2002 Ohio State Football Season Outlook – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Coach Jim Tressel embarks upon his second year at Ohio State with 12 returning starters – seven on defense and five on offense. Additionally, both kickers are back from a 7-5 team, which finished third in the Big Ten with a 5-3 mark last year. In all, there are 43 holdover lettermen.
On the surface, this is, at the very least, another solid team. Scratch beneath the surface, though, and there is the potential for much more. In fact, some publications have anointed the Buckeyes as the team to beat in the 2002 Big Ten title chase.
A brave prediction considering the Buckeyes must replace their entire starting backfield on offense and come up with two new cornerbacks on defense. Also gone are three starting linemen, including All-America center LeCharles Bentley, and two of the starting linebackers.
Perhaps the pundits are looking at the Buckeyes’ potentially lethal defense, a unit that is anchored by two-time All-American Mike Doss at strong safety and boasts one of the best defensive fronts in all of college football.
Or maybe they checked the offensive two-deep and noticed the abundance of quality and quantity at the wide receiver and running back positions. Certainly those two areas are stockpiled.
And then there is the class of incoming recruits, ranked by most experts as one of the two or three best in the country. If the rookies are as good in reality as they are on paper, at least some of them will make an immediate impact.
Tressel, for one, knows he has to keep things in perspective.
“We made some progress last year and we worked hard in the winter and spring,” he said. “But we still have a long way to go. Our goal is to win the Big Ten title. But to get there, it is going to take lots of hard work and dedication, and probably a little luck in terms of staying healthy and getting a few breaks along the way.” Defense should be the Buckeyes’ strong suit, especially early-on while the offense fits all the pieces in to place.
The heart of the defense will be up front, where ends Will Smith, Darrion Scott and Simon Fraser will team with tackles Tim Anderson, Kenny Peterson and David Thompson to give the Buckeyes six outstanding players that can rotate in and out of the lineup with absolutely no drop off in terms of talent. From top to bottom, it is as deep a group as has ever been assembled at Ohio State, and the freshman class has four heralded players to add to the mix.
The linebacker corps features Matt Wilhelm in the middle and Cie Grant and Robert Reynolds on the outside. Wilhelm will be in his third year as a starter and Reynolds has been a key reserve the past two years. Grant started at cornerback last year, but is much at home in his current position. All three can run and all three can hit. Veteran Fred Pagac is a solid reserve and this is another position where the incoming freshmen are expected to have an impact.
Doss and Donnie Nickey give the Buckeyes two of the best safeties in the country. Doss, who led the team in tackles last year, is in his third year as a starter, while Nickey is in his fourth, the last three at free safety. Junior Will Allen is the third safety and a quality player in his own right.
Based on spring practice, the all-important cornerback positions will be held down by sophomore Dustin Fox and junior Richard McNutt. Both started the bowl game last year. Fox, a converted safety, is one of the top athletes on the team and simply too talented to keep out of the lineup. McNutt hopes to stay healthy this year after being slowed throughout his career by a chronic ankle injury. Speedy and ever improving Harlen Jacobs, transfer Chris Conwell (from Youngstown State) and Bobby Britton are the backups.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the offense has some significant holes to fill, including the quarterback, fullback and tailback spots.
There are three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster — juniors Craig Krenzel and Scott McMullen and incoming freshman Justin Zwick.
Krenzel, who started the Michigan and South Carolina games last year, is easily the most experienced of the group. He has the edge heading into fall camp. He’s a heady player with a good arm. In the win over Michigan, the 6-4 Krenzel demonstrated the ability to run the offense and keep the team out of negative plays. But the gun slingin’ McMullen will keep the pressure on, and Zwick was regarded as one of the prized catches in the country last year. As if to whet the fans appetite, Tressel has said “the best player will play.”
The fullback duties, handled so capably the past three seasons by durable Jamar Martin, will fall to third-year sophomore Branden Joe. A tailback in high school, the 6-0, 245-pound Joe understudied Martin last year and made significant strides throughout the season, especially in terms of understanding his role. Redshirt freshman Brandon Schnittker, the third member of the Schnittker family to play at Ohio State, is a capable backup whose only shortcoming at present is a lack of experience.
There are four quality tailbacks in the hunt to replace 1,000-yard rusher and team MVP Jonathan Wells.
Sophomore Lydell Ross is the veteran of the group. He rushed for 419 yards and six touchdowns last year as the backup to Wells and put his name in the records book by becoming the youngest player (17 at the time) in Big Ten history to rush for 100 yards in a game (124 at Indiana).
But while Ross sat out much of spring ball with a pulled hamstring, another true sophomore, Maurice Hall, threw his hat into the ring. As a result of that showing in the spring, he and Ross are bracketed at the No. 1 tailback spot heading into fall camp. Both have power, moves and another gear.
Breathing down their necks, however, are redshirt freshman JaJa Riley and true frosh Maurice Clarett, the USA Today Offensive Player of the Year last year. The 6-0, 230-pound Clarett, who may be the most physical of the foursome, enrolled at Ohio State at the start of 2002 Winter Quarter and took part in spring practice. The versatile Riley, who surprised the coaches last year by asking to be held out of competition, and Clarett are bracketed at the No. 2 tailback spot.
There is talent galore, too, at wide receiver, where split end Michael Jenkins and flanker Chris Vance return as starters. Jenkins was the Buckeyes’ leading receiver in 2001 with 49 catches for 899 yards. The glue-fingered Vance collared 34 passes, including a team-best four touchdown grabs.
Sophomores Chris Gamble and Bam Childress, along with Drew Carter and Angelo Chattams give the Buckeyes six dependable receivers. The sky is the limit for the talented Gamble, and Childress is one of those players with a penchant for making big plays.
Up front, the Buckeyes return guards Adrien Clarke and Bryce Bishop and tackle Shane Olivea. Clarke and Olivea are both capable of all-league honors and Bishop was one of the most pleasant surprises of the spring in Tressel’s eyes.
Olivea will switch from right to left tackle this year, clearing the way for big Ivan Douglas (6-8, 305) to step in on the right side. Douglas, a starter early in the 2000 season, sat out last year with a blood clot in his lung, but has since been cleared to return to action and is anxious to get back into the thick of things.
Alex Stepanovich will take over at center. A backup guard and center the past two years, Stepanovich had an exceptional spring and has the coaches excited with his untapped potential. Stepanovich has added 20 pounds since last year and now weighs in at a strong and agile 310 pounds. Even though he is relatively inexperienced, the coaches believe he can be as good as there is in the Big Ten.
Those five, all juniors, will be the hub of the Buckeyes’ interior line. With only four other returning offensive linemen on scholarship, the lack of quality depth is a real concern. Hopefully, guard Adam Olds and tackle Ryan Cook, both redshirt freshmen, are ready to get their feet wet. And don’t be surprised to see an incoming freshman, most notably tackle candidate Doug Datish, burning the midnight oil in order to get ready.
Ben Hartsock will be the starter at tight end. He has been a key reserve and part-time starter the past two years and is a fine all-around player. Redshirt freshman Ryan Hamby is an emerging talent with speed and hands. The coaches also liked what they saw of converted linebacker Redgie Arden in the spring.
In the kicking department, Andy Groom returns to handle the punting duties. Groom, a former walk-on, is coming off a superb junior year in which he finished fourth nationally with an average of 45.0 yards per punt. He also is the holder.
The Buckeyes also return place-kicker Mike Nugent and kickoff specialist Josh Huston. Nugent, a sophomore, was the Buckeyes’ second-leading scorer last year with 48 points. His continued improvement and consistency will be key to the Buckeyes’ fortunes in the fall.
Ohio State opens the 2002 season Aug. 24 vs. Texas Tech in the second meeting with the Red Raiders. After a week off, Kent State comes to town for the start of the 12-game regular season, a season that concludes Nov. 23 when Michigan comes to town.
Only time will tell what happens after that.
