Our Honor Defend

Kickoff against Marshall — slated for primetime, Thursday September 2nd — is coming quickly.  The new kids are already enrolled at Ohio State for the first summer quarter and, within a matter of a few weeks, the whole team will be sequestered for summer camp.  The 2010 season is one where players, coaches and fans alike will (and should) have high expectations.  The outright conference champion, and defending Rose Bowl champion, suffered only slight defections to the roster.  They are important defections, mostly in the secondary, but all of them manageable.  The offensive line (especially the interior) that became the strength of the offense at season’s end returns.  The Rose Bowl MVP quarterback returns for his junior season, hoping to lead all the returning skillplayers of importance to the promised land.

There are not too many roster issues to discuss, but the fun one is always guessing who redshirts among the freshmen.  I’ll take a stab at possible redshirts of the 18¹ incoming freshmen below.

Redshirts:

• Darryl Baldwin
• Drew Basil
• Taylor Graham
• Adam Griffin
• Johnathon Hankins
• Andrew Norwell
• Roderick Smith

Likely Redshirts:

• Chad Hagan
• JT Moore
• Verlon Reed
• Tyrone Williams
• Bradley Roby

Likely Plays:

• Corey Brown 2010
• Scott McVey

Plays:

• Christian Bryant
• David Durham
• Carlos Hyde
• James Louis

The certain redshirt category, coincidentally the modal category, contains people who I think watch from the sidelines for a variety of reasons.  Some of the incoming class are just not even ready to see the field even as the third team picking up the scraps against Indiana in the fourth quarter (Baldwin, Hankins).  In particular, I think these two are very raw in spite of the potential they have.  The additional work, practice and added experience will help them moving forward, but we are definitely thinking of these two in the long term.

Sometimes, there is just no room for some of the incoming freshmen.  If we’re not redshirting Taylor Graham and Drew Basil in 2010, then it’s very likely something very bad happened during the course of the season.  Pray they do redshirt.  Another case here is Andrew Norwell.  He is coming off an ankle injury that cost him his senior season.  He swears he’s 100 percent, but the fact is he lost that season and will have to adjust to the new college experience with Mike Adams, Andy Miller, JB Shugarts, and Marcus Hall all firmly ahead of him.  I like Norwell’s prospects moving forward and I think he has the right attitude.  He’ll be a quality 5th year senior.

Elsewhere, Adam Griffin redshirts because he has no home.  He is nominally a tailback, which would put him in a crowded stable where everyone is ahead of him.  I think his best bet is as a slot receiver, in which case he will have to learn the tricks of the trade.  Roderick Smith redshirts by default because he is not enrolled yet.  When he does enroll, he will still have plenty of talent ahead of him and I’m more sold on Carlos Hyde at the moment.

Chad Hagan, JT Moore, Bradley Roby, Verlon Reed and Tyrone Williams all constitute a group of players that I think will likely redshirt, but for whom the possibility of an immediate impact remains.  Hagan, as you recall, has a history of injuries and missed time playing football.  Still, an intriguing blend of size and speed has me thinking that special teams beckon in 2010, even when I think a redshirt would be most appropriate.  Verlon Reed is not making things easy for me.  I want to immediately throw the redshirt label on him because he will be making the transition from a city league quarterback to a position to be named later.  Yet, every time I think he’s a sure redshirt, he runs off and wins some MVP from an All-Star Game.  Verlon Reed is a gamer.  He won’t let me categorize him in such black and white terms and, for all I know, the coaching staff may find something for him to do on the field in 2010.  I put JT Moore and Tyrone Williams here as two players that I think really should redshirt, but may be good enough for mop-up duty as it stands.  This is more pronounced for Williams, who may become a red zone option for the Buckeyes.  Bradley Roby’s own coach thinks he redshirts in 2010, so I’m going to agree with him.

Corey Brown 2010 and Scott McVey are two players for whom I don’t see the possibility of immediate impact, but will likely see the field regardless.  Seeing Corey Brown 2010 here may raise an eyebrow, since he is one of the higher profile recruits in our class.  I put him here, indicating that a redshirt is not altogether out of the question, given the cautionary tale of Lamaar Thomas.  Every kid is different, but, like Thomas, Brown 2010 will be making the transition from a tailback to a wide receiver.  But, like Thomas as well, the possibility as a return man remains.  I put Scott McVey here because, in terms of linebacker depth, there is no way he sees the field barring a catastrophe.  That is less a commentary on him and more a commentary on the horses that Luke Fickell has in his stable.  On special teams, though, I think he may slide right in.

Christian Bryant, David Durham, Carlos Hyde and James Louis are possibly the closest things to sure things in 2010.  The secondary in 2010 should be inviting to a talented youngster like Christian Bryant.  He has got a way to go in learning his expectations at that position, but the speed and athleticism to assist him.  I’m positive the coaching staff will give him something to do on the field in 2010.  I think David Durham will be your Storm Klein type of player in 2010.  I’m not predicting he will leapfrog into the two-deep like Klein did, but I definitely think he has the right attitude and skillset to become the regular on special teams that Storm Klein was in 2009.  It may be appropriate, given that he may grow into a weakside defensive end.

The running back picture is an intriguing one for 2010.  1A and 1B will be the upperclassmen: Brandon Saine (Sr.) and Dan Herron (RJr.).  The young’ns will back them up, including Jordan Hall (So.) and Jaamal Berry (RFr.).  Carlos Hyde, in that same recruiting class as Hall and Berry, is probably good enough now to squeeze his way into the picture.  He has the added year of physical maturity, the added year of prep football, the winter and spring of workouts with the team and right combination of size and speed.

James Louis sees the field as a beneficiary of Duron Carter’s transfer to Coffeyville Community College.  The Buckeyes will need a third wide receiver and have no shortage of options.  Taurian Washington (Sr.) is the early favorite.  Grant Schwartz, the redshirt senior and positional journeyman, is in the picture.  Further, the 2009 wide receiver group — Chris Fields and James Jackson — are in a prime position to seize the opportunity.  James Louis, the incoming freshman, is right there with them.  According to Louis, Jim Tressel thinks he’ll see the field immediately.  Gotta roll with coach.

Finally…

Austin Spitler’s matriculation to the NFL is the only linebacker loss from 2009′s Big Ten championship squad.  Ross Homan and Brian Rolle will return as a seniors, to be flanked with a new strongside linebacker.  Expectations are this will be Etienne Sabino, though Andrew Sweat, Homan’s backup at WILL last year, is apparently now in that picture.  He is returning from injury and apparently ready to go.  The rumor is that the loser of that position battle redshirts in 2010 (and it’s apparently close).  The idea is to give both Sabino and Sweat two years in position to start at linebacker.  Assume that Sabino wins at SAM and remains the incumbent in 2011, the loser of the battle (Sweat) has two years to pick up either Rolle’s or Homan’s spot.

I was of the opinion that one of those two should have redshirt in 2008, so the possibility that one redshirts this year is one I’m inclined to like.  Dorian Bell and Jordan Whiting have already redshirted.  I don’t know what to make of the rumor, though it comes up with some frequency.  Still, it seems odd for an “all hands on deck” approach to the 2010 season.  What say you?

1. Recall Jamel Turner’s unfortunate situation. [↩]