Ohio State Football: Meet Tom Herman, the Buckeyes' Offensive Coordinator

The 2012 Ohio State offense isn't going to look a whole lot like its 2011 iteration. That's good, because 2011 was the Buckeyes' second-worst offensive showing since the turn of the century, and it ended with offensive coordinator Jim Bollman not being retained by new coach Urban Meyer.

In Bollman's stead is Tom Herman, who wasn't exactly on a lot of national college football radars 12 months ago when he was leading Iowa State's offense.

That has now changed.

Herman will now be under the heaviest scrutiny in the Big Ten (and some of the heaviest in the nation) as OSU's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. And like any good, young offensive coordinator, Herman's primary objective is to innovate the Buckeye offense—and he's thinking spread and shred.

It's not terribly instructive to look at Herman's track record at Iowa State (especially with the same job title as he has now) as indicative of what OSU can expect, because the two teams are simply coming from wildly divergent starting points in terms of talent, both objectively and relative to their competition. Iowa State is average, at best, but was far from hapless in the Big 12, whereas Ohio State will have a decided physical advantage against 90 percent of the teams it faces for the foreseeable future

And it's a decided physical advantage.*

Still, let's take a look at what Herman brings to the table. He's a relative neophyte, having "only" 13 years of collegiate experience and turning 37 in June. Prior to his three-year stint at Iowa State, Herman's biggest stage was his previous one, when he spent two years as Rice's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Rice was wildly successful on the field, scoring more than 41 points per game in 2008 under Herman. (By comparison, the Owls scored 18 points per game the next year, with eight fewer wins.)

Iowa State was less of a success story offensively, but the 37-31 victory over second-ranked Oklahoma State last season showed how good the offense could be against a comparatively lousy defense. And again, there are going to be a lot of comparatively lousy defenses waiting for Herman and the Buckeyes.

One thing Herman won't be doing is calling plays; that's Meyer's job.

Teaching the plays beforehand, getting Braxton Miller into the right mindset, getting everyone in position to succeed before the game begins, though? That's all Herman, and that's a way bigger deal coaching-wise than what happens on the sidelines every Saturday.

*I couldn't help but go full Weis there. Sorry.