Ohio State Football: 4 Incoming Freshmen to Look for in 2011

The 2011 recruiting class is certainly a special one.  This group is ranked 11th by Rivals and fifth by Scout.

If features a total of 23 commitments, 22 of which will enroll this fall. Of these players, over half are from Ohio.

While there are several players in this class who would be capable of seeing the field, a few did not enroll for the spring or have a lot of talent ahead of them.  This group has enough talent in it that they should be able to compete for a national title down the road.

With that being said, there are four Buckeyes who should expect to see the field come this fall. 

Braxton Miller

With all of the offseason chaos in Columbus, Braxton miller seems to be the most likely of all recruits to see the field this year.

The departure of Terrelle Pryor leaves a vacant spot in the depth chart at the quarterback position that Miller may find himself thrust into.  A similar quarterback situation happened in 2008, Pryor's first season in Columbus.  At the beginning of the season, he split a lot of reps with senior quarterback Todd Boeckman.  As the season progressed, however, Pryor received more and more reps.

This could be the case with Miller and quarterback Joe Bauserman, especially if the Buckeyes lose games at the beginning of the season while several players are suspended.

Miller has a great tool set and is capable of being a dynamic player right away.  He attended Wayne High School where he led his team to a berth in the state championship game.  During his senior season he put up impressive numbers, passing for 2,167 yards and 17 touchdowns.  On the ground he was able to pick up 658 yards and 17 touch downs. 

Expect to see big things from Miller this year and even bigger things in the years to come.

Doran Grant

The best defensive back in Ohio State's recruiting class, Doran Grant will likely get plenty of playing time this year.  Normally, it's tough for a defensive back to come in and play as a freshman because there's so much to learn and the speed of the game is so different.

After losing several defensive backs to graduation and the draft last season, Ohio State is rather thin in the defensive backfield.

Grant played corner and receiver for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.  His speed is very good, but it's his strength and ball skills that make him an elite recruit.  Unlike some players, the numbers he puts up during testing show on the field.

Expect Grant to be limited to special teams early in the season, but get significant defensive reps in nickel and dime packages later in the season.

Steve Miller

Steve Miller is a defensive end from Canton McKinley High school.  He has good size at 6'4" and 230 lbs. and has a large enough frame that he has plenty of room to grow.  During his career he recorded 260 tackles and 11 sacks.

While Ohio State has some talent at defensive end, Miller could get an opportunity to play during the five games that Solomon Thomas is suspended.  He is versatile enough that he could also potentially play some special teams.

Miller needs some improvement on his moves.  He has great strength and good speed, but he needs to refine his play so he can get into the backfield more often. 

Curtis Grant

Ohio State lacks significant depth at linebacker.  With the suspension of Dorian Bell, Curtis Grant is almost guaranteed to at least rotate in on defense. If all goes well this summer, Grant may be able to compete for a starting job with Jonathan Newsome and Storm Klein.

Grant has fantastic size and has room to grow.  His 4.5 speed gives him great range.  Scouts praise his pass rush and run stopping ability. In his senior yea at Hermitage High School, Grant tallied 134 tackles and six sacks.  Grant came out of high school ranked as the top linebacker recruit in the 2011 class.

The Buckeyes will likely give Grant a lot of reps at special teams as well as a significant amount of plays on defense.  Grant is the rare type of player who has the ability to come in and make a big impact in his freshman season.