Ohio State Offensive Line Coaching Candidates: A Breakdown

Urban Meyer has hired Iowa State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tom Herman for the same positions at Ohio State, both clarifying the assistant coaching search and confusing fans in the process. Herman's name appeared out of the rumor mill abruptly, like a salmon jumping upstream, and days later he was officially announced to the dual positions.

With Herman's hire, Meyer found a young mind with a track record of molding raw quarterbacks into polished spread performers, but he also muddied up the offensive line coaching search, which had focused entirely around LSU coordinator Greg Studrawa.

Most had assumed that Studrawa would leave LSU and run the Buckeye offense while handling the offensive line duties. Studrawa, a talented coach, remains a candidate to join the staff, but the odds are quickly diminishing. Rumors from Baton Rouge have Studrawa either signing an extension or leaving to become a head coach at another program. If Meyer can outbid LSU for Studrawa's services, it would be a tremendous coup and worth every penny. If he cannot, however, Meyer will need to find an able offensive line coach to replace him.

We've compiled a list of four young, rising coaches we think are worthy candidates for the position, coaches who have received praise for their teaching abilities and would inject new ideas into the offensive scheme. Matt Campbell, offensive coordinator and line coach for the Toledo Rockets the past three seasons, is our top candidate, but the competition for him will be fierce. Chris Klenakis, offensive line coach at Arkansas, John Hevesy, offensive line coach at Mississippi State, and Adrian Klemm, recruiting coordinator and offensive line coach at SMU, fill out our roster. Each have qualities that make them exciting potential additions to Urban Meyer's Ohio State staff.

Below are profiles of the four, including their current situation, scheme familiarity, and recruiting history

1). Matt Campbell- Toledo Interim HC, Former Offensive Coordinator and Line Coach

Matt Campbell is an Ohio boy. Born in Massillon, Campbell attended Perry High School and played college football at Mount Union under legendary coach Larry Kehres. Following five seasons, and three national championships, Campbell graduated from Mount Union and went to Bowling Green, where he gained his first coaching experience as a graduate assistant. He then returned to Mount Union and cut his teeth as offensive coordinator for one season before heading back to Bowling Green as offensive line coach.

When former Ohio State assistant, and new Illinois head coach, Tim Beckman arrived at Toledo, he hired Campbell away from his MAC competition. The results were impressive. Toledo's offense improved 88th in scoring the year before Campbell's arrival to 8th this past season. Beckman had high praise for Campbell in his introductory press conference at Illinois.

"Matt Campbell is one of the brightest young minds in college football today," Beckman said. "He's a winner. He's a champion. He's been involved in national championships as a coach and as a player. He's a coach's son. I guarantee you I'll be trying to get Matt Campbell (at Illinois)."

Along with Illinois, Ohio State may need to compete with Toledo, who named him their interim head coach and could very well make it a permanent title.

Scheme: Campbell runs a balanced spread offense. The Rockets even gave Ohio State trouble at home in September, passing for 292 yards and running 88 plays. He would be a natural fit with Tom Herman.

Recruiting: Campbell is regarded as one of the best recruiters in college football. Rivals named him to their annual Top Recruiters List in 2010. He convinced Andre Sturdivant, a four star defensive end, to sign with Toledo, the only four star recruit to sign with a MAC school.

Verdict: If Toledo does not name Campbell its permanent head coach, we'd like to see Meyer offer him the co-coordinator job. Campbell is an excellent line coach, recruiter, and spread offensive mind. A better fit may not exist.

2.) Chris Klenakis- Arkansas Offensive Line Coach

Chris Klenakis has been the offensive line coach at Arkansas for two seasons. In those two seasons, the Razorbacks have ranked 17th and 15th in scoring nationally, and 9th and 27th in total offense. He's had two players drafted since he arrived in Fayatteville, guard Mitch Petrus and tackle Demarcus Love.

Klenakis made his name at Nevada, where he coached for fourteen seasons across two stints. In his latter stint, he coordinated Nevada's prolific Pistol offense under head coach Chris Ault, who is credited with inventing the innovative system. In 2009, Nevada had the top rushing attack in the country and set a new record with three different players rushing for over 1,000 yards. Fourteen Nevada offensive linemen were drafted into the NFL while Klenakis was their line coach.

Texas may have tried hiring Klenakis last season, but he remained at Arkansas, citing his loyalty to Bobby Petrino and the Razorback program. Petrino and Klenakis attended college together, which may be an obstacle to luring him away, but Ohio State could offer a substantial pay upgrade that would make the switch worthwhile.

Scheme: Klenakis coaches a combination zone/man blocking scheme at Arkansas, and has considerable familiarity with the full Pistol offense. He would bring the most unique scheme background of any candidate, even Greg Studrawa.

Recruiting: Information on Klenakis's recruiting at Nevada is sparse. At Arkansas, Klenakis has been given the Southwest recruiting territory, no doubt due to his extensive background in the region. A full nine recruits from Arkansas' 2011 class are credited to Klenakis, an incredible haul for any single coach.

Verdict: Klenakis gets big points for his scheme background and success turning low-level recruits into NFL players. His recruiting territory is not one Ohio State has traditionally recruited, however, given the distance, but he's had success pulling kids east to Fayatteville, which bodes well for possible long-distance recruiting at Ohio State. Klenakis is a strong candidate who we would welcome as a successful hire.

3.) John Hevesy- Mississippi State Offensive Line Coach and Run Game Coordinator

John Hevesy is the only candidate on this list to have worked with Urban Meyer. Hevesy followed Meyer from Bowling Green to Utah to Florida, serving as assistant offensive line and tight ends coach at the final destination. Hevesy left with Dan Mullen when Mullen became the head coach at Mississippi State, and now coaches the offensive line and coordinates the run game.

Upon his arrival in 2009, Mississippi State had the 106th-ranked rushing offense in college football, a ranking that skyrocketed to 9th a year later. Unquestionably, Hevesy improved the Bulldogs offensive line play and production. An argument could be made, even, that his departure played a large part in Florida's offensive struggles in 2009 and 2010.

Hevesy described his coaching philosophy in an interview with Scout.com: "I want to find eight guys. And I wanted the same thing at Florida. I want to find eight guys who can play. Who the starting five is will be determined. In fifteen years I have never had ten that could go out and play the way I want them to play. It's not that they aren't good enough but you usually only carry fifteen guys on scholarship. And two or three of them are true freshmen"

Scheme: Hevesy would not necessarily bring anything unique to the offensive mixing pot, but he does have deep familiarity with Urban Meyer and his preferred style.

Recruiting: His main recruiting territory, according to Rivals, has been Louisiana and Georgia, where he's had some success pulling recruits.

Verdict: Hevesy is a safe pick, but that's not entirely bad. He has a working relationship with Meyer, at the least, and the pair would need little acclimation to one another.

4. Adrian Klemm- SMU Offensive Line Coach and Recruiting Coordinator

Adrian Klemm spent six seasons in the NFL, winning three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots alongside current Ohio State linebackers coach Mike Vrabel. Klemm joined the SMU staff as a volunteer assistant in 2008. Klemm played college football under June Jones at Hawaii, so the fit was natural and led to the full-time offensive line coaching position two years later.

In 2010, Klemm's line made way for a record-breaking offense. SMU broke school records in total offense, passing yards, and passing TDs. Running back Zach Line also rushed for 1,000 yards, only the second back to do so in June Jones' Run-N-Shoot offense. Three linemen have earned All-Conference Honors with Klemm guiding them.

Following early success as a recruiter, Klemm was named SMU's Recruiting Coordinator before this past season. Rivals game him the title "Best Recruiter in a Non-Automatic Qualifier Conference" and placed him on their Top 25 Recruiters In College Football list. As was the case with Matt Campbell, Klemm's head coach glowed when asked to speak about his young protégé

"He's a winner, plain and simple," SMU head coach June Jones said. "We gave him a chance and he's obviously paying big dividends already. He's got that special knack of connecting with kids, and we're going to be a better football team because of it.".

Scheme: Klemm played in the Run-N-Shoot in college, which uses a fairly standard man-blocking scheme. At the professional level, Klemm had experience in both man and zone blocking, which somewhat offsets his limited coaching experience.

Recruiting: As mentioned, Klemm has made a name for himself as a tenacious recruiter despite only having coached for two seasons. He convinced four-star California defensive end Davon Moreland to choose SMU over USC and UNLV.

Verdict: Klemm is the riskiest candidate, given his inexperience, but the risk is partially offset by the potential gain. Klemm is a fast-riser in the profession and would give Urban Meyer direct access to Texas high schools. An intriguing candidate, albeit a non-traditional one.