2013 Offensive Playmakers

The offense is the focus of today's Urban Warfare blog. Specifically the guys who are going to be making all the big plays.

The offense last year was heavy on the run. Braxton Miller ran 227 times for 1271 yards and 13 touchdowns. Carlos Hyde ran it 185 times for 970 yards and 16 touchdowns. That's 2241 yards and 29 touchdowns on the ground.

Passing the ball, Ohio State was ranked 110th in the nation. That's 110 out of 124 total schools in NCAA Division I FBS football. This is where I expect things to change in 2013. Yes, Hyde is going to get the ball in his hands and will likely have a 1000 yard season. Braxton is going to still have some electrifying runs, however I expect him to have fewer designed runs.

Here are Miller's passing stats from the 2012 season:

148 Completions/254 Attempts
58.3%
2039 Yards
15 TD
6 INT
140.5 Rating

I expect the completions to go up, along with attempts. I expect over 60% completions. Around 3000 yards, and over 20 touchdown passes. If Ohio State is going to win a National Championship in the 2013-14 season, Braxton needs to make those improvements.

And there are players in the offensive arsenal to make this happen.

One thing we might see is Kenny Guiton, the backup quarterback, on the field with Braxton. This would be difficult to defend because both can pass, and both can run. You could hand off to either...one can run out into the flat to catch a pass, or throw to a RB or WR/TE.

At running back there are more options than just the powerful Carlos Hyde. You have Rod Smith, Bri'onte Dunn, and Warren Ball. Added to those three names are Ezekiel Elliott, and Dontre Wilson from the 2013 draft class. I see fresh legs all year at RB as long as guys don't put the ball on the turf and do what's asked of them. Dunn and Ball were both big names in the 2012 class and should both contribute more in their sophomore seasons. Wilson, from the 2013 class, is very intriguing because he's a very good receiver out of the backfield and can also line up in the slot...think Percy Harvin when he played at Florida.

At wide receiver you have Corey Brown and Devin Smith, both played a lot last season. Both are playmakers on the outside. Both are guys who will get a lot of looks when Ohio State is throwing the ball. In the 2013 class we get Jalin Marshall, Corey Smith,  and James Clark. All three can see significant playing time, especially in multiple receiver sets.

Urban Meyer doesn't want guys who want to redshirt. Will some guys get a redshirt? I am sure there will be a few, guys who need a year of seasoning or guys that get hurt. But Ohio State will put the best players on the field regardless of class or experience. If you've earned playing time, you'll get it.

Here is what I expect the starting line up to look like at the skill positions when we take the field for our home opener:

QB - Braxton Miller
RB - Carlos Hyde
WR - Corey Brown
WR- Devin Smith
WR/RB - Dontre Wilson

I think that right there is going to be very dynamic. So much can be done with that talent. Miller can pass to any of them. A read-option with Hyde, even with Wilson. Reverses with all of those players.

Throw in guys like Ball and Dunn to keep fresh legs in at RB and this offense could do great things.

I can't wait to start the season, because I think it's going to be even more exciting than 2012 was.

O-H! I-O!

Looking at Ohio State's 2013 Recruiting Class

National Signing Day for college football is just a few days away as coaches try to sway the last of the uncommitted recruits, and to keep the ones that other schools are going after. Last year, there was a big deal made when Urban Meyer came in after the worst football season in over a century for the Buckeyes and started calling recruits that changed their commitments after Jim Tressel resigned and the losing season that followed. Many Big Ten coaches were upset over what they felt was a "gentlemen's agreement" that was supposedly in force under Jim Tressel that you wouldn't go after another school's committed recruit.

Most notably, Urban Meyer convinced four star offensive tackle Kyle Dodson to recommit to Ohio State after he had chosen to switch his commitment to Wisconsin after the fallout from the Tatgate fiasco. This really irked former Badgers head coach Brett Beliema who accused Meyer of using "illegal recruiting tactics" during an interview with the media. Meyer also got five star defensive end Noah Spence in this time, when many people felt he was going to attend Penn State.

Ohio State's 2013 recruiting class is currently ranked #4 overall on Scout.com and ESPN. Scout.com has Michigan ranked #1, while ESPN has them currently ranked #5 as I type this blog post. Ohio State currently has 22 commitments in this class.

The class currently has three 5 star recruits, fourteen 4 star recruits, and five 3 star recruits (ranking provided by Scout.com). Also on Scout's website, only two Big Ten schools are ranked in the top 25 (Ohio State and Michigan). ESPN has three Big Ten schools in their top 25 (Penn State #25, Michigan #5, Ohio State #4).

There are only two soft verbals in the class. Trey Johnson, a 4 star OLB from Georgia; and Ezekiel Elliot, a 4 star RB from Missouri. These are the two that I am most worried about come National Signing Day because they are the most likely to be swayed to another school, and both are being rumored to possibly sign elsewhere on February 6th. And that's the thing about National Signing Day, nothing is official until they sign on that dotted line, tying themselves to Ohio State.

This will be the second consecutive Top 5 class for Urban Meyer at Ohio State as he brings in big talent to the Buckeyes. He plans to make this team in the image of an SEC team. Big and fast. This is the only way they will be able to defeat whichever SEC team they would face of they make the BCS National Championship Game. Meyer cut his teeth at Bowling Green and Utah, two schools that aren't exactly recruiting hotbeds. At Utah, he churned out a first overall draft pick in quarterback Alex Smith.

When he went to Florida from Utah, he had multiple top ten and top five recruiting classes. In this time he won two National Championships, two SEC titles (coinciding with the National Championships, three SEC West titles, and a Sugar Bowl. He produced many first round picks on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Tim Tebow.

Now there's no way to predict how this class will pan out in the end. But it's looking like it'll be damn good, making Ohio State a force to be reckoned with for years to come not only in the Big Ten but in the National Championship picture. O-H! I-O!

The Coaching Carousel

Well Buckeye fans, that time has come where coaching changes are upon the college football landscape. Coaches have been fired, coaches have resigned jobs to take ones with other schools, and some coaches have just simply resigned.

The biggest surprise in the carousel happened in our own Big Ten when Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema left to take the job in Arkansas. He left a job where he had excellent job security for one where if he doesn't turn the program around quickly enough he will be booted out the door, no questions asked.

So now as schools are hiring head coaches that have jobs, that leaves schools with a "surprise" vacancy that they weren't expecting to have.

Here is a breakdown of the carousel so far:

Conference
Fired/Left - School - Hired

Big Ten
Danny Hope -Purdue - Darrell Hazel (Head Coach, Kent State)
Bret Bielema - Wisconsin - N/A

ACC
Frank Spaziani - Boston College -Steve Adazzio (Head Coach, Temple)
Tom O'Brien - North Carolina State - David Doeren (Head Coach, NorthernNN/AAIllinois)

Big East
Steve Adazzio - Temple - N/A
Skip Holtz - South Florida - N/A
Butch Jones - Cincinnati - N/A

PAC 12
John Embree - Colorado - N/A
Jeff Tedford - California - Sonny Dykes (Head Coach, Louisiana Tech)

SEC
Gene Chizik - Auburn - Gus Malzahn (Head Coach, Arkansas State)
Derek Dooley - Tennessee - Butch Jones (Head Coach, Cincinnati)
Joker Phillips - Kentucky - Mark Stoops (Defensive Coordinator, Florida State)
John L. Smith - Arkansas - Bret Bielema (Head Coach, Wisconsin)

Miscellaneous (Mid-level Conference Schools)
Rob Akey - Idaho - Paul Petrino (Offensive Coordinator, Arkansas)
Mario Cristobal - Florida International - N/A
Bill Cubit - Western Michigan - N/A
Dave Doeren - Northern Illinois - Rod Carey (Offensive Coordinator, Northern Illinois)
Sonny Dykes - Louisiana Tech - N/A
Darrell Hazell  - Kent State - N/A
Ellis Johnson - Southern Mississippi - N/A
Gus Malzahn - Arkansas State - N/A
Mike Price - UTEP- N/A

That is a lot of unfilled positions. How will this list affect the Buckeyes?

Well first, the two Big Ten moves are important because they directly affect the competition in the conference. I believe Darrell Hazell can make Purdue into a second tier team in the conference judging by the turnaround he did at Kent State. He can recruit the state of Ohio, and while I expect Urban Meyer to be able to get the in-state recruits that he wants, Hazell should be able to get the players that Meyer is not after.

Bret Bielema leaves the conference for the Arkansas Razorbacks of the SEC. This move is very important because the Wisconsin Badgers play in our division. I am sure that whoever Barry Alvarez hires to replace Bielema will keep up the tradition of a strong run game and massive offensive line. I wouldn't be shocked for an assistant coach under Bielema to be tagged for the job. Remember, Bielema wasn't a big name coach when Alvarez hand picked him as his successor.

Now, the other teams with openings could come after Ohio State's assistant coaches to fill their vacancies. I would not be surprised at all for the mid-level conference schools to try and interview some of the Buckeye staff for their vacancies. I just hope we can keep this staff intact to make a run at a National Championship next season.

I would guess that by the end of the bowl season most of the vacancies will be filled in one way or another. One thing to take note of is that so far, only one school has made an assistant coach under the departed coach the new head coach of the team (Rod Carey of Northern Illinois). So expect this list to possibly grow in the coming weeks as head coaches are poached from other schools to fill the vacancies above.

Game Preview: 9/1/12 vs. Miami (OH)

Ohio State has not lost to another team that resides in the state of Ohio in over a century. This week, they will go out there to keep that streak going against the Miami (OH) Redhawks of the Mid-American Conference.

The Buckeyes also open up the Urban Meyer Era of Buckeye football on Saturday.

What to watch for this week:

The Offense

Last year, the offense at times was completely inept and unimaginative. The Buckeyes were almost shut out at home by Michigan State. They were unable to sustain drives, couldn't score in the redzone.

Now, Urban Meyer is in control of this team and we get to see how these players have taken to the new offense. I am expecting to see Braxton Miller pass the ball more than 12 times a game.

It's going to be much different from the offenses we saw under Jim Tressel. Expect a lot of spread offense with some I-formation thrown in at times.

The Buckeyes might have a few hiccups, but I think the offense is going to be strong, not just in this game but the entire season.

Braxton Miller

The offense revolves around Miller, a dual threat quarterback who's growth was held back last season due to poor game planning/play calling. Urban Meyer knows how to use his best offensive weapon, and I expect to see this in the very first game of the season.

How Miller goes is how this team will go all season long.

Dominating Defense

Last season's Buckeyes defense was good, but not great. This year, I fully expect "great" to be a word associated with the Silver Bullets. I expect the defense to come in and hold the Redhawks to six points or fewer. I expect a good pass rush, and the Redhawks shouldn't be able to run the ball to save their season against the Buckeyes defense.

Running Up The Score?

Some people think that with this new offensive philosophy, the Buckeyes will be running up the score on lesser opponents.

While I fully expect the Buckeyes to win big against teams like Miami (OH), I don't expect scores of 80-6. I don't expect Urban Meyer to be going for two point conversions while up by thirty-five. However, the goal of every offensive possession will be to score. He's going to encourage his backup players to play their best and score if they can. He's never going to tell his players to not try and score.

However, he's not going to be a jerk about it either. This week will be the first time we see how he goes about running up the score.

My Predictions

Game MVP: Braxton Miller
Final Score: Buckeyes 47 - Miami (OH) 6