Who’s going to emerge? Previewing the ’07 OSU Offense

By Adam Kiefaber

The 2007 Ohio State football team is only returning 10 starters. That means there will be 12 new starters, which include seven on offense.

Somebody has to break out?

The 2006 team had 17 seniors and NFL-ready juniors Antonio Pittman (fourth-round pick by New Orleans), Ted Ginn Jr. (first-round pick by Miami) and Anthony Gonzalez (first-round pick by Indianapolis).

New Faces on Offense:
QB – see Blog: Quarterback Question?
RB- Sophomore Chris Wells has the best chance of any Buckeye to win the Heisman Trophy. Now that Pittman is gone, junior Maurice Wells should get more touches. The Wells duo should be one of the best in the Big Ten. Also, OSU loses fullback Stan White (signed by Cincinnati). However, seniors Dionte Johnson and Trever Robinson should fill in fine. Filling out the roster at running back are two big-time recruits in Brandon Saine and Daniel “Boom” Herron.
WR- OSU loses two key wide receivers from the ’06 squad in Ginn Jr. and Gonzalez. Junior Brian Robiskie looks to be the team’s first option and finished last season with 29 catches for 383 yards and five touchdowns. Sophomore WR Brian Hartline and junior TE Rory Nicol should get more looks. Junior WRs Albert Dukes and Devon Lyons (three catches for 72 yards in spring game) could become solid players. However, sophomore Raymond Small has been considered by his teammates ‘as the next great wide receiver at Ohio State.’ The receivers could put on big numbers, but the big question is at quarterback.
OL- Ohio State already has two great tackles in senior Kirk Barton and junior Alex Boone. Ohio State loses two of last year’s starters in center Doug Datish (sixth-round pick by Atlanta) and guard T.J. Downing (signed by Arizona). Currently, sophomore center Jim Cordle and junior guard Ben Person lead the depth chart as the replacements. Also, look for freshmen Connor Smith and Bryant Browning to compete for the open spots. I expect the offensive line to continue to be solid.

Take a look at the stats from the Scarlet and Grey Game- Spring Game Stats