Boston College's Anthony Costanzo Should've Suited Up For Ohio State

If you could pick one player from another college team to add to Ohio State, who would it be?

The question no doubt sparks a myriad of responses.

The idea for this piece came to me weeks ago and I thought of which positions OSU could use a significant boost. I came up with seven: left tackle, defensive tackle, strong-side linebacker, strong safety, kicker, punter, and a return man.

I eliminated defensive tackle because I have faith that John Simon will become a sure-fire star this year alongside the already steady Dexter Larimore.

Etienne Sabino should be just fine at strong-side linebacker. And even if he falters, someone else will slide in and pick up the slack.

I seriously considered strong safety. However, I have heard nothing but good reviews so far on Orhian Johnson. So that takes strong safety off the list.

Devin Barclay is a solid kicker, but by no means is he Mike Nugent.

Nobody’s seen Ben Buchanan punt in a game situation. But there’s no reason to be concerned with either player.

If I had done this piece last season, I would have picked former Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas in a heartbeat.

Not only would he have impacted the return game, but he would have helped solve the uncertainty Coach Jim Tressel was dealing with at the cornerback position at this time last season.

That leaves left tackle.

Heralded recruit Mike Adams’ career has been marred by off-the-field issues and injuries. Andy Miller has also fought injuries. Marcus Hall’s name has been thrown around, but he appears to be third-string and may redshirt this season.

All of those questions made seeking a replacement left tackle easy.

The hard part is figuring out who would best suit the Buckeye offense, which is run-oriented but necessitates an athletic streak in their tackles for solid pass protection.

The 2007 Fiesta Bowl proved that.

I narrowed my choices down to Wisconsin’s Gabe Carimi and Boston College’s Anthony Costanzo.

Carimi is a classic Big Ten bruiser of a lineman.

Second Team All-Big Ten in 2009 and a three-year starter in Madison, Carimi is arguably the best run blocker in the 2011 draft class. There are concerns about his ability to block speed rushers.

But in the end, I went with Costanzo, whom I deem an offensive line coach’s dream.

Here are some of his attributes.

He stands at 6'7" and weighs around 300 pounds.

He’s a biochemistry major, so he’s not your stereotypical all brawn, no brain offensive lineman.

Costanzo has played and started since 2007, his freshman year. He’s totaled 41 starts in that time.

He’s as good a pass blocker as a run blocker.

Costanzo would be ideal to handle Miami’s speed rushers and Iowa’s Adrian Clayborn. He’s also physical enough to tango in the trenches with the physical defensive lines in the Big Ten.

What do you think?