Ohio State Football: Power Ranking the Team's Strongest Positional Units in 2013

Ohio State may be one of the deeper football teams in the country and should be able to compete for a national championship in 2013.

Urban Meyer did a great job last year of turning the Buckeyes around from 6-7 in 2011 to a perfect 12-0.

He now has a deeper team with a year's worth of experience in his system, though some units on the team are stronger than others.

Some of the positions are loaded with players who have experience, while others have limited experience in the depth chart.

Here is a power ranking of the positional units on the Buckeyes' 2013 roster.

7. Linebacker

Ryan Shazier is the only returning starter in the linebacking corps, and there really isn't a whole lot behind him.

Guys like Curtis Grant and Josh Perry among others got some playing time last season, but the situation at the position was so bad last year that OSU had to turn FB Zach Boren into a linebacker.

There is quite a bit of inexperience in this group, and it hasn't helped that the linebacker play at OSU has been subpar each of the past two years.

In short, there is a ton of room for growth.

6. Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

The middle of this team is where these rankings become tougher.

OSU's wide receivers and tight ends took a step forward in 2012, but they need more help and more consistency next season.

Corey Brown and Devin Smith were the two top receivers in 2012. However, the team only had two other players with double-digit receptions that season.

The Buckeyes need to get more of that next season and will need either Jeff Heuerman or Nick Vannett to step up at the tight end spot.

5. Secondary

Bradley Roby may be the best cornerback in college football and has the ability to take away half of the football field.

However, the rest of the secondary has some questions to answer.

The second corner—whether it be Doran Grant or one of OSU's freshman recruits—because of how good Roby is, will be under immense pressure to hold up because opponents will scheme to go away from Roby.

OSU returns two senior safeties in C.J. Barnett and Christian Bryant, but they were very inconsistent last year. Plus, there isn't much depth behind them.

4. Defensive Line

Ohio State's defensive line is likely going to be very, very good in the years to come. But it won't come without growing pains as this unit has to replace all four starters from last year.

Defensive ends Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington will be expected to bookend a young, but athletic and aggressive front four.

Michael Bennett and Joel Hale are among the most experienced linemen and should provide some leadership to this group.

Like the starters, the depth behind them doesn't have much experience. That will quickly change as this young group will be tested early and often in 2013.

3. Offensive Line

Ohio State's offensive line had been very inconsistent throughout the previous few seasons. In 2012, this group stepped up and played much better.

Four of those starters will be back, including left tackle Jack Mewhort and right guard Marcus Hall, who are arguably the team's two best linemen.

Right tackle is going to be a question mark with sophomore Taylor Decker stepping in despite little experience.

He won't need to worry about that with four starters back from a group which paved the way for the No. 10 running game in the country.

2. Quarterback

Braxton Miller is a Heisman Trophy contender after over 3,200 yards of total offense and 28 touchdowns in 2012.

He's expected to be even better in 2013 if he can continue to improve as a passer.

What should make OSU fans more comfortable even if Miller is hurt—as he was several times last season—is that Kenny Guiton can be a reliable backup.

Guiton led the Buckeyes to a big win over Purdue last season and did well in spot duty.

Not too many teams can say they have a backup quarterback capable of winning conference games.

1. Running Backs

Plain and simple, Ohio State's running backs are going to be very difficult for most teams to handle this season.

Carlos Hyde, Rod Smith and Jordan Hall all return to anchor a very experienced group of backs, which should take some pressure off of Braxton Miller in the running game.

Hyde played in just 10 games last year and still came close to 1,000 yards with 16 touchdowns. Smith and Hall each also had their moments last season and should spell Hyde well.

Young depth like Bri'Onte Dunn, Warren Ball and Dontre Wilson should make a good group like this even better, though they won't get too many snaps.

If these backs can start to make more big plays, it's only going to make OSU's No. 10 running game that much better.

Follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim for the latest college football news and updates.