The suspensions of Donald Washington and Jamario O'Neal for the first two games of the season will see Chimdi Chekwa's playing time skyrocket for those games, but what about some of the other defensive backs -- who looks to benefit the most in these OOC games?
Andre Amos figures to see early snapsWith Chekwa, the nickel, moving into Washington's spot, there's an open race for that 5th defensive back for those first two games. Both Youngstown State and Ohio University figure to see plenty of third-and-longs, so valuable playing time will be available from the first series of the game instead of just mop-up time at the end when the Buckeyes have a big lead.
The player with perhaps the slight edge in that race would be redshirt junior Andre Amos. The 6-1 corner from Middletown (home of Cris Carter and Todd Bell) saw extensive playing time as a freshman in 2006, pushing future starter and all-conference selection Antonio Smith for the starting job.
Expectations were high for Amos heading into 2007 before he suffered an ACL tear in the spring. The injury and subsequent recovery gave Donald Washington a chance to snare the starting spot opposite Jenkins with Chekwa sliding into the nickel spot. With both players returning in 2008, Amos found himself relegated to backup duties, but the suspensions have opened a window for him.
Another player that could see playing time is Devon Torrence. Torrence, of course, came to Ohio State as a wideout last season, but was moved to cornerback at the start of fall camp due to the talented crowd at the receiver position.
With 4.4ish speed and a 36-inch vertical, Torrence was actually the 12th-rated defensive back prospect in the nation coming out of high school. He saw some time on special teams last season and may figure to make the jump to the other side of the ball relatively easy.
I figure Amos will be the primary beneficiary of the depleted secondary in the first two weeks, but Torrence is fun to track. Did I miss anyone? Who do you see getting the nickel snaps against Youngstown State and OU?
If you haven't already made it over to OHD to check out Vico's magnus opus, the Terrelle Pryor BKAB feature is up. All 23 glorious pages. I'm sure he's conscious of it, but he's about 80% of the way to a book deal with this one.
Sean from ATO takes a closer look at the penalty issue. A lot of data and some insightful conclusions.
Comments
Jer'Male Hines was also moved to the defensive backs and he figures to challenge for time at the nickel spot, but I'm going to go with Amos.
as a native of middletown, i heartily endorse amos getting some playing time. he played fairly well coming off an injury as a reserve DB and was good on special teams last year, and should be pretty good this year.
I'd like to hear more about Hines's move to DB from LB. Is he going to challenge at corner or play safety? Anyone have a guess? 220 lb's is a huge corner.
I don't have any specifics, but usually the path taken by linebackers moving into the secondary is LB to SS.
I saw they were giving Brian Rolle a look in the defensive backfield as well. That is scary for receivers going over the middle because both Hines and Rolle bring the heat.
Cie Grant stands out as a LB that took a starting CB role in 2001. Thankfully, he was able to move back to LB in '02.
Here's to hoping some of these kids come up big. I mean, they have the most to prove. For the starters, yea they like playing against YSU and Ohio, but they really look forward to the Wisconsins and USCs.
A reserve on the other hand will play all out whenever he's got the chance, and I think Ohio State has enough quality athletes and that could pay off.
Best of luck to Amos, Hines, Rolle, and whoever else gets a shot.
[...] the majority of the nickel looks? With Washington and O’Neal both out the first two games, we had our money on Andre Amos getting the nod for Youngstown State and Ohio, but it’s been former wide receiver Devon [...]
[...] the majority of the nickel looks? With Washington and O’Neal both out the first two games, we had our money on Andre Amos getting the nod for Youngstown State and Ohio, but it’s been former wide receiver Devon [...]