Way Too Early Look: Defensive Backs (updated)

The DBs were hit pretty hard this year with the graduation of Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell.

On the other hand, both starting corner’s return as well as Jermale Hines, who started at safety and the star position in a total of eleven games last season. So while the Buckeyes did lose some starters and some depth, things aren’t exactly bleak either.

Speaking of Jermale Hines, he has the versatility to play either safety position as well as the star position (I will explain what that is more later), and he will probably start and play at multiple spots throughout the year. So yeah, I would just like to thank Mr. Hines right now for having the versatility to make the depth charts for DBs relatively meaningless right from the start.

Despite the uncertainty of the depth charts heading into spring, I am still going to attempt to put them together, so stick with me and as more information comes out in the spring I will certainly adjust them.

There is going to be a ton of experimentation here (particularly at safety), so I fully expect the actual depth charts to look nothing like the ones I put out there now.

Update: there actually appears to be a lot less experimentation at safety then I expected, Jermale Hines at free and Orhian Johnson at strong appears to be pretty set, there is some experimentation going on with the star position though.

Now that I have that covered, let’s move on to our in depth look at the 2010 defensive backs!

I guess I will start with a basic overview of the relatively new position of “Star Back” and go from there.

Star Back

In order to counter the proliferation of spread offenses around the country, Ohio State has developed a hybrid linebacker/safety/cornerback position known as the star. The star comes on the field in place of the sam linebacker in most situations and is used in a similar fashion to a nickel back (a third cornerback).

Unlike classic nickel backs, however, Ohio State is looking for a star back that can not only cover a third receiver in pass defense, but can also provide excellent run support like a linebacker. The ability of the star to defend against the pass as well as against the run is an excellent counter to the spread attack that many offenses have begun to utilize (Michigan, Oregon, ect.).

The question then becomes, who has the versatility to play this position? Until recently, Ohio State hasn’t recruited players specifically to play the star (Chad Hagan is a nice example of a player that was probably recruited specifically to play star) so it is not always clear who will end up here.

Fortunately for Ohio State, Jermale Hines has proven to be the perfect player for the star position the last few seasons. However, with the departure of both safeties, Hines may be will be spending most all of his time at safety next season rather than at the star, which leaves Ohio State in search of a player to fill the void.

From early reports out of winter conditioning drills, one player Ohio State is considering for the star is Tyler Moeller. I previously discussed Moeller in my look at the linebackers, which is was his natural position. However, it appears that he has been working out with the safeties during drills, which means that the star position is most likely in his future.

Based on the information out of winter conditioning, I am going to put Moeller as the starter here, with Hines as the primary backup (even though I am also going to put him as a starter at safety, versatility and all that), and throw incoming freshman Chad Hagan at the third spot just for kicks, which leaves us with a depth chart for spring that looks something like this.

Update: I don’t have the depth chart saved from my original post, so I am just going to start over. While it still looks like Moeller will be in the running as the starter, Hines is completely out of the picture and in his place Nate Oliver and C.J. Barnett are competing.

Safety

Moving on to the safeties, Jermale Hines is once again the primary focus here. He started at free safety in eight games last season, so you have to think he is the favorite to start there again this year. Then again, he might move over to strong safety. For right now, we’ll just stick with free safety to keep things simple.

At strong safety I am going to pencil in 5^th year senior Aaron Gant as the starter for now. Gant’s career has been sidetracked year after year by injuries, but all indications are that he is focused and ready to contribute in his final season. I am going to put him as the starter based on seniority alone and wish him good luck.

Update: it looks like my wishes of good luck weren’t enough, Gant is buried on the spring depth chart and doesn’t appear to be a factor for playing time.

Behind Hines and Gant things get pretty crazy, so I am just going to throw some names out there and on the depth chart and wait until spring when things will become a little clearer.

Nate Oliver, Orhian Johnson, Jamie Wood, and Zach Domicone are all in the running at either safety position. Making things even crazier, guys like Corey Brown or incoming freshman Bradley Roby could find their way into the discussion at safety as well.

Lots of names, not a lot of information yet, so I am going to split up the players (based mostly on size) and throw them on to the depth chart (based mostly on seniority) and wait until spring before saying too much more about who will start where.

In summation, the safety position is worth keeping an eye on in the spring because it will certainly be one of the places with the fiercest competition over starting time… but for right now there is not much to say, so just sit back and enjoy the show.

Update: As I mentioned, Jermale Hines and Orhian Johnson appear to have the starting spots locked up. Zach Domicone and Tyler Moeller are listed as the primary backups, with guys like Nate Oliver and C.J. Barnett still in the mix but primarily competing for the star position.

Cornerback

Finally, it’s time to look at the cornerbacks. Heading into last season, who would play cornerback was probably the top concern right behind who would play left tackle. Thankfully, the question marks at cornerback were answered in a much more satisfying manner than the tackle situation.

Returning at cornerback for next season are senior’s Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence, who both stepped in as starters and played admirably well last year. So well, in fact, that you didn’t really hear anything about them, which is a good thing when it comes to cornerbacks.

Having two senior returning starters at a position is pretty nice by itself, but toss in the fact that Torrence might not even be close to reaching his full potential (just recently began focusing on football after playing minor league baseball in the spring and summer his first two years at Ohio State) and you can’t help but feel pretty confident heading into next season.

There will be a lot of competition to see who will be the primary backups next year with plenty of young players looking to see the field. Donnie Evege, Travis Howard, C.J. Barnett, Corey Brown, and Dominic Clarke are all in the pipeline, not to mention incoming freshman Christian Bryant and Bradley Robey.

Like I said, plenty of young players here, so it will be interesting to see who separates themselves from the pack in the spring. Early reports from winter conditioning indicate the Dominic Clark has been working hard and is one to keep an eye on (which is enough to put him 4^th on the depth chart for now).

Update: Donnie Evege has also been getting rave reviews this spring and is listed as the primary backup for Torrence with Clarke at #3.

Travis Howard and Corey Brown are listed as the primary backups for Chekwa on the other side.

Summary

So there you have it, the defensive backs heading into spring practice. The group has a nice mix of returning starters to go along with a group of talented youngsters that should be fun to watch in the spring.

Losing Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell were certainly hits in the leadership and experience departments, but this group has the potential to be excellent next year behind the leadership of Hines, Chekwa, and Torrence.

There will be competition in the spring for starting spots and back up rolls, which will be enjoyable to see and read about once practice begins, but there is also plenty of experience here and with three returning starter there is no reason to expect anything less than continued excellence from the DBs in 2010.