Ohio State Football: 5 Most Important Position Battles in 2012

Urban Meyer is in Columbus with a goal of creating a formidable Ohio State Buckeyes football team. 

He wants to return them to prominence, and that is a goal that almost every Bucks fan can stand by. That will start in the spring. 

Meyer wants to make this spring the most competitive in event Ohio State history. 

The 6-7 record last season was laughable, and that needs to be improved. Look for this team to get intense in the spring. 

Here are the five most important spring position battles to watch. 

Offensive Tackle

The Hole: Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts

The FrontRunners: Andrew Norwell, Reid Fragel 

The Challengers: Marcus Hall and Jack Mewhort 

With Adams and Shugarts gone for the greener pastures of the NFL, Ohio State is left with quite a hole at offensive tackle. 

Norwell started the first five games at left tackle last season before moving inside to left guard after Adams returned from his suspension, so he is a favorite for this position. 

Reid Fragel is a converted tight end but was an excellent blocker and just might show up on the opening day roster. 

Mewhort played left guard, right guard and right tackle for the Buckeyes last season. Both of the “Challenegers” are extremely versatile and have good size for the line. 

But freshman Taylor Decker could challenge for a place on the line and will compete for either tackle spot. 

Decker may be a quick learner or a fast learner, but he will be an important factor. 

Running Back

The Hole: Boom Herron

The Front-Runner: Jordan Hall 

The Challengers: Carlos Hyde, Rod Smith and Bri’onte Dunn (Fr.) 

Herron was on his way to becoming of the more productive backs in Ohio State history, and then suspension hit like a tidal wave. Now he’s gone.

Hall is a senior that is ready for a breakout season. He can be a “do-everything” player that lines up in the backfield and slot. He is explosive and a great runner, but Meyer may want to use different options. 

Both Hyde and Smith are bigger backs who bring a more physical style to their run game and will be able to rack up the yards. Hyde has a huge burst from the line of scrimmage and should challenge Hall. 

Wide Receiver

The Hole: DeVier Posey

The Front-Runner: Corey Brown

The Challenger: Devin Smith

In order for QB Braxton Miller to become a solid starter, he needs a few solid receivers. Posey is out the door after an underwhelming season. 

That leaves Brown and/or Smith to pick up the slack. 

Brown is a junior who picked up 205 yards last season and a touchdown. Smith is a sophomore who nabbed 294 receiving yards and four touchdowns last season.

The receiver slot is in limbo, and it will be fun to watch this battle. 

Backup Quarterback

The Front-Runner: Kenny Guiton

The Challenger: Cardale Jones (Fr.) 

The American quarterback is one of the most important positions in all of sports, so even the backup spot will be hotly contested. 

If Miller was to go down, then one of these two players would have to step up and led the team. That is why this is such an important battle. 

Right now, Kenny Guiton is the backup. But the spring might change that. Jones is a freshman who committed to Ohio State when Braxton Miller was already committed and then decided to go to Ohio after the culmination of Miller’s freshman season. 

Either he really loves the Ohio State University, wants to kick Miller out or doesn’t care about competition. 

The storylines here are more juicy then a "Jersey Shore" episode. 

Middle Linebacker

The Front-Runner: Storm Klein 

Challengers: Curtis Grant, Connor Crowell (Fr.) 

No returning starters are here at the MIKE position, so Meyer will have to dig deep to find a starter. The senior here is Storm Klein. 

But Klein is injured and will be limited during spring practice because of said injury. 

This means that the explosive freshman Crowell will duke it out with a sophomore Grant for a chance to unseat Klein. 

If Meyer falls in love with any of these two defensive monsters, then expect Klein to be on the sidelines come opening day. 

Right now I have to give the upper hand to Grant, but anything can happen in spring. 

Stay tuned!