the starter at one of the outside receivers and though he did have two catches for 49 yards, he still pretty much operated as an H-back, lining up in different spots in multiple formations. He even took a few handoffs, but remains the starter in place of the injured Parris Campbell. Michael Thomas and Jalin Marshall man the other starting wide receiver positions. Thomas has been a workhorse and added six receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos. Jalin Marshall hauled in two receptions for 48 yards and had a touchdown of his own.
Braxton Miller remains the starter at H-back, though the coaching staff seems to still be having trouble figuring out how to best get the ball to Miller during games. He touched the ball just six times (four carries, two receptions) but isn't a key part of the offense like he was against Virginia Tech. Dontre Wilson is still the backup to Miller.
The tight end spot is firmly locked down by Nick Vannett, with Marcus Baugh listed as the backup once again. No change there, nor would I expect one for the remainder of the season, barring injury.
The offensive line stays the same up front, with Taylor Decker, Billy Price, Jacoby Boren, Pat Elflein, and Chase Farris (from left to right). A somewhat better performance against Western Michigan, but going against a less-talented team might have masked some of the issues. Indiana should be a better test to look for any improvement.
Switching to defense, from one end to the other, the starters on the defensive line are listed as Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington, Tommy Schutt, and Tyquan Lewis. Sam Hubbard is the backup to Bosa, while Donovan Munger OR Tracy Sprinkle backs up Washington. Joel Hale OR Michael Hill back up Schutt, while Jayln Holmes backs up Lewis with Darius Slade closing that side of the line out.
The linebackers remain the same with Joshua Perry at weak outside linebacker, Raekwon McMillan in at middle linebacker, and Darron Lee finishing at strong outside linebacker.
At cornerback, nothing has changed as Gareon Conley and Eli Apple man the outside edges with Marshon Lattimore replacing the suspended Damon Webb for backup along with Denzel Ward. For safeties, the starters are still Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell. Erick Smith is listed as the backup to Bell, while Cam Burrows is under Powell. While it's not clear how long Webb is suspended for, there were a couple of plays that the nickel in at the time (whether it be Lattimore or Cam Burrows) struggled against a strong wide receiver such as Western Michigan's Daniel Braverman who lit up the secondary with 10 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
Jalin Marshall remains the starter at punt returner. Ezekiel Elliott makes a return to the punt returner spot as the backup, which I find a bit odd. Braxton Miller isn't listed on the depth chart as a punt returner.
Jack Willoughby and Sean Nuernberger are still listed as starters with OR in between them for place kicking. Willoughby, however, seems to be the lone starter based off the opportunities and him being on the field for the entirety of the games this season thus far. Willoughby connected on his only field goal Saturday for 30 yards and was 5-of-5 on extra points. Cameron Johnston is still the starting punter and that won't change for the foreseeable future. It seems Curtis Samuel and Warren Ball have locked up kick returner spots as this hasn't changed so far this season.
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