I actually don’t enjoy writing about the quarterbacks, running backs and receivers as much as I enjoy writing about other positions (which is why I have been putting it off until last). This is mostly due to the large amount of coverage already heaped on these players. It becomes difficult to say something that hasn’t already been said… over and over.
At the same time, when you think ahead to next season, what jumps into most people’s minds are visions of Terrelle Pryor decimating defenses in the air and on the ground, Boom Herron and Brandon Saine bursting through the line for big gains, DeVier Posey and Duron Carter hauling in deep bombs over helpless defenders, and a host of other exciting offensive plays that make for sweet highlight reels.
So while I don’t necessarily enjoy writing about these positions as much as I do others for fear of being unoriginal, I do think I have some interesting things to say (so read it anyways!).
And I have to admit, even for a “the games are won in the trenches” devotee like myself, the skill positions should be pretty damn exciting to watch next year.
So join me after the jump for an in depth look at the offensive skill positions!
The obvious place to start here is at quarterback, so that’s what I will do.
QB
Terrelle Pryor.
This is one of those situations in which it is difficult to write something that hasn’t already been said.
I will say that last season was quite a roller coaster ride for the Ohio State offense in general and Pryor specifically. Many, including myself, expected great things from Pryor early and often last year, and that didn’t quite happen.
The early season roller coaster ride hit absolute rock bottom in West Lafeyette, a game that all of us would like to forget (so I am not even going to talk about it beyond that). Fortunately, Ohio State bounced back, established the run game over the last half of the season, took a little bit of pressure off of Pryor’s shoulders and bam! Rose Bowl MVP.
The Rose Bowl game was obviously the highlight of Pryor’s young career, and if it is even possible, the pressure on Pryor will be even greater next season as people everywhere will expect him to duplicate his efforts in the Rose Bowl every game next season.
How well Pryor builds off of last season is obviously a huge question mark going into next year, and I am sure it will be written about… over and over.
While the Rose Bowl leaves a nice memory in everyone’s mind and gives us all a ton of optimism for next year, I would like to return to the early season struggles briefly to suggest something that I think is relatively original.
Many like to place the success or failure of Pryor as a quarterback on Pryor himself and the coaches. And while that is certainly a large part of the equation, something that I think a lot of people forget is that Ohio State had a brand new receiving corps at the beginning of the 2009 season.
Pryor struggled at times as a true freshman QB, but that is to be expected. One thing that masked his struggles was Beanie Wells in the backfield and two extremely experienced NFL caliber receivers to throw to in Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline.
All three of these players were gone in 2009, along with their ability to mask some of Pryor’s deficiencies (or at least inexperience) as a QB.
What is the point? Simply that an inexperienced receiving corps may have contributed to Pryor’s early season struggles more than anyone originally thought. Running the wrong routes, not being exactly where the quarterback expects you to be, not reading the defenses correctly are all things that a young receiving corps might have done to seriously limit Pryor’s effectiveness early in the season.
Pryor certainly progressed as a passer as the year went on, ultimately leading to the MVP performance in the Rose Bowl, there is no doubt about that. But perhaps the progression of his receivers throughout the season and the cohesion that was developed between the person throwing the ball and the people catching it was more important to the passing game than Pryor’s development as an individual.
That being said, I am optimistic that Pryor’s development over the course of last season (his decision making and footwork in the pocket in particular) will pay huge dividends over the course of this season. He has been through the fire, he has been under the lights and he has performed, and that has to give him confidence that he didn’t have at the beginning of last season, and that is good.
Update: Pryor is looking good, you can probably keep up with him without my help.
WR
And since we are talking about the receivers, might as well do them next.
Ohio State losses are minimal here (Ray Small, who’s contributions were occasional anyways) and the returning talent is significant.
Throw in the year of additional experience between the guys catching the ball and the guy throwing it to them and anything less than a large improvement in the passing game in 2010 would be a disappointment.
The headliner at receiver is DeVier Posey and like Pryor, his game in the Rose Bowl was one of the better performances of his young career (8 receptions, 101 yards, 1 TD) and a reason for optimism heading into 2010.
Posey’s route running and awareness on the field obviously improved over the course of last season, and if he can continue to develop as Pryor’s go-to target, a big year in 2010 could be in the making.
Behind Posey is quintessential slot receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, who runs great routes and isn’t afraid to go across the middle. He also boasts surprising, if not elite speed, and if teams decide to focus on Posey Sanzenbacher has the ability to do a lot of damage. He is reliable, experienced, and should be one of the leaders on the offense.
Battling for the third spot will be Duron Carter and Taurian Washington. Both of their stories are summed up nicely in two articles from theozone.net. The story of Carter’s academic troubles at the end of last season and his response is covered nicely in this article while Washington’s struggles to get on the field and his rededication to contributing in his senior season are covered in detail here.
Beyond these four is a lot of unproven talent, maybe in the spring someone will jump out and turn some heads, but that would just be icing on the cake.
Posey, Sanzenbacher, Carter, and Washington make for a good to great group of receivers so the Buckeyes are in excellent shape here for 2010. And with an extra year of experience and work with their QB under their belts, who knows how good they can ultimately end up being.
Update: Carter hasn’t practiced, Chris Fields and Grant Schwartz have been impressive.
RB
The final piece of the skill position equation is the running backs. The headliners here are the pair of Brandon Saine and Daniel “Boom” Herron.
While neither player emerged as a true workhorse in the backfield last season (Herron battled ankle injuries for several games), between the two of them they put up 1339 yards and 11 TDs, so the run game turned out to be relatively strong, especially in the final half of the season.
I expect Saine to be option 1A heading into the spring with Herron being option 1B. If both can stay healthy, the two will be one of the best one two punches in the Big Ten (throw in what Pryor brings to the running game and have fun with that Big Ten defenses).
While the pair of Herron and Saine will be getting the majority of the action this season, the real story may be in the spare (Tressel goes with a pair and a spare at running back, get it?).
The Buckeyes boast an obscene amount of talent all competing to be the spare. As of right now, Jordan Hall has the inside track due to the experience he got last season. Right behind him is Berry, who very well could have switched places with Hall last season if he wasn’t battling a nagging hamstring injury the entire year.
Hall and Berry are smaller, quicker backs. Is that not your thing? Good news, we also have early enrollee Carlos Hyde in the mix who spent the fall getting his grades in order at Fork Union Military Academy.
Is five deep still not enough at RB for you? Alright, incoming freshman Roderick Smith is in the mix at RB as well. Smith is a smooth, long striding big man who reminds me a lot of a certain RB that played for the Bucks back in the mid 90’s.
Still not enough for you? Throw in Jermil Martin who smashed through Minnesota last year and you’ve got one more option.
So what does that leave us at? Seven deep at running back (not even counting Archie Griffin’s son Adam who could play RB along with multiple other positions) and you have a backfield to be envied.
Oh yeah, and just real quickly, at FB you have Zach Boren, who’s improvement in run blocking can be directly correlated with the increased success of the running game in the second half of last season. He will only be a sophomore and will be smashing open holes for these running backs for a long time.
There really isn’t much more to say, it is embarrassing how much talent Ohio State has at RB and the competition for playing time will be intense this spring which gives us fans one more thing to get excited about in spring practice.
Update: A lot of backs have been battling minor injuries throughout the spring, but if anything that just highlights the depth and talent at the position with players filling in seemlessly.
Summary
Everyone is coming back. Everyone has a year of experience under their belts. The running backs are ridiculous behind an offensive line with four returning starters. The offense should be good, really good
Update: Oh yeah, tight ends. Reports from practice indicate that Jake Stoneburner has been impressive, whether or not that translates to games remains to be seen. The primary backup is Reid Fragel, who has the size to play tackle.
I like the combination of Fragel’s blocking with Stoneburner’s ability to stretch the field.
We will see if anything comes of it.
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