For the second straight year, the Buckeyes' football team opened the season undefeated entering Big Ten play. How has the offense done replacing the likes of Troy Smith and Ted Ginn? Is the defensive line holding up, despite losing three starters? Evaluations through week three are as follows:
Quarterback
The drop off from Heisman winner Troy Smith to the new quarterback, redshirt junior Todd Boeckman, is noticeable as expected. However, Boeckman is doing a more-than-average job so far. His 574 yards passing and six touchdowns are as good as one could expect from a young quarterback throwing to young receivers.
The Akron defense stifled the Buckeyes but Saturday's performance against Washington showed Boeckman's full potential when given the time to throw. Redshirt sophomore Rob Schoenhoft and redshirt freshman Antonio Henton have performed well in relief of Boeckman this season.
The biggest improvement from the spring to fall can be seen in Henton. The Georgia-bred quarterback has always had the legs to replace Smith at quarterback but his throwing progression has been noticeable this season.
Continued growth may place Henton in the number two position before the season ends.
Running Backs
Sophomore Chris "Beanie" Wells started out slowly against Youngstown State, but has since shown why he was so hyped coming out of high school. In the last two games, Wells has rushed for 278 yards on 44 carries. The 235-pound monster back has been shoving his way through defenders all season; this gives OSU much needed yardage to help run the clock down for opponents.
Junior Maurice Wells has been solid at the number-two position, but his playing time has decreased due to the emergence of freshman Brandon Saine.
The Piqua native has gained almost twice the yardage of Maurice Wells on slightly more carries. His breakaway speed and ability to elude defenders is a perfect foil for the straight-ahead punishing style of Chris Wells. Look for Saine to eventually take over the number two position on the depth chart.
Senior captain and fullback, Dionte Johnson, has been plagued with false start
problems this season, but his blocking ability has been enough for the Buckeyes to help him work through the movement issues.
Wide Receivers
The most surprising offensive display this season has been from the wide receivers. With Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez and Roy Hall gone, the Buckeyes were expected to need time to develop as a unit. Junior Brian Robiskie has led the Buckeyes with 342 yards on 17 catches. Since catching the touchdown on Smith's Heisman-winning play against Penn State last season, Robiskie has been a key to the Buckeyes' success.
Joining him is sophomore Brian Hartline. Hartline played a utility role in last season's offense, providing key catches and laying crushing blocks on opposing defenses. Since then he has comfortably stepped up as the number two target for Boeckman. Hartline is currently averaging a first down per catch and is filling in seamlessly for Gonzalez in the slot.
The talented freshman duo of Taurian Washington and Dane Sanzenbacher have done well in the three and four wide sets. Each has a touchdown.
Sophomore Ray Small has seen limited time due to injury, but look for his role to dramatically increase as the season goes on. His speed rivals that of Ginn and could be a dangerous weapon for Boeckman.
Offensive Line
Senior captain Kirk Barton has stepped into the leadership role quickly, allowing the young interior of the line to progress quicker. The right tackle verbalized the Buckeyes blocking inefficiencies after the Akron game, resulting in an improved performance against Washington.
Junior Alex Boone has continued his strong play at the left tackle position.
Alongside Barton, Boone is highly responsible for the offensive line's average allowance of one sack per game so far this season. For a team with a young quarterback, protection is the key.
Junior Steve Rehring has been a solid contributor in his second season starting at left guard.
The rest of the interior line is new. Sophomore Jim Cordle is replacing Doug Datish at center and junior Ben Person fills the shoes of T.J. Downing.
The inexperience of the interior line showed during the first two games as the Buckeyes struggled to move the ball consistently on the ground.
Pass protection has been solid the first three games and most of the false start penalties can be attributed to fullbacks and tight ends.
Tight End
Junior Rory Nicol is contributing just enough at the tight end position to keep his starting job. However, sophomore Jake Ballard is pushing his way through the ranks at an alarming speed. Ballard has become a reliable blocker on run plays; he has also found a niche with Boeckman in short yardage situations.
Two-tight end sets are proving to be valuable for the Buckeyes this season.
Defensive Line
The loss of junior end Lawrence Wilson might have crippled any other team, but Ohio State has the backup to replace him in sophomore Robert Rose. Rose joins junior Vernon Gholston at end. Both have proven effective since the loss of Wilson to a broken leg in the first game of the season. Joining them at end is freshman Cameron Heyward, who laid a monster hit on Washington quarterback Jake Locker during Saturday's game. The hit rattled the redshirt freshman quarterback and brought serious buzz to Heyward among fans and opponents.
On the inside of the defensive line, sophomores Doug Worthington and Todd Denlinger are filling in nicely for the departed David Patterson and Quinn Pitcock. Junior Nader Abdallah and redshirt freshman Dexter Larimore have performed well in relief. Their pass rushing has been improving as the season progresses.
Linebackers
The deepest corps for the Buckeyes is linebacker. Led by junior captain James Laurinaitis, the linebackers have been punishing. Flanking Laurinaitis are junior Marcus Freeman and senior Larry Grant. Grant has been excellent and his speed and power are catching opponents off guard. Freeman is still performing under potential, but is solid nonetheless. Sophomore Ross Homan is challenging Freeman with his relief performances each weekend. The battle for the weakside linebacker spot should get more interesting as the season progresses.
Redshirt freshman Tyler Moeller and Thaddeus Gibson have performed admirably behind Grant at the strongside linebacker position as has sophomore Austin Spitler in relief at middle linebacker.
Secondary
Junior Malcolm Jenkins is showing everyone why he was named preseason All-American by several media outlets. Sophomore Donald Washington is beginning to mimic Jenkins as a shutdown corner. His performance against Washington was rewarded as he was named the team's defensive player of the week. Redshirt freshman Chimdi Chekwa has filled in wonderfully in the nickelback slot.
Sophomore Kurt Coleman has been outstanding at the strong safety position. Coleman's spring and summer improvement pushed him ahead of highly touted junior Jamario O'Neal. Coleman's fearless demeanor and crushing hits have made him a fan favorite. Fellow sophomore Anderson Russell has returned from a torn ACL to help shut down opposing offenses. Many questioned Russell's ability to return with the same output as he had previously demonstrated. This season's performance has many regretting such remarks.
Special Teams
Junior kicker Ryan Pretorius has been solid. His first missed field goal against Washington went barely wide from 40-plus yards out and his blocked field goal was the result of a poor snap. Fellow junior Aaron Pettrey has done little this season, but moved into the top slot for kickoff duties starting this weekend. His leg is more powerful than Pretorius, but accuracy issues keep him from field goal duties.
A.J. Trapasso has been excellent at punter. The junior continues to excel despite bad snaps and field position issues.
Freshman Brian Rolle is making a splash on the kick coverage unit. His full-throttle play is popular among those on the team.
The return game has been ineffective this season but it should improve now that Small is nearing 100 percent. He looks to bring the explosiveness that made Ginn popular in Columbus.
Zack Timmons is sports editor of The Lantern. He can be reached at timmons.60@osu.edu.
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