Follow the Leaders

Coleman and Russell are strong captain candidates

With spring camp set to culminate Saturday afternoon in the 'Shoe, we've seen various reports touching on which players are stepping up as potential leaders of the 2009 Buckeyes. Naturally, some of those players will likely end up voted as captains but for the purpose of debate, we're interested in your take as to who you'd most like to see in charge of the team heartbeat.

Defensively, we like the reports stressing Kurt Coleman's leadership skills and consider him to be the de facto captain on that side of the ball. He'll likely get some vocal support from Lawrence Wilson, Anderson Russell and Thaddeus Maximus, but it seems clear Coleman will be in charge.

All we know is Coleman was up and down at times last year but he did display a knack for play making and Chris Spielman raves about his leadership skills and dedication to being great. That's good enough for us. Besides Coleman, who else might step up?

On the other side of the ball there's no question Pryor is saying all the right things and has the respect of his teammates now that Boeckman and his cronies have moved on but is that enough? He's definitely gaining in the maturity department but there's still sporadic reports of his drawing unsportsmanlike penalties in scrimmages and 'things of that nature' (how many times does Tress utter that per press conference?) and there's more to leading than simply being the loudest.

That's not to say Pryor doesn't bring a lot to the table especially for a competitive standpoint which this team can use after looking soft at various points last season, it's just that the team would be better served if he gets a little more help on the leadership front.

Interestingly (and 5% painfully), the other offensive guy most likely to emerge appears to be none other than the former Wolverine himself, Justin Boren. If nothing else, he's not afraid to mix it up and challenge some guys by way of a nasty toughness sorely lacking on the offensive side of the ball for more than a couple years now.

If not Boren, who else might seize the opportunity to be an offensive voice? What young guys do you see growing into a leadership role as the season progresses?