Ohio State Football: Projecting the Offensive Depth Chart for the Season Opener

Earlier, we looked at what the defensive depth chart for Ohio State would look like heading into the 2011 season-opener Sept. 3 against Akron.

Now we will examine the offensive depth chart going into this season.

And this is much more interesting due to the fact that three offensive starters from last season are under suspension, and Terrelle Pryor has left school.

In this list, current starters will have an asterisk and the next man on the list will be the projected starter until the three players—Mike Adams, Dan Herron and DeVier Posey—are eligible to play again.

Here is a look at the depth chart as it will stand in Week 1.

QB: Braxton Miller, Joe Bauserman

With the departure of Terrelle Pryor, this is the position that has the most intriguing battle of any in Ohio State football this year.

Right now, it seems like freshman Braxton Miller and former baseball player Joe Bauserman have the inside track to be the starter for the season.

But if Ohio State is looking for the guy who gives them the best chance to win, Miller should be the guy.

Miller is a true dual-threat with great speed, plus pretty good throwing mechanics and footwork, which is something Pryor never had as a Buckeye.

In Bauserman's short playing time, he has never really inspired too much confidence from fans and has just never looked like a QB with big-time skill.

While Taylor Graham and Ken Guiton are also backups to keep an eye on, odds are good Miller will be taking the first snaps under center this season.

RB: Dan Herron*, Jaamal Berry, Rod Smith

Sources within the program have said Jordan Hall will move to full-time WR due to the lack of quality depth at the position.

This opens up youngsters Jaamal Berry and Rod Smith for more carries to open up the season, and these two can provide two very different styles.

Berry is an absolute burner with a lot of speed, and Smith is a physical, punishing runner in the style of Eddie George.

But Boom Herron is the guy to watch when he returns next season after he put up spectacular rushing numbers in 2010.

When he comes off suspension in Week 6, he will get the main share of the carries.

FB: Zach Boren, Adam Homan

When it comes to the most overlooked and sometimes considered obsolete position in football, few do it as well as Zach Boren.

Boren, like his brother who graduated this past year, is a very physical blocker with a nasty attitude.

He is also a power receiving threat outside of the pocket if the checkdown is an option.

Boren, simply put, is a best friend of OSU RBs because of how he can help backs get into the second level of the defense.

WR1: DeVier Posey*, Jordan Hall, Chris Fields

The WR position has Buckeye fans extremely worried going into this season, especially since no real break-out players emerged out of spring practice.

But with DeVier Posey under suspension, new WR coach Stan Drayton opted to move RB Jordan Hall out to WR with the plans to mold him into a poor man's Percy Harvin.

Hall has the ability to make people miss in space with his elusiveness and acceleration with the ball.

He may be thrust into a large amount of playing time immediately, but will move into the slot when Posey returns, which could put Hall in a role within the passing game that best suits his skills.

Redshirt sophomore Chris Fields did not show too much in the spring, but has the athletic ability to be a solid WR next season.

WR2: Corey Brown, T.Y. Williams

Corey Brown will be the guy on the offense who has as much of a chance as anyone to have a break-out season.

He has elite-level speed, and the ability to get open in the short and deep passing game.

His hands, however, were a huge question mark coming from last season, as he dropped a good number of catches.

If he can sure up his hands, the young man who has drawn DeSean Jackson comparisons could give Braxton Miller quite a threat on the weak-side of the field.

Big T.Y. Williams is still a raw prospect, but he showed some good flashes of his great height during spring practices.

TE: Jake Stoneburner, Reid Fragel

As much as people are concerned about the WRs and the offensive line, there is almost nobody worried about the talent at TE.

And both Jake Stoneburner and Reid Fragel showed last year that each guy can be the starter on this team.

Stoneburner, who can also be flexed out as a WR, is a better pure receiver, using his frame and speed to create mismatches against whoever he lines up against.

Fragel is more of a traditional TE, but has incredible height for the position at 6'8'', which makes him a great red zone option.

LT: Mike Adams*, Andrew Norwell, Marcus Hall

The suspension of Mike Adams really hurts this offensive line to start the season not just because it takes away depth, but because Adams was having a break-out year in 2010.

Adams finished first-team All-Big Ten and showed he has the ability to live up to the hype his high school career merited.

But the Buckeyes will rely on sophomore Andrew Norwell, who saw plenty of action as a freshman, to start the season at LT with Marcus Hall backing him up.

Norwell is not quite the franchise LT prospect Adams is, but he should at worst be serviceable in Adams' absence.

LG: Jack Mewhort, Antonio Underwood

Filling the spot of Justin Boren will be the former Under Armour All-American pictured here, third-year sophomore Jack Mewhort.

Mewhort is a very versatile prospect with some athleticism and strength, but hasn't seen much playing time due to the veteran in front of him.

Ohio State will need a kid like Mewhort to step up and play well, especially with the absence of Adams and the fact that teams might be more likely to test his replacement.

Freshman Antonio Underwood, who has prototypical guard size, will be likely to be the top backup.

C: Mike Brewster, Brian Bobek

Mike Brewster may be the best center in the country right now and is the unquestioned leader of the offensive line.

He is an intelligent player with a physical edge and will make any NFL team that drafts him that much happier.

Brewster has the potential to be a first-round pick next season and could liken to an Alex Mack-type impact.

Freshman Brian Bobek from Chicago seems to be a Brewster clone, but unless Brewster is hurt, Bobek will likely redshirt and get four years to start when Brewster graduates.

RG: Corey Linsley, Chris Carter

Like Jack Mewhort, third-year sophomore Corey Linsley will be dropped into the starting lineup at a position where there isn't too much depth all across the line.

Linsley is an explosive athlete with strength and has the ability to muscle defenders off the line in the run game.

Linsley has seen some spot time, but will be called upon to be one of the go-to guys to keep an eye on in the running game.

Freshman Chris Carter, whose arrival in Columbus was preempted by controversy, is another big guy like Underwood who would could get a chance to see time as a backup.

RT: J.B. Shugarts, Marcus Hall

Rounding out the offensive line is the third member of the Brew Crew from 2008, J.B. Shugarts (No. 76).

Shugarts has been a two-year starter at RT, and if he goes to the NFL, he might be a candidate to move inside.

He doesn't have elite athleticism, but Shugarts has good size and is a good run-blocker from the tackle position.

However, he has a propensity to frustrate due to his high amount of false start penalties from the past two seasons.

Marcus Hall, who redshirted in 2010 to fix some academic problems, has some good RT potential with a good combination of athleticism and physicality to be a force in the run game.

KR: Jordan Hall, Jaamal Berry

A wise man once said if it isn't broken, don't fix it.

And for Ohio State, a team that needs to help out an inexperienced offense even more, they will need the duo who finished No. 5 in the country in kick return average to replicate that stat again.

Hall and Berry's ability to give the offense a short field was a huge factor for the OSU offense in being able to put up more points and being more explosive overall.

Both players each ripped off some big returns last season, and Hall had the only kick return for a TD of the two, a 97-yarder against Michigan.

Expect the duo to at least double that, if not make it three going into next season, as teams will have to either kick it to one of these players, or just kick out of bounds and give OSU the 35-yard-line.

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