Sunday, May 3, 2009

The "New" Hit Squad

There was never any question who anchored the Buckeye defense in 2008. There was Laurinaitis in the middle, Jenkins on the edge, and then there were nine other guys. Now, with Jenkins and Laurinaitis making the leap to the NFL, the defense has some new anchors, guys whose names are not familiar to most college football fans. However, by season's end, it's likely that names like Austin Spitler, Anderson Russell, and especially Kurt Coleman, will be mentioned among the best defensive players in the nation. Those who believe the Buckeyes will be down in 2009 are sadly mistaken.

2009 Spring Game Depth Chart

DEFENSE (Three Deep)
D-Tackle
1. Doug Worthington (6-6, 276, 5th)
2. Garrett Goebel (6-5, 280, RFr.)
3. Willie Mobley (6-3, 265, RFr.)

D-Tackle
1. Dexter Larimore (6-2, 300, Jr.)
2. Todd Denlinger (6-2, 292, 5th)
3. Tom Ingham (6-1, 243, 5th)

D-End
1. Thaddeus Gibson (6-2, 240, Jr.)
2. Nathan Williams (6-3, 245, So.)
3. Soloman Thomas (6-5, 240, So.)

D-End
1. Cameron Heyward (6-6, 287, Jr.)
2. Rob Rose (6-5, 285, Sr.)
3. Keith Wells (6-5, 210 So.)

Weakside Linebacker
1. Ross Homan (6-0, 229, Jr.)
2. Brian Rolle (5-11, 221, Jr.)
3. Andrew Sweat (6-2, 220, So.)

Middle Linebacker
1. Austin Spitler (6-3, 234, 5th)
2. Etienne Sabino (6-3, 232, So.)
3. Adam Homan (6-4, 235, Fr.)

Strongside Linebacker
1. Tyler Moeller (6-0, 216, Jr.)
2. Tony Jackson (5-11, 227, So.)
3. Storm Klein (6-3, 225, Fr.)

Free Safety
1. Anderson Russell (6-0, 205, 5th)
2. Aaron Gant (6-0, 194, Sr.)
3. Orhian Johnson (6-2, 178, RFr.)

Strong Safety
1. Kurt Coleman (5-11, 188, Sr.)
2. Jermale Hines (6-2, 210, Jr.)
3. Nate Oliver (6-0, 210, So.)

Cornerback
1. Andre Amos (6-1, 183, 5th)
2. Travis Howard (6-1, 180, RFr.)
3. Taylor Rice (5-11, 171, RFr.)

Cornerback
1. Chimdi Chekwa (6-0, 188, Jr.)
2. Devon Torrence (6-1, 193, Jr.)
3. Donnie Evege (5-11, 189, So.)

Specialists
Place Kicker
1. Aaron Pettrey (6-2, 199, 5th)
2. Ben Buchanan (6-0, 200, RFr.)
3. Devin Barclay (5-11, 195, Jr.)

Punter
1. Jon Thoma (6-2, 201, 5th)
2. Ben Buchanan (6-0, 200, RFr)

Long Snapper
1. Jake McQuaide (6-2, 219, Jr.)
2. Patrick Howe (6-2, 204, Jr.)
3. Gar Chappelear (6-2, 250, RFr.)

Holder
1. Jon Thoma (6-2, 201, 5th)
2. Dane Sanzenbacher (5-11, 175, Jr.)
3. Joe Bauserman (6-2, 220, So.)

INJURED:
Zach Boren LB; Lawrence Wilson DL.


Ross Homan started all 13 games in 2008, his sophomore season.



Big hits are what the Silver Bullets are all about.

3 comments:

Razcalking said...

Sure, nice hits, but you gotta get those boys to STAY down.

DatNDaz said...

Is Sabino pushing for the starting MLB spot at all, or is Spitler a lock?

Archie Griffin said...

I think Spitler's a lock. He's really looking like he should have pushed Laurinaitis last year. Sabino is a nice player, though, and the Bucks played a lot of 3-4 in the Spring game. I think we'll see them both.