| 31 March 2011
With spring about to start I want to look at some players who are at the cross roads. With the recruiting class that is coming in and the one that is coming together for 2012 the time is now for some current Buckeyes.
I look at strong side end as a key spot for next year. Cam Heyward is on his way to the NFL so the opportunity is there for Melvin Fellows to take the spot and make it his. I do not think he was overrated. Not in the least. I do not think he has not stepped in like we thought he would because of lack of a work ethic. I think Fellows is going to have to find his way toward health. He has struggled with injuries from the time he arrived at Ohio State. Adam Bellamy played very well late in the year and played a good bit in the Sugar Bowl. Kenny Hayes and Chase Farris are big time kids. The Buckeyes lead for some strong side ends in the class of 2012 that are as good as Hayes and Farris and I think there is an argument that they are better. It is in Fellows best interest and the teams best interest that he has focused on getting healthy this off season. As good as those freshmen to be are, it would be good for the team if a veteran was in there, not to mention it gives the staff the opportunity to redshirt Hayes and Farris should they choose to.
I think every linebacker on the roster is going to be battling for a starting job with the haul the staff pulled off with the linebackers in the class of 2011. Sabino and Sweat have been penciled in as sure starters. We will see about that but there is still another spot sitting there for someone to grab. I think Dorian Bell and Storm Klein in particular need to have good springs. Curtis Grant is an immediate impact player. How much time he gets is likely going to be determined by how well Bell and Klein are playing. I thought Klein would have no trouble making the transition from power running back to linebacker. Some want to argue with me about his level of competition being a factor with his recruitment. Nate Williams played against competition a level lower than Klein. Klein showed well when he camped at Ohio State. I think this has more to do with the fact that he has played linebacker so little. This is his opportunity to show that he is ready. What I hear about Bell is he needs to mature. Now is the time to do that or he will find himself with a great view of some of the top bowl games over the next few years. Ryan Shazier is another linebacker that could be an immediate impact player if he adjusts to pass coverage responsibilities quickly and comes in here a little heavier. He is certainly an immediate impact talent. Time for the veterans to step in and take the reps that the graduating seniors left to them.
You will notice I did not mention Jon Newsome with the linebacker talk. I always saw him as a defensive end. I still think he is. He is just not a defensive line sized guy. I think he would be better off moving back to end. He is a situational player at either linebacker or defensive end as it stands right now. Put him at the one he is best at which is defensive end. Newsome is actually a case study in why I have concerns about Shazier moving back. Look to the Wisconsin game to see what I am talking about. Newsome was pressed into his most extensive action in that game. Several big plays resulted because he was thinking like a defensive end not a linebacker. I have not heard anything that makes me think Jordan Whiting is going to play here. I was never excited about him in the first place. The next time I hear any buzz about him outside of the weightroom it will be the first time.
The only people who have anything good to say about Orhian Johnson are the ones who have scarlet and gray colored glasses permanently glued to their heads. He is going to have to have a breakout spring. I doubt we see C.J. Barnett this spring. Coach Tressel just doesn't play players in spring who are rehabbing injuries. Christian Bryant is coming off surgery too. I see those two as the starters unless Johnson shows something this spring.
Kenny Guiton could not be in a more interesting situation. He is looking ahead of him and seeing an open spot but he looks over his shoulder and sees two younger players who have passing skills that he cannot match. One of them has running skills that I doubt he can match. He has one huge advantage. He has reps at the college level. Not just a boat load of practice reps. He has played in games. We have talked about who is going to start until Pryor comes back. Guiton is the one name that does not come up. With a good showing this spring he can change all that.
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