Probably shouldn't look this far ahead but I am curious to next years starting line-up. This is the way I see it but I'd love insight from what others think. O-line= Mewhort-OT Norwell-OG Lindsey-C Hall-OG Decker-OT
QB-Miller RB-Hyde WR-C. Brown WR-Smith WR-Thomas TE-Heurerman
R. Smith,Marshall,Elliott,Baugh, Vannett all see time
D-LINE= DT-Hankins(If he stays) DT-Washington DE-Spence DE-Bennett
Miller, Hale, Schutt, Moore, Bosa all see time
LB'S= OLB-Perkins MLB-Grant OLB-Shazier
Perry,Williams,Crowell could replace all but Shazier
CB/S= CB-Roby CB-Grant S-Barnett S-Bryant
Reeves, Brown, Woodard all see time
Pretty solid line-up but it could be without Hankins and Roby (my guess is that Roby stays and Hankins goes) and my guess is that we will be pre-season top 5. I know that we are only halfway through 2012 but it is hard not to thonk of 2013 when we are actually eligible for post-season. Did I miss anything?
Your missing Dunn in your rotation on offense.
My only concern with next year is who steps up to be the vocal leader. The talent is there. Ohio State will always have talent.
Losing Simon, Sabino, and Boren hurt us on leadership. That will determine what this team does next year. Somebody has the opporunity to step up. Question is, who is going to take it?
Ohioste: I think Braxton and Shazier will each step up as leaders on their respective sides of the ball.
"Attack the Strong, Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead!"
-Former OSU S&C Coach Lichter
The offense will be ridiculous, the only challenge being WR's getting seperation. The D on the other hand will probably have to replace 6 of the front 7. The D will be talented but raw.
Roby=sophomore, not eligible for draft till after jr year
id like to see at least 1 other freshmen reciever. quick, foster, or gibson.
Roby is a redshirt sophomore and will be eligible for NFL draft after this year. I think he stays anyways.
Roby= redshirt soph. Hence he can jump after this season. I also think he stays though, but Hankins is prolly gone unless Urban can sell him on a title. A top 5 draft pick would be a hard thing to pass up.
I see Dunn in the 3 spot in an offense that won't use a RB as much as this year. Rod Smith will be 2 spot and I see Elliott getting snaps because of his versatility.
I think Roby will stay, but I really doubt Hankins decides to come back.
The biggest loss will be Boren in my opinion, because of his leadership and blocking skills. I honestly believe he is one of the most important parts of our team. Luckily, we have another Boren in the bullpen.
I think guys like Mewhort, Shazier,Braxton, Philly Brown all becoming leaders if they haven't already. The O-line is gonna be mostly seniors next year and probably the biggest strength of the team.
These days your stock can fall and rise so fast, I would be really surprised if Hankins comes back if he is projected to be a top 5 pick. I want him to stay but if you are a top 10 pick even you should go to the draft. Also does bennett really play DE? He is like 290 isn't he? You also forgot Pittman on the D-Line, I am not a big fan of JT-moore I think he gets passed up be a few guys.
Honestly I know we will loose Simon,goebel and probably hankins but I think our defense will be solid, as long as the LB"s can bring it next year. Shazier still needs to get better, and Grant has not been that good at all, and then the last spot will be to somone who hasn't played really so we really need the LB's to show up next year.
Forgot about Burrows in the secondary. I definitely see him getting some PT as a true Fr.
I read before the season an interview w/ Big Hang and some guy asked him about leaving early, and being a potentional top 5 pick and Hankins said he wants to win the national title and would only leave for certian if he was guaranteed the #1 overral pick or something like that. I bet he comes back especially if this team finishes 11-1 or perfect... given all the players we'll have coming back, this yrs fresh class having a yr exp. and the incoming fresh could make OSU a dangerous team as long as we can find quality LB play and the DEs make a nice transition from Simon/Williams to hopefully Spence, Bosa maybe, or Bennett if Hanks stays in the middle.
The defense can't be any worse. Next year they have given up a lot yards.
I can see them running the table next year...have you seen there schedule?
Home games with Vandy, Florida A&M, Buffalo, Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State, and Indiana
Away games with Cal, Northwestern, Purdue, Illinois, TTUN
There are literally only 2, maybe 3 games I see as "losable" next year, and even those are questionable.
Wisconsin, because they are a young team this year and I am expecting the Badgers of the last 3-4 years to show up at some point soon. But, they lose Ball, Taylor, and Wagner.
TTUN, because, duh. But, they lose their entire offense right now in Denard and Roundtree. They don't really have anything as far as a reliable QB for next year that they know they can count on. They'll lose some from their O-line and the main guys they count on right now on defense (Kovacs, Campbell, Roh). Does TTUN really expect Morris to come in right away next year and start?
OSU also plays at Purdue next year, so there's that. Otherwise...? The B1G is just really bad right now. The biggest challenge from a conference opponent will probably be from Nebraska or MSU in the conference title game.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
Why does every projection I see have us playing Bennett at DE? Isn't he a DT in almost every way? Add in the fact that we have 6 guys who can play on the edge already, and it makes more sense to me to play him inside.
Does he only play DE now? I thought he played some DT as well
Bennett is a DE! He was supposed to start in front of Nate Williams. He's big enough to slide inside but the starting line really should be Simon and Bennet on outside, Goebel and Hankins inside.
I see Jamal Marcus playing OLB before Perkins but really I will take either one.
Jalin Marshall I see starting in front of Mike Thomas. I am a big supporter of Thomas but I think this offense would be so much more fluid with Marshall out there moving all around between a tailback opposite Hyde to the 3rd WR to quite possibly a wildcat formation with Braxton spread out. so many possibilities with him on the field.
Please don't forget about Cam Burrows! He and Woodard are ready to play. If Roby keeps this play up, I find it hard for him not to go. Deep CB draft but he is damn good! If that happens, It could be a battle between Burrows, Woodard and Reeves for who takes his spot opposite Grant.
Jalin Marshall will have a bigger role in this offense than what some ppl think. Meyer is going to find ways to get him the ball, kick & punt returns, direct snaps, options, slants, jailbreaks, & etc. Meyer knows Jalin is to good to keep off the field & Jalin will be another player that ACTUALLY fits Meyers offense he is trying to break in at OSU. I wouldn't be surprised to Ezekial Elliott get some PT in the same situation.
I think Michael Hill will see some PT in that DL rotation along w/ Bosa. Woodard Brrows & Thompson will have a great amount of PT in the defensive backfield.
Also remember that any of the recruits we get before & on signing day, will also be thought of on the depth chart, becuz most are highly recruited prospects.
#Buckeyes
I feel like Cam Burrows will see some playing time at free safety. After Christian Bryant and CJ Barnett leave we won't have many guys with expeirence at the safety position. I could also see Evan Lisle getting some reps earlier in the year. Similar to how Taylor Decker got some this year.
Squirrel,
Would you rather he took a DE spot at 285-290 or beefed up 10 lbs and took a DT spot? I feel like we have more talented depth at DE right now. Obviously whatever the staff needs, but I always saw Bennett as a DT. I would rather have him at DT to add to the depth with Hale, Washington, Schutt, and have the other guys on the outside. But if he's a SDE, then wow
Seems like people always overestimate how much incoming freshmen will contribute in year 1. We have played Spence, Washington and Dunn a little bit but not really relied on them.
In the secondary though, who will play Star/Nickel? Maybe a freshman or sophomore will have to step up there.
I am excited about our OL for next season. For the first time in a while we are going to have some quality depth by season's end.
Spencer over Thomas. Hankins is almost a lock to leave.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
I would like to see Bennet fill in Cam Heyward's old role a bit. Start on the outside but slide inside to tackle on passing downs.
Bogard will play more than Corey Brown S. Murray and Griffin should play too. Did O'Conner have microfracture?
I don't know why everyone thinks all the freshmen are going to come in and start right away or play huge roles.. not too many of ours this year do besides on special teams.. I thought Spence would have a Clowney type impact this yr (DE S. Carolina) as a fresh, but he is rarely on the field besides earlier in the season in Non-Conf games and he was a consensous top 10 recruit by almost every recruiting database... so we'll see, maybe O will be easier to crack since we do need player makers.
Kareem,
I think there are a couple differences between Clowney and Spence. I think a similar analogy is Tyrell vs. Braxton. Pryor and Clowney were the best PLAYER in the country coming out of hs, Braxton/Spence were the best (or close to) at their position. Like it or not, Pryor and Clowney occupy "freak" status where Braxton and Spense occupy "just plain awesome" status.
Another big difference is that Spense walked onto a better line than Clowney did. Spence wasn't going to take a spot from John Simon, Goeble, Williams, Bennett or Hank. That said Clowney probably would have.
Lastly I don't want to start a shit fight about TP vs. Braxton as obviously the verdict is still out on Braxton but as far as Freshman QB years they weren't close. At the end of the day TP went to a BCS bowl and Braxton went 6-7. Like him or hate him, TP had a pretty rediculous run, shame it had to end so early. Obviously TP contributed to the shit storm Braxton walked into, but it's hard to account for that. They both played for Bollman.
Clowney is a freak; Spence will get there with experience. He has the speed, just needs bulk and more techniques!
Not arguing with you about where Bennett should play buckeye06! I'm telling you his position as of this moment is starting DE opposite Simon.
Guys, Clowney wasn't blowing people away his freshman year either. 37 tackles and 7 sacks was pretty good but not freaklike. This year he is a freak. Already has 6.5 sacks and 25 tackles. Spence is a freak too! He is getting there. Already had a sack and IMO multiple disruptions! Plus he is on a already stacked line, like CC said. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up with 4-5 sacks thanks to games against Indiana and Illinois that he should get some PT.
Barnett and Bryant will start. It will most likely be Brown and Bogard as backups and even still would probably be Tyvis Powell before they even think about moving Cam Burrows to free safety. Cam is much more needed at corner than safety in the coming years. Especially when Darron Lee will be the future STAR and Jayme Thompson is the incoming safety with hopefully Vonn Bell. All of that means Cam is staying at corner.
Yeah yeah yeah the team looks good on paper and the schedule looks "easy" for 2013..don't fall for that hype. A lot of teams look good on paper the year before and even preseason and DON'T end up winning it all: USC-2005, Ohio State-2006, USC-2007 , Georgia 2008, Florida-2009, Alabama 2010, etc...too many things can happen and there's always a game that you are expected to win but don't it seems.
All I'm saying is don't have it written in stone in your head that we'll win it all next year..take it game by game and enjoy the process..it's EXTREMELY hard to win a national title and you have to have a lot of LUCK as well.
I remember going into the 2008 and 2010 season thinking that we looked amazing on paper and returned soo many talented veterans and had a lot of young "studs" on the depth chart ..expecting that we would win a title that year. Didn't happen! Point is dont fall so easy for the "well look what we return next season!!" Mumbo jumbo.
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.
^You could have listed FSU for the past, oh i dont know, 5 years?
well said BuckeyeJason, well said.
Everything in college football is taking 1 step at a type. Each game, the season, the recruiting process for recruits & all that stuff.
College football is not like the NFL, where you can go 9-7, get the wildcard spot & go win a superbowl. Every game counts in college football. If you lose 1 game, your lucky if you make it to the national title.
Take everything one step at a time, let it all play out, as who knows maybe Braxton could get injured next year with as much as he runs the ball & then that whole season goes down the drain? who knows. baby steps
#Buckeyes
I'm all about not getting over-hyped but honestly if we had a season like 2006 in 2013 I would be happy.
The hype will be there regardless next season and we can all say there is no need to get caught up in it but with the returning talent and incoming talent it will be very tough not to listen to the media and think tOSU is in line for a BCS title run. Obviously the Buckeyes have been to the big show before and failed but damn as a fan I go into every year believing a crystal ball is coming back to Columbus! I know how tough it is for any great college team to get through the schedule unblemished and injuries always come into play so I will never get ahead of myself and say tOSU is going to win it all but deep down inside the homer in me believes it will come true.
^ A season like 2006 would make me very happy but then very sad with the ending!
BuckeyeJason and guys, I think you all are on the wrong forum. this was about lineup not if they will go undefeated or not. Only one comment actually talked about the schedule and they talked about what teams OSU could lose to next year. Nothing about going undefeated or winning the championship.
Squirrel - Every topic is somehow related to going undefeated! :)
Spence, Bosa, Washington, Schutt, Hill, Price, Pittman, and Lewis will be the best d-line in the country in 2 years. Next year will be a learning year, but they will still be good. Noah Spence is the next Jevon Kearse.
Just joining the 2013 starting lineup talk because I think it's fun...
O Line - Likely Mewhort, Norwell, Linsley, Hall, and Decker. Quality backups include Boren, Farris, Baldwin, Dodson, O'Connor, Elflein, and Underwood. Incoming frosh who will likely need time to learn are Lisle and Gardner (for now).
QB - Braxton, obviously, but we'll still have Guiton and Cardale along with a recovering Barrett.
RB - Hyde with Smith and Dunn continuing to compete along with Ball, but I wouldn't be shocked to see Zeke or Jalin get some time since they seem a bit shiftier.
TE/FB - Heuerman and Vannett, but losing Stoney and FBs like Boren and Homan, it won't be surprising to see guys like Baugh and Blake Thomas on the field.
WR - Philly (er, I mean Corey!), Devin, and Mike Thomas with Evan Spencer being the main competition. Guys like Chris Fields, Taivon, Jalin, Epitropoulos, and Reed could possibly see time as well. Let's hope there are a couple more names added here soon...
D Line - Spence, Hankins (or Schutt if he doesn't stay), Washington, and Bennett. Miller, Hale, Moore, and Pittman will still be quality backups. Talented incoming frosh who could see time include Bosa, Price, Hill, and Sprinkle. Yikes!
LB - Shazier, Grant, and Perry are my gut feeling, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Cam Williams compete at MIKE. Quality backups include Crowell, Perkins, Marcus, and possibly Roberts. Incoming frosh like Tyquan (and possibly Mitchell) will likely have a learning curve to overcome.
CB - Roby and Grant, but quality backups will include Reeves and Murray. Incoming frosh who will likely see most of their time on Special Teams include Cam and Eli, but who knows if they'll come in and impress.
S - Bryant and Barnett. Quality backups include Bogard, Pitt Brown, and possibly Tanner. Incoming frosh seem to have a good opportunity to prove themselves at this position. The talent coming in will include Jayme Thompson, possibly Darron Lee depending on where the staff wants him, and hopefully another like Vonn Bell or Chris Worley.
lol
Run_Fido's favorite word is strawman.