Not many sure things on OSU's offensive line

COLUMBUS - Alex Boone might be the only player on Ohio State's offensive line sleeping well these days.

At least, he's the only starter on the line who knows with a lot of certainty where he will be playing from week to week as OSU continues to tinker with its lineup to try to find its best offensive line combination.

A year ago, the same five offensive linemen played almost every snap for Ohio State. This year, with four of five starters back, it was assumed those four - center Jim Cordle, guards Steve Rehring and Ben Person, and left tackle Boone - would do the same thing.

But inconsistency, injuries and an influx of offensive line talent in the freshman class have shaken things up.

When Rehring suffered a foot injury two weeks ago, Cordle moved to guard and freshman Mike Brewster took over at center. When Rehring is able to return, it's not a lock that the line will go back to the way it was before his injury.

Rehring is expected to play at Wisconsin on Saturday, but probably not be a full-time player yet.

Head coach Jim Tressel and offensive coordinator Jim Bollman both said it's possible that Rehring could play tackle at least part of the time when he comes back. That apparently would make first-year-starter Bryant Browning the odd man out.

"Part of that is due to injuries and part of that is looking for people to step it up and improve in all phases of the game," Bollman said earlier this week.

"We'll let that thing keep going as it works out," Bollman said about what the starting lineup on the line might look like when Rehring is healthy again.

"He's not 1000 percent back and ready to roll after two games off. He's getting back into things and I'm sure he'll be ready to help us soon. I think he could help us out at a lot of spots. If he can help us at tackle, that's another place to keep examining, evolving, looking at and see who the best five guys end up being, what's the best rotation," he said.

Ohio State rushed for 279 yards and had its best overall offensive output, 414 yards, in a 34-21 over Minnesota last Saturday.

But a message might have been sent to the offensive line when the coaches did not grade any lineman as having a "winning performance," a grade of 85 percent or higher, and didn't give out the weekly award for the top offensive lineman from that game.

"There were some times they improved and were headed in the right direction, but there are still some things we need to improve at," Bollman said. He pointed to penalties as one area of concern and said, "I think our pass protection has improved. The running part of things, we're looking for more quickness."