With less than two weeks from toe meeting leather, we roll right along with Rant Sports 100 teams in 100 days college football previews. We come to the middle of our top 25 with the number 12 team in our Rant Sports Preseason Top 25, the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The 2012 football season will be a season of change for the Ohio State Buckeyes, as they welcome new head coach Urban Meyer to Columbus. Meyer comes with quite a reputation after winning two titles in three years at the University of Florida. Meyer’s teams played hard, but most importantly they were fast, real fast. As explosive as Meyer’s spread offenses were in Gainesville, his defenses were some of the stingiest in college football. Ohio State also welcomes Everett Withers, who will team with 2011 interim coach Luke Fickell, as co-defensive coordinator. The Buckeyes aren’t eligible for postseason play in 2012, but the fans in Columbus will have a lot to be excited about this fall.
Offense:
Braxton Miller returns for his sophomore season after leading the Buckeyes in rushing in 2011, as a true freshman with 715 yards. Miller is perfect for Meyer’s spread system and should excel in a system that will showcase his talents. Miller, already an accomplished runner, will need to continue to improve on his 2011 passing numbers that saw him complete 54.1 percent of his passes. Miller also tossed 13 touchdowns with only four interceptions.
The running game should be stronger than in 2011, with a great combination returning a running back. Jordan Hall, who finished 2011 with only 408 yards, but also caught 12 passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns. The bruiser of the backfield will be Carlos Hyde (6’0″ 235), who rushed for 566 yards in 2011.
The wide receiver position doesn’t have a single player that caught more than 14 passes, but does have some talent with Corey “Philly” Brown and Devin Smith. Freshman Michael Thomas, who is the nephew of former USC Trojan and NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, enrolled in January and had 12 receptions for 131 yards in the Buckeyes spring game. Tight end Jake Stoneburner returns after hauling in seven touchdown receptions in 2011.
The offensive line is a position of concern, as three starters are gone from last year’s squad. The left side should be very stong, as juniors Jack Mewhort and Andrew Norwell return. Both guys are 6’6″ and are over 300 pounds. The rest of the line is talented, but if injuries surface upfront, depth could become an issue.
Defense:
There shouldn’t be much change on the defensive side of the football for Buckeyes, as they have a ton of talent and experience returning. Defensive line, in particular, returns three starters. John Simon, Johnathan Hankins and Garrett Goebel are all experienced in the physical play of the Big 10.
The secondary is stocked with four starters returning. Juniors CJ Barnett and Christian Bryant were two of the Buckeyes top three tacklers in 2011. Corners Travis Howard and Bradley Roby also return after combining for five interceptions in 2011.
If there is a position of concern on the defense, it has to be at linebacker, where depth is limited after the top four. The trio of Ryan Shazier, Etienne Sabino and Storm Klein combined for 164 tackles in 2011. Sophomore Curtis Grant (6’3″ 235) will join this unit after a true freshman year in which he saw action in 10 games.
Schedule:
The Buckeyes open the season with four straight home games. UCF and California both have the athletes to compete with Ohio State but barring a complete letdown the Buckeyes should be 4-0 heading into East Lansing to face Michigan State on September 29. Ohio State will then return home to face Nebraska on October 6. Road games at Indiana, Happy Valley and Madison, to take on the Badgers, should provide a tough test in late October through November. And as always, the Buckeyes will close out the 2012 season in Columbus versus the Michigan Wolverines.
