Head Coach Jim Tressel is almost a sure fire NCAA Hall of Famer. Before he was the Head of the Bucks, Tressel's team was Division II Youngstown State. From 1986 to 2000, The sweater vest wearing one compiled a record of 137-57-2 including 4 National Championships and two additional National Runner-ups. In 2001, Tressel moved his winning ways to Ohio State where it only took him 2 seasons to get his National Championship. After eight seasons in Columbus, Tressel now has 3 National Coach of the Year awards, a 52-12 record against Big Ten teams, and maybe most importantly in Buckeye country... a 7-1 record against Michigan. With a career record of 220-77-2, Tressel will be coaching his 300th college game this Saturday.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor Buckeye fans seem to waver back and forth on this guy. From one stand point, he is one of the most athletic guys in the NCAA. On the other hand, his passing skills don't seem to fit the mold of the typical OSU quarterback. When you think of Ohio State quarterbacks, you think of guys who like to stand tall in the pocket and deliver accurate passes while his bulldozer of a running back helps move the ball in chunks. Pryor is the definition of a home run hitter with his feet. This season he averages 6.3 yards per carry and is putting up just under 60 yards per game. That is the good. He is only passing for a 57% rate and has a one to one touchdown to interception ratio. That is not good. Last year Pryor didn't need to bring his arm to the game. As a freshman, he ran for over 100 yards and wasn't sacked a single time, but failed to break the 50 yard mark throwing the ball. The key here will be the pressure we put on Pryor. If you cover the receivers well but don't get to him, he will kill you with his feet. The way to contain him is to force him out of the pocket to throw the ball, not wait for him to leave it himself as he runs for another OSU first down. Wide Receiver Dane Sanzenbacher
Sanzenbacher isn't a guy, as Dave Biddle put it, "Who will put fear into opposing defenses." But at the same time, the 5'11" junior finds himself as the only wideout ranked in the top ten for Big Ten yards per game who has less than 10 receptions. That comes as a product of the offensive game plan, however any guy who only averages 3 catches per game but is 4th in the conference in in yards impresses me. Doing the math, he averages just under 27 yards per catch... not bad considering the closest guy to him averages 7 yards less than that. It's easy to tell where this statistical anomaly comes from. In each game this season, Pryor and Sazenbacher have hooked up at least once with a connection that ranked in the top three longest plays of the season. Against Navy there was a 38 yarder, USC saw a 56 yarder, and Toledo had to watch the two hook up for a 76 yard touchdown. The biggest thing will be preventing any of these big plays. The OSU passing game doesn't scare me for the most part, but it only takes one good play action play to change that in a hurry. Running Back Dan "Boom" Herron The depth chart still says the same thing at running back as it did the last three weeks; Herron. But I question whether or not the sophomore is the best option for the Buckeyes. If you go off of stats, it appears the best back this year has been junior Brandon Saine.
Herron may have three touchdowns to Saine's zero, but Saine's 5.3 yards per carry look much better than Herron's 3.2. Herron continues to get the heavy load, though, as he has carried the ball 50 times this season compared to Saine's 19. Jordan Hall was impressive in the Toledo game as the freshman saw the first action of his young career, and it sounds like the coaching staff is pretty set on him being the number three guy in their rotation. Keeping in mind that Herron only gained 29 yards on 12 carries last year against the Illini in a game where both Benie Wells and Terelle Pryor rushed for over 100 yards, I am not expecting a big game. I would guess that Herron still gets more carries than Saine tomorrow, but I would think that Saine's 217 lbs. frame and experience would get him some red zone carries soon.Defensive End Cameron Heyward
Heyward is one of the most versatile defensive lineman in the Big Ten. At 6'6", 287 lbs., it is easy to see why he was mainly recruited for the defensive tackle position. Twenty-nine games and seven and a half sacks later, Heyward is doing his damage mostly as an over sized defensive end. He is quicker than you would expect for a guy his size, and sometimes the Buckeyes will take advantage of that by sliding him over to tackle and getting some extra pressure on the quarterback. The kid has a great "motor" as coaches say, and he loves to play till the whistle... That, and according to this picture, he can fly... which I think is sorta neat. The OSU defensive line as a whole is much better now than it was when Illinois beat OSU 2 years ago. I like Doug Worthington a lot. He's another versatile player with a good motor. A big key in this game will be whether Illinois' offensive line can slow down the OSU front four.Middle Linebacker Brian Rolle Rolle does not fit the prototypical middle linebacker mold. At only 5'11" he is the shortest of the six linebackers in the two deep. Coming into the season, a lot of people thought the MLB spot would go to senior Austin Spitler who backed up All-American James Lauriniatis. There was a battle for the starting spot, and in the end Rolle came away the starter with Spitler moving over to outside linebacker.
What Rolle lacks in size, he makes up for with his ability to cover good ground. Coming into the game tomorrow, Rolle is averaging 8.3 tackles per game, good for 9th in the Big Ten. I don't see him as a guy who you always know you can depend on every play like A.J. Hawk or Laurinaitis, but I do think he knows his role (no pun intended). One think I can say for sure is that he reminds me of Illinois safety Donsay Hardeman in that he loves to lay someone out with a big hit whenever possible. Brian is a cousin of Arizona Cardinal Antrel Rolle.
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