Ohio State Football: 5 Players Who Need a Great Spring Performance

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Spring football at Ohio State is still more than a month away, which means Buckeye fans are still waiting a little longer for the official debut of the Urban Meyer era.

He has already started to change the culture inside the program with a very intense winter workout program that has gotten rave reviews from current players. The players have hit the weight room with authority even though they are a month away from hitting in pads for the first time since the Gator Bowl loss to Florida.

Here are five players that need to have a fantastic spring this year for the Buckeyes.

Jordan Hall, RB

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After showing a great amount of promise in 2010, Jordan Hall did not seem to have the type of year everyone was expecting him to have. He did not seem as fast and elusive as fans believed he would be, and at times looking slower than he was the year before.

Hall will be counted upon to be the go-to back in the Buckeye spread attack with Dan Herron gone to graduation.

Urban Meyer's offense relies on having good running backs, so he will need Hall to step up and have a great senior season. Luckily, Hall's skill set and frame fit the Meyer offense very well, which should make for a smooth transition.

Andrew Norwell, OT

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Even though Ohio State's offensive line was very subpar last season, it still will need to find a way to improve after losing three seniors.

One of the players the Buckeyes will need to rely on to improve the front line will be junior tackle Andrew Norwell.

Norwell got some experience at left tackle while Mike Adams was serving his five-game suspension for the tattoo scandal.

There are only a handful of tackles with some experience on the roster, not including converted TE Reid Fragel. That means that Norwell is going to have to bring his A-game and be able to protect Braxton Miller's blindside with skill right from the start.

Etienne Sabino, LB

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The highly touted linebacker finally got his chance to start last year after sitting for two years as a backup and redshirting in 2010.

Sabino struggled for most of the 2011 season but did show some flashes and the ability to make some good tackles.

He has already benefited from new strength coach Mickey Marotti's winter workout overhaul, as he has dropped 10 pounds and is playing below the weight he had last season.

Sabino will need to show that his lighter frame can translate to improved play because of young linebackers like Curtis Grant and David Perkins breathing down his neck for playing time.

Corey Brown, WR

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Corey Brown has been quite a tease in each of his first two seasons as a Buckeye—dazzling with his explosive speed, but plagued by drops.

With DeVier Posey moving to the NFL, Brown will need to prove he can be the No. 1 receiver and possibly pick up the Percy Harvin role in the Urban Meyer offense.

The possibility of Brown being the multidimensional offensive player that he can be is something that Meyer probably saw in him when he tried to recruit him to Florida back in 2010.

That transition, if it happens, will be something to keep an eye on.

Braxton Miller, QB

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Any large measure of significant success will be dependent on how much Braxton Miller improves in his second year as a quarterback. Miller's skills and Meyer's offense seem like a marriage almost as perfect as Meyer and Florida legend Tim Tebow.

Meyer has gushed over the skills of Miller during his season behind the microphone on ESPN and probably cannot wait to mold him into yet another in a long line of successful quarterbacks he has groomed.

Miller does have a good foundation to build on, as he has proven to be a clutch player, leading big fourth-quarter comebacks to beat Wisconsin and take Purdue to overtime among other games.

He will be asked to throw much more and be a more focal point of the offense next season, so Miller will have to respond with a great spring to prove he is ready to be the guy.

 

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