Safety Net

OJ: Must continue improvement of a season ago

With five days of camp complete, including one full session of pads, it seems highly likely the battle for the starting quarterback gig won't be resolved until at least a few weeks into the actual season. 

Barring a seismic shift, Joe Bauserman figures to get the first shot to impress in the season opener with Braxton Miller, Kenny Guiton and Taylor Graham auditioning for meaningful snaps of their own. 

Meanwhile, the offensive line will be attempting to gel minus the Mike Adams and possibly Corey Linsley for a couple games if rumors of a suspension hold true. At the same time, the well-chronicled green receiving corps has some shaking out to do of its own. 

Even with a stable of talented running backs, there's no question Luke Fickell will depend on the Silver Bullets to carry Ohio State through the early season slate, waiting for Bollman's crew to evolve into some semblance of a consistent scoring threat. 

Knowing the potential shortcomings of a one-dimensional offensive attack, the question becomes just how heavily will Fickell be forced to lean on his defense? It's not likely to be of huge importance against Akron and Toledo but with a trip to Coral Gables in week three and a home tilt against Sparty in the B1G opener two weeks later, the defense might be called upon not only to stop the opposing offense, but to set up scores for the Buckeye offense. 

Generating three and outs to shift field position and creating turnovers could prove paramount to a 5-0 start. That means Fickell and Heacock might look to employ more aggressive blitz packages in certain down and distance situations than we're used to.

With what should be a talented defensive line, a couple playmaking LB's in Klein and Sweat and the return of the team's most effective blitzer, Tyler Moeller, such a strategy will increase the pressure on safeties Orhian Johnson and C.J. Barnett to hold down the backline of the defense. 

That last statement might make you a little nervous on the surface considering Barnett has logged just 1.5 career games at safety and Johnson got off to a pretty slow start a year ago. Looking deeper, there's plenty of reasons to be optimistic the pair can buoy a defense looking to be one of the B1G's best. 

Both Barnett and Johnson bring a cerebral approach to the game. One of Johnson's constant critics for the first half of last year, I had to remind myself the 6'2", 205 lb. RS Junior was recruited by Indiana to play quarterback and therefore had the ability to grasp schemes solidly enough to carry out his assignments. After inheriting Barnett's starting job in week three against the real "Ohio", he often appeared late to recognize receivers especially in zone coverage, generally looking a step slow in reacting to the play and was at times a missed tackle machine. 

As the season wore on Johnson gained confidence through a better understanding of the defense. He logged five stops in week five against Illinois, eight against Wisconsin in week seven, his only INT of the year a week later against Purdue before another eight stops against Penn State. After a six tackle performance in Iowa City, Johnson overcame more missed tackling early in the Michigan game before forcing a what was then key Denard Robinson fumble at the OSU 12 yard line. OJ capped the season with six stops in the Sugar. 

With 50 total stops, Johnson finds himself as the leading returning tackler following the departures of Rolle, Homan, Hines and Torrence. 

Conversely, Barnett sports an incredibly shorter albeit impressive body of work. After taking Johnson's spot as a projected starter in fall camp (aided by OJ's calf injury), he showed a tenacious ability to deliver the big hit and make plays. His talents were on full display against Miami as he tipped a pass resulting in a Nate Williams pick and straight blew up 'Cane WR Leonard Hankerson on a crossing route. Sadly, midway through the 3rd quarter it was Barnett's right knee that blew up and the rest of his 2010 was phyically lost. 

An academic all B1G, Barnett recently noted he made sure the season wasn't also a loss mentally as he made an effort to master the defensive playbook. He now says he 100% and for some reason, I think the majority of us are not only comfortable but incredibly excited to pencil in Barnett as a major contributor. Are we overreacting based on the small sample size? That is a legit question just as whether or not Johnson will eliminate some the missed tackles and late arrivals in coverage. 

How Barnett and Johnson answer these questions will factor large in just how aggressive an approach Fickell and Heacock feel comfortable to take. For Johnson, the hope is a full year of game experience plus a another offseason in the program allows the game to slow down a bit. Barnett's challenge is to prove he hasn't lost a step physically, knows the defense enough to take care of his responsibilities and offer help to the corners and can be a playmaker over the course of a full season. 

Maybe it's because I'm tired of putting all my positive thoughts toward off field garbage but I'm confidently expecting Barnett and Johnson to come up big in 2011. Just three saturday's from today, we begin to find out.