Five Questions Heading Into Ohio State's 2011 Season

After attending last Saturday's Jersey Scrimmage (for those that are Scout.com members I did a series of video reviews with Bill Greene here.  I will post the original videos shortly), it was clear that certain questions surrounding the 2011 Ohio State season have already been resolved.  For instance, Bradley Roby  has nailed down the corner back spot opposite Travis Howard.  C.J Barnett is back to full health, and entrenched with Ohrian Johnson as the two safeties.  With Mike Adams out for five games, the starting offensive line from left to right is Andrew Norwell-Jack Mewhort-Mike Brewster-Marcus Hall-J.B. Shugarts.  However, five main questions surrounding this team remained unresolved as we head into Akron week.  Lets take a look at these questions and how they may be resolved.

5.  Who will be the Second full-time Nickel Linebacker?

In Ohio State's 4-3 under base defense, the Ohio State linebacker corps is set, with Andrew Sweat at Will, Storm Klein at Mike, and Etienne Sabino at Sam.  But as regular OSU observers know, Ohio State's defense will actually spend a majority of its time in a 4-2-5 nickel with Tyler Moeller as a star.  Against 'spread' teams, the third linebacker may not see the field for more than a handful of snaps. Therefore, in the competition for spots at linebacker at OSU it is most important to be in the top-2. 

Andrew Sweat is well entrenched at Will and, as the most disruptive player during the jersey scrimmage, looks ready to have a breakout year.  That leaves Klein and Sabino battling for the 'Mike' spot in nickel.  During the jersey scrimmage Klein and Sabino rotated series at that spot, evidencing ongoing competition for the position.  Klein looked impressive during the jersey scrimmage, continuing to be in the correct spot, while Sabino remained a bit tentative, perhaps because of his broken hand.  Unfortunately for Sabino, he has missed practice due that injury, giving Klein plenty of opportunity to lock down this spot.  Nevertheless, my guess is that Sabino will be given first opportunity to play in nickel, but watch for Klein to perhaps take over as the season progresses.

4.  Will the Defensive Scheme Change From Previous Seasons?

This questions has two dimensions.  How often will the defense play in base versus nickel,  and within those fronts will OSU look similar to previous years or will their be changes?

As to the first question, OSU is facing two countervailing pressures.  OSU has been most effective from their nickel looks, and this is only increased by Tyler Moeller's return.  Moeller has been one of OSU's most dynamic defensive play makers, and has a nose for the football, particularly on the edge of the box.  He is one of the primary reasons that OSU's defense could out-perform last year's unit.  As such, he has to be on the field as much as possible.  OSU's defense is a more dynamic unit with Moeller versus their current base scheme.

By contrast, OSU has become so efficient against spread teams that they have gotten to the point where they are disadvantaged against traditional downhill run teams, perhaps most evident last year against Wisconsin.  In addition, OSU will face slightly more pro-style offenses this year then in previous years.  The coaching staff therefore most figure out how to balance playing their "best 11" versus having the necessary personnel against whatever offense they are facing.

That being said, expect for OSU to look to get Moeller on the field as much as possible, even in second and long situations against teams as likely to run as pass in that down and distance.  Moeller is simply too disruptive to keep on the field and him excelling is a must.

The sub-level question is will Ohio State's defense play a similar style within those fronts, or will things be modified given that Luke Fickell is now heading the ship, with Mike Vrabel coaching the linebackers.  Jim Heacock remains in charge of one of college football's best units, so don't expect major changes.  But it will be interesting to see whether subtle shifts will take place with Fickell at the helm.  During the jersey scrimmage, the OSU defense appeared to do more blitzing than in previous years.  In particular, the defense appeared to have Andrew Sweat run blitz (as soon as he sees run action away from him he blitzes A gap) from the weak side numerous times, and featured extensive blitzing from the nickel position.  This latter would seem to fit perfectly with Moeller's strengths.  It's always dangerous to read too much into seeing one snapshot during fall practice, because it may be the defense was using the day to work such looks, rather than demonstrating a long-term trend.  Nonetheless it is something to watch for entering the year.

3.  How will the Carries Be Split Amongst the Running Backs?

Ohio State has a nice problem at the running back position, namely a wealth of talent and not enough carries to go around.  Expect OSU to continue with their "pair and a spare" approach, but ultimately they must decide how to split carries until Boom Herron comes back.  Jordan Hall appears entrenched as the starter, and will certainly receive his share of carries as well as getting touches in the slot.  Who grabs the other carries seems still up for debate.  During the jersey scrimmage Carlos Hyde was the first to go with the second team, but Rod Smith impressed as the day went along, and he began receiving carries with the first and second teams.  To me, Smith is the best pure running back, a tailback with size that runs like a smaller back.  It is hard to know, however, how he is handling the other position and whether that is holding Smith back. 

Conspicuously absent from the above is Jamal Berry, who had a pulled hamstring but is probably the biggest home-run threat of the above mentioned backs.  Berry is back  and also in the mix.  Given Hall's diminuitive stature, one would think that the OSU coaches would like to pick one of the bigger backs as a change-of-pace.  But I expect Hall, Berry, and then one of Hyde and Smith to all get carries.  In particular, look for two of the tailbacks to be featured at the same time, with Hall in the slot as a multi-dimensional threat.  This battle for touches will likely carry into the regular season, with all the above running backs getting extensive carries against Akron and Toledo, looking for who will be the feature carriers.  

2.  What will OSU's Offensive Scheme Look Like this Year?

This question may be dependent on who takes the bull by the horns at quarterback and tailback.  That being said, OSU did exhibit some tendencies during the jersey scrimmage.  OSU will likely feature a higher percentage of pro-style formations than in years past, with liberal doses of "21" (2 RB, 1 TE); "12" ("1 RB, 2 TE); and "22"  (2 RB, 2 TE) personnel groupings.  These formations emphasize this offense's strengths, which are their tailbacks, fullback Zach Boren, and the tight ends.  Look for OSU to base everything off the downhill run game with their tailbacks.  In particular, OSU featured extensive amount of lead zone during the jersey scrimmage.

From there, Ohio State featured a ball-control passing game that worked the middle of the field with the tight-ends.  This included a lot of all-curl routes and tight-end option routes. 

This is logical, as Jake Stoneburner is likely the Buckeyes best passing game threat until Devier Posey returns.  OSU also did a nice job dragging the tight-end in goal line.  The Buckeyes then took their deep shots off the play-action passing game, with both Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller throwing nice deep balls.

As noted, the offense will likely evolve depending upon who captures the Quarterback position.  But look for the above to be the offense's core heading into the season, with the coaching staff building from there.

1.  Who is Playing Quarterback?

This, of course, is the question that every Buckeye fan is most interested in answering.  Luke Fickell recently made clear what every regular observer already knew, which is that this is now a two person race between Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller.  And in that race, Bauserman has the advantage, getting a majority of the first team snaps and apparently keeping Miller at arms length.  Bauserman also seems to have gained the support of the team's upperclassman, a factor to never be underestimated.

Miller is likely held back in such a pre-season competition by wearing a no-contact jersey.  When Miller was 'live' during the jersey scrimmage, his ability to use his legs made him a different player.  This was not only because of his running ability, but because it seemed to allow him to relax and 'play his game.'  When he put the no-contact jersey on and was forced to not run, he at times held the ball too long in the pocket and tried to force things with his arm.  It also remains to be seen whether Miller, as a true freshman, has fully mastered the playbook and mental aspect of the position.

As such, I fully expect Bauserman to start against Akron.  But I also believe that Miller will get ample plays with the first team's offense.  In other words, this competition will go into the season.  To me, there is a not-insignificant chance that Miller will grab the position once he is allowed to play live in a game environment.  But OSU could also settle into a two-Quarterback system, with Miller coming in to bring a different skill set to the position.