Evolution Of The Vest: How Tressel and Staff Must Adapt to New Personnel

There are two types of coaches in college football: coaches with a rigid style, and those who adapt to their players.

Jim Tressel can be considered the latter, probably one of the more fluid coaching personalities in the country.

One thing that keeps the talent coming into Columbus is that he doesn't limit the players he recruits based on set skillsets, such as strictly spread QBs and smaller vs. taller WRs.

His teams were mostly power run offenses in his first few years in Columbus. Along comes Troy Smith and Ted Ginn, and the Buckeyes run a more spread-type offense in 2005-2006.

Beanie Wells put OSU back into a power-type running game predicated on ball control and good blocking.

Now Terrelle Pryor is the focal point of the offense heading into 2009. Not only that, but the Buckeyes have potentially their fastest, most athletic defensive unit in this decade.

To have great success this season, Tressel and his staff must be ready to adapt and let his players play a more loose, aggressive style on both sides of the ball.

With a great talent like Pryor under center, Tressel would be better suited to let the reins off the horse and have him use his full talents.

Offensively, the Senator has a deep corps of inexperienced WRs, most of whom like DeVier Posey and Duron Carter who have skyhigh potential.

He also has a solid three-deep rotation of RBs who can run well out of the I-formation and shotgun.

Pryor has said on multiple occasions that he knows that he has to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers on offense for big plays. It's up to the offensive coaches to make it possible.

Setting up in multiple offensive packages and moving personnel around the field should allow for more flexibility and keep the pressure off any one player.

This would be the ideal method offensively to give Pryor multiple options in the passing game and spread the ball around to the different receivers.

It's not to say that the offense should be strictly a spread attack because Ohio State has been well-known for a pro-style attack.

Balance is the key with a solid stable of backs and receivers fighting hard for playing time and catches.

Expect the offense to be run from under center and from the shotgun. Running multiple offensive sets and formations is the best thing for an offense deep with young playmakers.

Defensively, the front four is the strongest asset of the Buckeyes, while the corners are not so strong.

Towards the end of last season, the defensive staff turned their guys loose and played a much more aggressive style. The same type of play should be expected from a group with only three returning starters in the back seven of the defense.

Linebacker could turn out to be a position of strength by the end of the season.

This unit at this point has so much athletic potential in comparison to past years. Rarely in Columbus has their been this deep a collection of size, speed, and hitting ability.

These guys would be best served in zone blitz schemes but also outside coverage plays.

LBs like Tyler Moeller with impressive speed could be very effective in spy situations, as the Big Ten has become more prominent for dual-threat QBs like Juice Williams, Daryll Clark, and possibly Tate Forcier and other QBs at Michigan in the future.

With the talent Ohio State has recruited and now waiting in the wings, the time is now to get away from archaic coaching and adapt to the personnel.

If he cannot do so, his methods will no doubt come into question as he has quickly stockpiled the most amount of young talent in his Ohio State tenure.

If he does, expect great things heading into the end of this season and into 2010, where the Buckeyes might be in the national championship chase once again.