Big Ten Roundtable: Ohio State

1. What are some of the major position battles going on within your team heading into the fall?

With an experienced football team already in place, there are few positions that have yet to be established.  Still, there are several underclassmen that will be pushing the starters for playing time.  While senior quarterback Todd Boeckman is entrenched in the starting spot after a strong junior season, he will certainly have some competition from true freshman Terrelle Pryor.  It is more than likely that Boeckman will remain the starter for the entire season, but Pryor may take more and more playing time as the season rolls on.

The only real position battle may be for the fullback position, which has yet to be determined.  Other than that, Jake Ballard may push Rory Nicol for playing time at tight end; sophomore Thaddeus Gibson may get situational playing time in place of either Cameron Heyward or Lawrence Wilson at DE, and sophomore Ross Homan should play some at linebacker.

2. Who are some players on each side of the ball that you see emerging as stars this year?
 
An obvious answer to this question would be Pryor, the 6’ 6, 235-pound Vince Young-clone from Jeannette, PA.  Pryor has all of the tools to be possibly the greatest quarterback to ever step into the Horseshoe wearing the scarlet and gray.  However, for this year it seems like Pryor’s role may only be situational as a change of pace player.  As far as early indications for this season go, Pryor may not emerge as a real star until 2009.

I then turn to two young players in the trenches who might emerge as stars by the middle of the season.  On offense, sophomore Bryant Browning is a massive 6’ 4, 312-pound right tackle who is taking over for the departed senior Kirk Barton.  Browning, a product of Glenville High School in Cleveland, has had an excellent spring and should fit in well on an experienced line.  Browning will be pushed by freshman blue-chip recruit Mike Adams, another potential emerging star.

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