OSU Buckeyes

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With spring practice in the books and Ohio State heading into its offseason conditioning program, BuckeyeNation is looking at the players who boosted their stock with the program the most during those 15 workouts. The offense went first last week, and it's now followed up by a handful of defenders who will be in line for heavy workloads this fall.

No. 3: Doran Grant

• Who: The flashes of ability off the bench last season made it clear that Grant, a junior, would at a minimum be sliding into a starting position when spring practice opened. But Ohio State still needed to see something more from Grant to feel truly comfortable with him on the field consistently opposite Bradley Roby at the other cornerback. Truthfully, what the coaching staff really wanted to find out was if Grant was capable of being the top cornerback on the field if, for some reason, Roby wasn't available. And while Roby's nagging shoulder injury was a factor in a lighter workload during camp, the Buckeyes also pulled him out of some situations even when he could compete, just to see how Grant would respond to the pressure of playing at the boundary position in the secondary. After passing the test out there, Grant was able to tighten his grip at the field spot heading into the summer.
• Spring progress: Few players on the Ohio State roster can stop a watch quicker in the 40-yard dash than Grant, and with comparable size to Roby, there aren't many physical concerns about his ability to match up in coverage, either. But extensive study of practice and game tapes by cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs suggested the issue holding Grant back from becoming a regular in the rotation last season was his slow read-and-react times in coverage. The Buckeyes have designed a number of drills that all their defensive backs can do to improve that, but nobody has taken to them quite like Grant -- and the results are showing up on the field.
• Jockeying for position: There will be no shortage of challengers for Grant's spot when the Buckeyes report back to practice in August as one of the most talented signing classes of defensive backs in the country arrives. But the competition was already pretty intense for the Buckeyes in the spring, with Armani Reeves, Tyvis Powell and early enrollees Eli Apple and Cam Burrows all in a group pushing for a role in a deep secondary. Grant has a head start thanks to his game experience and some previous success in limited chances, but maintaining that edge will require more than just showing up.
• He said it: "Our ideal situation is all of those guys play, all of them contribute. I think that’s healthy, and that way if a guy gets dinged or a guy gets tired, you don’t feel like you can’t do this, the sky is falling. My expectation is that there’s good, healthy competition among all of those guys and those young guys coming in are going to push them for playing time." -- Coombs, on adding more depth at cornerback
• Closing number: Grant wasn't able to get his hands on the football as spring practice wrapped up with an exhibition in Cincinnati, but he did chip in four tackles while continuing to handle Roby's role. Roby was held out to rest an injured shoulder.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With spring practice in the books and Ohio State heading into its offseason conditioning program, BuckeyeNation is looking at the players who boosted their stock with the program the most during those 15 workouts. The offense went first last week, and it's now followed up with a handful of defenders who will be in line for heavy workloads this fall.

No. 5: Tyvis Powell

• Who: The defensive back spent his first year on campus on the sideline and in the crosshairs of position coach Kerry Coombs, who peppered Powell every day during his redshirt season with tough love designed to bring out his best and develop him into a contributor in the secondary. The results appear to be paying off more quickly than the Buckeyes might have hoped, with Powell claiming a first-team role in the nickel and dime packages at the start of camp and holding on to it all the way to the end. Powell brings intriguing size for a cornerback at 6-foot-3, with length that can be a nuisance for offenses in the passing game and enough strength to come up and support against the run, as well.
• Spring progress: The first steps forward apparently were taken during the offseason conditioning program, where Powell's work ethic and physical development stood out enough for the defensive coaching staff to reward him with a prominent role on the first day of practice, despite not playing him for a single down last fall. Powell still has room to grow in coverage, but his usefulness against both the pass and the run, and Ohio State's plan to play with its nickel personnel more often, figures to give him plenty of chances to make his mark.
• Jockeying for position: There might not be a position with more competition than the Star spot in the nickel, given the depth of talent in the secondary -- both on campus already and arriving in the fall from Urban Meyer's second signing class with the Buckeyes. Veteran safety Corey "Pittsburgh" Brown, cornerback Armani Reeves and recovering sophomore Devan Bogard all will be pushing for action, just for starters. And a group of incoming freshmen led by safety Vonn Bell could also raise the bar for Powell if he's going to stick around with the first unit.
• He said it: "Tyvis, I feel like his confidence is through the roof right now. He's making plays every day in practice. He's a tall, long guy who can make plays in the nickel right now, and I feel like he's stepping up and doing a pretty good job for us." -- senior safety Christian Bryant
• Closing number: There weren't all that many chances to make a play coming Powell's way in the spring game, but he capitalized on the handful that did with three tackles. The redshirt freshman also chipped in a pass breakup, one of only three recorded for the Gray team against an offense led by Braxton Miller.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The last workout before leaving for spring break couldn't have received higher praise.

Ohio State didn't get quite as warm of a welcome from Urban Meyer after returning from a week away from the practice field.

Meyer understood why his team might have looked a little sluggish at times on Tuesday afternoon at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and he even shouldered some of the blame for the way the schedule worked out ahead of the first full-contact practice of camp. But he doesn't figure to be as accommodating if a few miscues aren't addressed in meetings and cleaned up when the pads come on again.

"I told them, I helped them with the excuses," Meyer said. "We just got back from spring break, first day in pads -- we have to deal with excuses tomorrow.

"It just didn’t feel like a top-five practice. We’ve just got to get back and have one Thursday. The Thursday before we left was maybe the best practice we’ve had since we’ve been here."

That doesn't mean the Buckeyes didn't have some encouraging individual performances or some interesting schematic develops to evaluate in the return to action, starting with these four.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer was only ready to truly evaluate one thing.

The Ohio State coach couldn't lead a full-contact practice on the first day of spring camp, so there was only so much he could really find out physically about his second Buckeyes team.

But mentally Meyer was able to get a read on where the Buckeyes were when they reported to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday, and those reviews were positive as the work toward providing an encore to a perfect season started on the practice field.

"It was fine, I wasn't really concerned about attitudes, I knew we would have good attitudes," Meyer said. "What I’m concerned with is just the development of some players and after Day One I can’t give you a whole lot, other than we went out in shorts and did have a good attitude. Guys like Tyvis Powell and Pittsburgh Brown and some other guys had good days, thought we threw and caught pretty well.

"It’s the first day in shorts. We’ve got to expect them to [have a good attitude]."

The camp opener did provide a few notable developments aside from the way the Buckeyes approached the workout mentally, starting with these four players/positions.

(Read full post)

With national signing day in the books, the next big date on the Ohio State calendar as it continues working toward an encore for an undefeated season in 2013 is spring practice. Before those workouts begin, BuckeyeNation will take a look at each position to see where the roster is at -- and where it's going.

SAFETIES

• Who's back: The Buckeyes will lead from the back, with both experience and leadership expected to provide a trickle-down effect for the defense with Christian Bryant and C.J. Barnett returning for one more season together as the starting tandem at safety. Ohio State even has a veteran waiting in line to come off the bench and potentially help in the nickel package with senior Corey Brown providing yet another old hand as the program reloads in front of the secondary. There will be six new starters in the front seven and one more at cornerback, but the Buckeyes are as stable as they possibly could be at the back of the defense with Bryant and Barnett poised to close their careers on a high note.
• New face: The huge target the Buckeyes officially landed on national signing day won't be around to add depth or potentially crack into the rotation until fall practice, though there's already plenty of buzz building about what Vonn Bell could provide in the secondary when he arrives. The athletic, 6-foot-1, 190-pounder should be walking into a situation without the pressure that can come from having to contribute a whole lot right away thanks to the presence of those talented seniors -- though coach Urban Meyer will likely be counting on them to get Bell up to speed as well.
• Projected spring depth chart: Bryant and Barnett will be back in their familiar spots, with Brown currently the favorite to be the first man up in the nickel package and a valuable option in reserve. The Buckeyes were bitterly disappointed to watch rising sophomore Devan Bogard's first season with the program end with a knee injury last fall, but he figures to be in the mix for work at some point, and classmates Tyvis Powell and Najee Murray could offer something as well.
• Numbers game: Barnett was slowed by a nagging ankle injury for part of the season, but when he and Bryant were on the field together, the production was hard to miss. The two combined for 127 tackles, three takedowns for a loss, three interceptions, 21 passes defended, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Barnett missed three games and took some time to shake the rust off after that as well, but there's plenty of evidence of how effective those two safeties can be in the back end.
• One to watch: The clock is ticking for Brown, and there will be more competition for his job heading into fall camp,with Bell leading the charge. The Buckeyes already have some sophomores on campus capable of pushing the veteran for playing time, and Brown will certainly need to make an impression with his existing knowledge of the defense and a higher level of consistency than he's shown in his few opportunities to contribute over the last couple years. Departed senior Orhian Johnson proved how important it was to have a reliable upperclassman ready to complement Bryant and Barnett, and co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Everett Withers will be watching closely to see if he's got another one he can count on when the season rolls around.
• He said it: "I've been doing this a long time, but this group with the young men that are [already] here in [cornerbacks] Eli Apple and Cam Burrows and the guys we just added to that group -- if the development goes as we think it will go, we feel like this is a very talented group which should be able to help Ohio State do special things." -- Withers on signing day