Ohio State Football: Urban Meyer Says LT Jack Mewhort Will Be a Captain in 2013

The Ohio State Buckeyes will enter the 2013 season with one of the most experienced offenses in the country, returning nine starters to a unit that led the Big Ten in scoring with 37.2 points per game last year.

The Buckeyes also return the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Braxton Miller, who set an Ohio State single-season record with 3,310 yards of total offense in 2012.

Meyer, though, is looking for leaders after losing the likes of John Simon—the "heart and soul" of the 2012 Buckeyes—Zach Boren and Jake Stoneburner to graduation.

According to Dave Briggs of the Toledo Blade, Meyer has already identified one leader for his 2013 Ohio State football team.

Speaking at the National Football Foundation banquet in Toledo Monday night, Meyer singled out left tackle Jack Mewhort as one of the team's captains:

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Meyer said LT Jack Mewhort will be a captain this season.

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"— Dave Briggs (@DBriggsBlade) March 19, 2013"

"It's not a dictatorship at OSU. We let our players choose captains," Meyer said. "However, all those votes have to pass by my desk. "

Meyer went on to say that he was sure the members of Ohio State's football team voted for Mewhort with a tone not unlike the one he used last year when speaking of Simon. Meyer's ability to identify leadership in his teams is well documented, and if there's a player he wants in a leadership role, the team won't be able to overrule it.

This is a tremendous honor for Mewhort, who is one of six projected senior starters on offense. If it plays out like last year, we won't know the official captains until fall camp opens. Until then, Mewhort can provide the kind of leadership Meyer is looking for.

David Regimbal is the lead Ohio State football writer for Bleacher Report.
Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.