First Posted: 1/24/2011
COLUMBUS – Losing three senior starters should be no big deal for the Ohio State secondary. This is a unit that knows how to deal with losses.
The Buckeyes bid farewell to both starting cornerbacks from 2010, Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence, and starting free safety Jermale Hines, who could all be on NFL rosters this fall.
Along with departing senior safety Aaron Gant, that’s 41 starts leaving Columbus.
But because the secondary dealt with an almost laughable number of injuries in 2010, it should be reasonably well equipped to handle those departures.
First, promising sophomore C.J. Barnett went down in week two with a season-ending knee injury. Three weeks later, senior nickel back Tyler Moeller was lost to a torn chest muscle.
In the three weeks following Moeller’s loss, two freshmen also were lost: cornerback Corey Brown to a knee injury and safety Christian Bryant to a foot infection that required surgery.
Gant stepped into a more prominent role, but so did sophomore cornerback Travis Howard, who was impressive late in the season.
And finally, Chekwa left the Sugar Bowl at the end of the first quarter because of a dislocated wrist. That meant significant action for cornerback Dominic Clarke and the return of Bryant after 21/2 months of inaction.
The upshot of all the mayhem is that a number of young players saw more playing time than anyone expected, which should ease Ohio State’s pain when making the transition into 2011.
“On the negative side, we had to throw some guys into the fire that we didn’t plan on,” defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. “But the good news is, now we’ve got some guys coming back who have been in the fire and performed under some pretty good scrutiny and did all right.”
Through it all, the Buckeyes maintained a high level of play. They finished eighth in the nation in pass defense (165.5 yards per game), giving up just nine passing touchdowns (tied for second nationally).
Much of that can be credited to the departing seniors, obviously. But consider the Sugar Bowl, when Clarke and Bryant helped limit Arkansas star quarterback Ryan Mallett to 51 percent completions and a long pass of 24 yards.
“My confidence went up a lot,” Clarke said, “getting in there — getting a chance to play with some of these seniors that I’m going to be seeing on Sundays next year.”
The news that the NCAA granted Moeller a sixth year of eligibility was huge for Ohio State. He is an emotional leader and a playmaker who had 41/2 tackles for loss, a sack, an interception and two forced fumbles in just four-plus games this past season.
In less than two games, Barnett also showed flashes of playmaking ability.
The wild-card addition to the mix is cornerback Dionte Allen. He transferred from Florida State last summer after playing in 14 games over two years for the Seminoles. He will be a senior this fall.
Moeller and Barnett almost certainly will man two of the three safety/nickel back spots. Orhian Johnson returns after starting 11 games at safety, and Bryant also is in that mix.
There is less depth at cornerback. Howard should start, and then Clarke, Allen, Brown and possibly senior Donnie Evege or freshman Doran Grant could compete, as well.
Bryant played cornerback in high school and said he’s willing to play anywhere. He’s just happy to be healthy after what he called “a freak accident” — a cut in his foot that became infected and led to surgery and “one of the most bitter times in my life.”
Heacock didn’t sound as if he wanted to switch Bryant back to corner, but he did say, “You don’t want to stockpile three good players at one position if there is someone better than a starter at another spot.”
The impressive part of it is that despite all the good players who are leaving, Ohio State still has quite a stockpile.
