Ohio State Football: 2012 Season Preview for the Buckeyes

The Ohio State Buckeyes enter the 2012 football season with a new head coach, a new offensive scheme, and a new attitude that was desperately needed after their forgettable 6-7 campaign last year. 

Urban Meyer's arrival has generated a ton of buzz in Columbus, but the two-time National Champion coach and his team are facing a one-year postseason ban as a result of Ohio State's recent NCAA violations.

Despite the bowl ban, the Buckeyes have more than a few storylines developing as they enter the coming football season. With so many changes to a team that operated under Jim Tressel's steady hand for over a decade, use this complete season preview to familiarize yourself with the new-look Ohio State Buckeyes.

Offseason Synopsis

A host of new coaches on both sides of the ball and the implementation of Urban Meyer’s spread offense made Ohio State’s offseason busier than usual.

Things started quickly after the Buckeyes’ 2011 season mercifully came to an end when Meyer and his coaching staff hit the recruiting trail. Meyer has always been a great recruiter, and one year away from coaching didn’t change that. He took the pedestrian class Ohio State was putting together before he arrived and turned it into a top-five class on signing day.The Buckeyes received huge commitments from some of the nation’s top defensive lineman, including the the top two defensive ends (according to Rivals) in Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington.

Meyer ruffled some feathers around the conference—specifically in East Lansing and Wisconsin—when he flipped a pair of recruits that had previously committed to play for the Spartans and the Badgers. Ohio State’s new head coach was unapologetic, knowing it will take that kind of effort on the recruiting trail to get Ohio State—and by association the Big Ten—back into the National Championship conversation.

Frankly, it was a great offseason for the Buckeyes. Not only did Ohio State secure one of the top recruiting classes in the country, but the team also eluded being associated with any word ending in “gate.” 

Offensive Preview

Urban Meyer spent the entirety of the offseason implementing his spread offense at Ohio State. The Buckeyes have a quarterback in Braxton Miller who is tailor-made for Meyer’s system. Miller, a sophomore who started 10 games last year as a freshman, has the speed and elusiveness that could be lethal under Meyer’s tutelage. He will be backed up by Kenny Guiton, a junior from Texas, who has impressed Meyer through spring and fall camps.

The Buckeyes are plenty deep at running back. Carlos Hyde, who rushed for 566 yards and six touchdowns last year, will start in place of Jordan Hall as he recovers from an offseason foot injury that will keep him sidelined for no longer than three weeks. Behind those two, a pair of freshman tailbacks, Brionte Dunn and Warren Ball, alongside Rod Smith give Meyer an embarrassment of depth at the position.

The offensive line, although not very deep, is a group that has come a long way since last spring. Jack Mewhort has moved over to left tackle, Andrew Norwell will start at left guard, Corey Linsley has secured the starting center position, Marcus Hall is slotted at right guard and Reid Freigel, a converted tight-end, is battling freshman Taylor Decker for the right tackle spot.

The wide receiver core is what worries Ohio State’s coach the most. No receiver on last year’s squad eclipsed 300 yards receiving in 2011, and the group struggled grasping the new system this spring. Devin Smith, Corey Brown and Chris Fields will see the field a lot, and Ohio State’s top returning tight end, Jake Stoneburner, has joined the wide receiver core and will be split wide quite a bit.

Defensive Preview

The offense might be getting an overhaul, but Buckeye fans will recognize the familiar scheme Ohio State runs on defense this year. The Buckeyes will alternate between a base 4-3 defense and a nickel scheme that allows them to utilize their star position—a hybrid safety/linebacker that gives the silver bullet defense more speed.

The defensive line is not only the strength of the defense, but the entire team. Ohio State could legitimately go 10-deep up front this year. John Simon and Michael Bennett will start on the edge with Jonathan Hankins and Garrett Goebel starting inside. When they need a breather, Steve Miller, Noah Spence and Nathan Williams will sub in at the DE position, while Adolphus Washington and Adam Bellamy will back up the tackles.

The starting linebackers are solid. Curtis Grant solidified his spot in the rotation during spring and fall camps and will start at middle linebacker. After a great bowl performance against Florida, Etienne Sabino is primed for a breakout senior year on the strongside. But Ohio State’s most talented linebacker is Ryan Shazier, a sophomore who racked up 56 tackles as a true freshman last year. Shazier will start on the weakside.

The Buckeyes return all four starters from last year’s secondary. Bradley Roby and Travis Howard will start at cornerback, and C.J. Barnett and Christian Bryant return to their safety positions. The Buckeyes don’t have a ton of depth at corner, and barring injury, this should be one of the best secondaries in the Big Ten.

Special Teams Preview

Fewer coaches in the country place more emphasis on special teams than Urban Meyer. 

The Buckeyes return experienced starters at both the punter and kicker positions. Ben Buchanan, a redshirt senior, will handle the punting duties. Drew Basil, a junior who went 16-for-19 kicking field goals last year, will handle field goals and kickoffs this year.

Jordan Hall’s offseason injury provided an early shakeup to the return teams. Until he makes it back on the field, Chris Fields, Corey Brown, Devin Smith and Bradley Roby are in the mix to handle returns.

Coaching

When Urban Meyer first arrived at Ohio State, his initial goal was to hire “the best coaching staff in America.” Whether he was able to do that remains to be seen, but there will be a lot of new faces along with some familiar ones on Ohio State’s sideline this year.

Meyer completely overhauled the offensive coaching staff, bringing in new coordinators and position coaches almost completely across the board. Tom Herman was brought in after a brief stint as Iowa State’s offensive coordinator to run Ohio State’s new spread attack alongside Urban Meyer. Herman’s offense was more pass-heavy at Iowa State, but he has adapted power run principles into his playbook to accommodate Meyer’s influence. Meyer also brought in Ed Warriner, formally at Notre Dame, to be the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State retained Stan Drayton (formally the wide receiver Coach) to become the running backs coach, which coincidentally is the same position he held while at Florida with Urban Meyer. Tim Hinton was brought in to coach the tight ends and fullbacks and Zack Smith will coach the receivers.

On defense, Meyer retained Luke Fickell, last year’s interim head coach for Ohio State, to be the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Everett Withers, North Carolina’s interim coach last year and defensive coordinator before Butch Davis’ firing, was brought in as the assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator. Meyer also retained Mike Vrabel, last year’s defensive line coach, to hold the same position on this year’s staff. Rounding out the staff is Kerry Coombs, formally at Cincinnati, who will be coaching Ohio State’s cornerbacks this year.

Schedule

The Buckeyes’ favorable schedule has them playing eight of their 12 games in Columbus this year, but arguably their two toughest games—Michigan State and Wisconsin—are on the road.

September 1 - Miami (OH)

September 8 - UCF

September 15 - California

September 22 - UAB

September 29 - @ Michigan State

October 6 - Nebraska

October 13 - @ Indiana

October 20 - Purdue

October 27 - @ Penn State

November 3 - Illinois

November 17 - @ Wisconsin

November 24 - Michigan

One Game the Buckeyes Absolutely Will Win

Purdue, October 20

Surprisingly, no team has beaten up on Ohio State more in the last three years than Purdue. The Boilermakers have been a thorn in the Buckeyes’ side, beating them in two of their last three meetings.

But the last time these two teams met in Columbus, the Buckeyes blanked the Boilermakers in a 49-0 shutout. The road team typically struggles in this series, and with this year's game at the 'Shoe, the Buckeyes should pull out the win.

One Game That’s a Tossup

Michigan State, September 29

The game between these two last year was an insult to offense, as Michigan State hung on for an uneventful 10-7 victory.

When the two teams meet in East Lansing this year, it could be another low scoring game, with the two best defenses in the conferences going at it. Because of that, neither team is going to blow the other out.

One Game the Buckeyes Could Lose

Wisconsin, November 17

Ohio State will be coming off their bye week, and the week off should help them prepare for what should be the best team in the conference this year. Still, it will be tough getting a victory in Camp Randall.

The last time Ohio State visited Wisconsin, they were the top-ranked team in the country with an undefeated record. At the end of the night, the Buckeyes were trying to figure out what happened in a 31-18 loss that was never really that close.

It’s hard to imagine that Ohio State will get blown out like they did that night, but this will be a tough game for the Buckeyes to win.

Offensive MVP Prediction

Braxton Miller, Quarterback

Miller gets the nod here almost by default. The sophomore quarterback will be operating an offense that perfectly suits his skill set.

Miller was the leading rusher for a terrible offense last year, and with the heavy running back rotation, he could lead the Buckeyes in that category again.

Not to mention the improved passing attack. Don’t be surprised when Miller throws for over 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns this year.

Defensive MVP Prediction

Ryan Shazier, Weakside Linebacker

It’s almost a coin-flip between Shazier and John Simon, but with offenses gearing so much of their attention toward blocking Simon, Shazier should benefit from that.

The sophomore linebacker had a huge year last year and was really coming on strong before an injury in the Michigan game slowed him down. Shazier recorded an incredible 15 tackles against Penn State the week before his injury, and now that he’s 100 percent recovered, he should have a huge year for the Buckeyes.

Newcomer of the Year Prediction

Noah Spence, Defensive End

Spence didn’t get to join the team this spring like some of the other freshman—like Michael Thomas, the receiver who turned heads with his fantastic spring game performance—but it hasn’t taken long for the top defensive end recruit in the country to make his presence known in fall camp.

The 6’4", 245 pound freshman has already worked his way into the two-deep rotation of arguably the deepest defense line in the country, and he should see the field quite a bit his first year. With how strong Ohio State’s D-line is expected to be this year, Spence should thrive as the Buckeyes rotate fresh legs on the field.

Best NFL Prospect

Jonathan Hankins, Defensive Tackle

Hankins is an absolute monster inside.

The junior defensive tackle notched 66 tackles in 2011, which is an insane number for a defensive tackle. He has the size to be a typical run-stopping DT in the league, but has the speed to confound interior offensive lineman and get after the quarterback. Although Simon, Sabino, Howard and others should be drafted, Hankins is certainly the best pro prospect.

Best Five Twitter Follows

Tony Gerdeman, TheOzone.net Columnist -- “Gerd” not only covers Ohio State better than most, the Ozone.net columnist also keeps a closer eye on Michigan than most Michigan fans.

Ari Wasserman, Buckeye Sports Bulletin Columnist -- Few people cover Ohio State Football more completely and thoroughly than Ari. Follow him now, thank me later.

Ramzy Nasrallah, ElevenWarriors.com Writer -- If you love Ohio State football, you need to follow Ramzy. If you love bourbon, you need to follow Ramzy. Go follow Ramzy.

Brandon Castel, TheOzone.net Columnist -- Brandon Castel, an Ohio State grad and former editor at The Lantern, does a fantastic job covering the Buckeyes.

Alex Gleitman, ElevenWarrios.com Writer -- If you want Ohio State recruiting updates, Alex is a must follow. 

What Does Vegas Say?

According to Vegas oddsmakers, the Buckeyes over-under has been set at nine wins. Ohio State also opens up the season as 22 point favorites over the Miami (OH) Redhawks.

Final Prediction

When you combine Ohio State’s coaching transition with a pretty favorable schedule, agreeing with Vegas at 9-3 seems like a safe bet. The Buckeyes will lose on the road to both Michigan State and Wisconsin, and then drop a game throughout the season that they should probably win.

Follow David on Twitter @davidreg412