Ohio State: Breaking Down the Offensive Line

Ohio State's offensive line returns three starters and should be a strength for an offense in search of an identity. Despite a solid regular season, the big guys up front were much maligned for their lack of quickness in the BCS National Championship game against Florida. The returning players took this justified criticism to heart, especially bookend tackles Alex Boone and Kirk Barton. Barton's return for his senior season was crucial given the Buckeyes lack of depth up front. Boone, a true junior and 5-star recruit, is frequently mentioned for his dedication and improvement this offseason. Joining Boone on the left side is mammoth junior guard Steve Rehring. The two form one of the biggest tackle-guard combinations in the country. Boone and Barton will be spelled by Jon Skinner and redshirt freshman Josh Kerr.

The center position was vacated by Rimington Award finalist Doug Datish. True sophomore Jim Cordle, a 4-star from the 2005 class, is the favorite to replace him. Junior Tyler Whaley is next in line for snaps, and redshirt freshman Conner Smith could see time here as well.

The battle for right guard will continue through the fall. Junior Ben Person, a 4-star from the 2004 class, has the edge during spring practice. The primary backup at guard is junior Kyle Mitchum, a former Rivals100 player from 2004. He's had a somewhat disappointing career thus far and is running out of opportunities to make an impact. Along with Smith, redshirt freshman Bryant Browning could see time at all three interior positions. Browning is a 3-star recruit from Glenville that had a strong bowl and spring practice.

The only incoming freshman is guard Evan Blankenship from Pennsylvania. Blankenship is a somewhat unheralded 3-star, barey cracking the Pennsylvania top 20 from last season. But he won camp awards at Ohio State the last two years, and has been described as a mauler in the trenches. After a year hitting the weights, he'll at least be a serviceable interior reserve.

With the noted lack of depth, offensive line is the most important piece of the 2008 recruiting class. As I've previously blogged about, OSU is already off and running with a commitment from tackle Mike Adams. Adams is the #1 player in the state and the first piece of "Block O" to verbally commit. "Block O" refers to a group of stud juniors that are mutually interested in becoming Buckeyes. In addition to Adams, that includes Mike Brewster (FL), Kyle Long (VA) and J.B. Shugarts (TX). The four have become fast friends, taking visits together and frequently chatting online.

The prospects of landing all four have Ohio State fans salivating, but let's add some level of reason to the discussion. Brewster seems the most likely to join Adams in Columbus. He was present for Adams commitment, and has been actively recruiting other prospects to become Buckeyes. Only Urban Meyer and Florida seem like they have a shot at changing his mind, though I would never count out Peter Carroll.

Long, who is from the Charlottesville area, has a brother playing at UVA. He's also a highly touted baseball player, so there are plenty of options. Long did attend the Florida game with Brewster on Howie's dime. The two were decked out in OSU gear for that abomination. The Buckeyes have as good a shot as anyone.

Shugarts is the toughest to read. He has a working top 6 of OSU, Michigan, LSU, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and USC. He raves about each visit he takes, so it's tough to gauge his true interest from interviews. Of the 4, Shugarts seems the most likely to head elsewhere. Whether or not that's Michigan is up for serious debate.

There are a number of other names to keep in mind throughout this season. Josh Jenkins, a highly rated guard from West Virginia, is also being aggressively pursued by Ohio State. He verballed to West Virginia early on, but it getting worked by offensive line coach Jim Bollman.

If any of the above players choose another school, there is a deep pool of linemen available in Ohio. In any other year, with more scholarship, many of these kids would already have offers. Elliott Mealer, Zebrie Sanders, Marc Stevens, and Jake Current could all be in line for an offer depending on camp performance and scholarship availability. Of the four, I like Mealer the best for his versatility and technique. Sanders has a great frame but is raw at this point; however, he does have an impressive offer list.

The Buckeyes will take at least four in the 2008 class, and that number could be as high as six.