2010 Preview: Wide Receivers & Tight Ends

The wide receiver and tight end positions have been decided well before camp throughout most of the Tressel era, but coming into this year's camp there are definitely some unknowns at the two positions. While DeVier Posey, Dane Sanzenbacher, and Jake Stoneburner will definitely occupy the first and second receiver spots, and starting tight end position respectively, the importance of finding the players to settle in at the rest of the receiver positions and the use of the tight end in actual games has been the topic of debate all off-season. As Chris noted yesterday, injuries to this group can be catastrophic not only to the Buckeyes' national championship hopes, but to the development of Terrelle Pryor as the true dual-threat we've been waiting for the past two seasons. TP's rapport with Posey, Sanzenbacher, and Stoneburner is obvious to the naked eye of anyone who has watched an Ohio State game or practice the last two plus years, but what happens when Pryor has to look past his main three passing options?

There are both new and old faces in these two groups that have an excellent chance to break onto the big stage and have a tremendous impact on the 2010 season, something a certain someone didn't realize before the reality of Coffeyville hit. Veterans who couldn't break out of the back-half of the two deep, or just decided April was a better time to shine than October, will battle it out with hot-shot first and second year budding stars to see who will reel in the pigskin when it matters most this fall. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens come the end of camp, but while we have you now, we might as well take a look at how things appear to be shaking out at both the wide receiver and tight end positions for your 2010 Ohio State Buckeyes.

WIDE RECEIVERS

DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher bring back a combined 96 catches for 1,398 yards and 14 touchdowns from 2009, but the rest of the receivers fighting for spots 3,4, and 5 combine for 0 catches for 0 yards and 0 touchdowns. A bit scary when you put it that way, but that is the reality of the current search for a solid option behind Posey and Dane. Yes, Ray Small, Duron Carter, and Flash Thomas took some stats with them to an NFL training camp, Coffeyville, and New Mexico, but it's quite odd not to have one receiver on the roster with even one catch all of last year besides the top two. James Jackson and Chris Fields redshirted last year as freshman and join true frosh James Louis, Corey "Philly" Brown, T.Y. Williams, and Verlon Reed as competitors for veterans Taurian Washington, Grant Schwartz, Garrett Hummel, and Joe Cech. Right now Washington has the upper hand at the #3 job, due to both seniority and a supposedly strong summer, but Grant Schwartz and Chris Fields seem to be fighting hard to challenge him. James Jackson is apparently lost when it comes to running routes, and it appears that he just isn't even close to being ready for the big time in the 614 anytime soon. Philly Brown looks to be the freshman most likely to see time at both receiver and on special teams, while veteran players have also raved about James Louis's talents and athleticism. T.Y. Williams, at 6-6 or 6-7, is certainly an option to become a red-zone threat, but is he ready this year? That is yet to be seen, but one surprise for Buckeye fans may be Verlon Reed, who has seen time at both receiver and safety, but is playing primarily at the former during this year's camp. Reed, who won MVP Awards in both the North-South and Big 33 games as a quarterback, seems to be making a smooth transition to other positions upon his arrival in Columbus. Overall I see the pecking order on September 2 being Posey-Sanzenbacher-Washington-Fields-Schwartz-Brown-Louis-Jackson-Williams/Reed, but don't be surprised if Philly Brown, James Louis, and Chris Fields step it up a notch when the season finally hits its stride.

TIGHT ENDS

Jake Ballard, a mainstay at the position the last 3-4 years, is gone, but fear not, the Bucks finally have a tight end they will use in a reali, live game in Jake Stoneburner. That's been the word since last winter at least, and if the Spring Game was any indication, Stoneburner will see at least 3-4 balls per game come his way. If Stoney can stay healthy and become a consistent third down option for TP this season, Ohio State's offense adds a virtually unstoppable weapon to the arsenal. A few years back many saw Nic DiLillo as someone who was supposed to be the guy to step in for Jake Ballard. Fast forward two years and Nic finds himself left off of the 105 man roster and his football career in great jeopardy after supposedly failing to put forth the appropriate effort both on and off the field. Reid Fragel is the beneficiary of this situation, as he steps into the #2 tight end role as a second year player. Fragel, who many thought would become a left tackle eventually, is the blocking tight end Ohio State has loved to employ of late, but don't be fooled completely, as I have seen first hand how this kid can catch passes. He likely won't notch more than five catches this entire season, but he will definitely provide a solid player in two-tight end sets and will pave the way for the stable of running backs to do their thing. Finally, two walk-ons who have worked their way into a chance to see the field are Ricky Crawford and Spencer Smith. Crawford has been a wide receiver the last three years, but put on weight this off-season and made the move to tight end to give the Bucks some depth behind Stoneburner and Fragel. He always impresses in practice with his hustle and hard work ethic and may actually see the field a bit this fall. Smith is a guy who played both full back and tight end during his career at Ohio State, but by surpassing DiLillo on the depth chart last spring, has shown that he has made great strides to fit in as the current #3 tight end. The most ironic thing about Smith is that if you told anyone five years ago that Spencer would be better than his 5-star brother Connor at Ohio State, you would have been admitted to the loony bin. Overall, this group seems to be very solid and Stoneburner can bring a nice evolution to the look of this offense. With Fragel providing the blocking tight end needed to run the infamous "Dave" play and Smith and Crawford contributing with nice depth, look for this unit to be one of the better of it's kind in the Tressel years.