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Football
Spring Back: Center of Attention
By Brandon Castel
http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2010/summer/springbackcenter.html
COLUMBUS — When Terrelle Pryor was thrust into the starting lineup in just the fourth game of his rookie season, many wondered if the young freshman was ready. While he was as highly touted as they come out of high school, there were questions as to whether he would be ready to handle the pressure of playing one of the most important positions on the field at the collegiate level.
Mike Brewster
Photo by Jim Davidson
The same could have been said for Michael Brewster.
There is no denying that quarterback is the most watched, analyzed and scrutinized position on any football team, but if there’s another position in major college football that might actually be harder to play as a true freshman it’s got to be the offensive line.
Nowhere on the line is it tougher than the center position, which of course is exactly where Brewster was asked to play in his first start as a Buckeye. Not only did he need to know his own blocking assignments, but also those of the other four linemen around him.
Key losses: Jim Cordle
Returning lettermen: Michael Brewster
Spring newcomers: None
Help is on the way: None
What we knew: In his first two seasons as the spokesman of the offensive line, Brewster has had some up and down moments. Even with Jim Cordle and other veterans helping him with protection calls, Brewster struggled at times during his rookie campaign, but seemed to settle into his own against Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
As a sophomore, the Florida native played through a severely sprained ankle that could barely support his weight against Purdue. We knew there would be some hype surrounding Brewster, much like Pryor, as he heads into his junior season in Columbus. Now in his third year as a starter, he is no longer catching up to the mental aspects of playing the center position, which means Brewster could be looking at a breakout season in 2010.
Once again he has been tabbed as a preseason Rimington Trophy candidate, and recently Phil Steele projected him as the first-team all-conference center in the Big Ten.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” right guard Bryant Browning responded when asked if he believes Brewster is ready for a breakout season.
“Brewster is going into his third year of starting. You know he works really hard. He gets the line organized and stuff like that.”
What we thought: We thought Brewster looked much more like himself in the Rose Bowl against Oregon after a month to rest the injured ankle, and expected he would be one of the most talked about veterans on the offense this spring along with classmates DeVier Posey and Pryor.
With Brewster and the two guards leading the way, the OSU offensive line finally seemed to find itself late last season. They played their best ball in the month of November, despite injuries to Brewster and left guard Justin Boren, as they racked up over 230 yards per game on the ground. We expected offensive coordinator Jim Bollman would want those three B’s (Brewster, Browning and Boren) to take the next step if the offensive line was going to go from good for one month to great for an entire season.
“We have to go beyond just playing extremely physically hard. We have to get better mentally and better technique wise,” Bollman said during spring practice.
“The key is how we focus every single day we're out here at getting better. That's going to be the key to things—a matter of continual daily focus.”
Corey Linsley
Photo by Dan Harker
How it went: The line looked good for much of the spring, but struggled mightily in the jersey scrimmage against the defense as the offense was dominated in the battle for the Scarlet jerseys. It started up front, but the group looked much better in the spring game, despite the fact they split into two different starting units, something that usually throws off the chemistry on the offensive line.
With Brewster in the middle and Boren to his left, the Gray squad looked especially sharp up front as they gave young quarterback Kenny Guiton plenty of time to throw in the early and latter parts of the game.
Filling out the two-deep: On the other side, it was redshirt freshman Corey Linsley getting the nod at center for the Scarlet team during the spring game. At 6-foot-2, Linsley will end up playing inside somewhere, and this spring he got a look at both guard spots along with the center position. He and classmate Jack Mewhort split reps with the second-team offense behind Brewster as the Buckeyes looked to develop some depth at the center position.
“Those guys are going to be a continually rolling until we decide,” Bollman said of Linsley and Mewhort.
“I told them both that it doesn’t matter who ends up being No. 2 and who ends up being No. 3, they’ve both got to come out of here being able to operate the show.”
They may have lost walk-on Andrew Moses, who served as the primary backup to Brewster at center a year ago, in the off-season but they do have another walk-on who can play the position this season.
“We’re very lucky in Scott Sika is really great knowledge wise,” Bollman said of the senior from Strongsville who spent the spring as the third team center.
The Buckeyes need to figure out who is going to take over in the middle after Brewster leaves, presumably following his senior season in 2011. They brought in one offensive lineman in the class of 2010, but Andrew Norwell will almost certainly end up playing one of the tackle positions. The same goes for Marcus Hall, a true sophomore out of Glenville who is backing up J.B. Shugarts at the right tackle spot. Hall came to OSU with Linsley and Mewhort a year ago, as did Sam Longo, who spent the spring working as the third-team left tackle.
That leaves Linsley and Mewhort as the potential future at the center position. Both are versatile and both look to have a promising career ahead of them at Ohio State. At 6-foot-6, Mewhort has more flexibility to move outside and play one of the tackle spots, although it appears—at least for now anyway—that Bollman and the coaches like him better inside. That could change depending on how things progress with some of the tackles like Hall, Mike Adams and Andrew Miller, but the best guess is that Mewhort will play somewhere inside in 2010.
“You look for and try to find guys that can go more than one position. And you also have to develop depth at center too,” said tight ends coach John Peterson, who also coaches the offensive tackles.
“You have to have guys who can know how to play the center position and snap, and you just can’t be one dimensional in that position. So even though you may want to just take a guy and leave him at one position, he still has to learn how to go to guard and center, because you’ve got to develop depth at center.”
Fall outlook: In the same way people are expecting to see Pryor make a significant jump from his sophomore year to junior year, the time is now for Brewster to emerge as one of the better centers in the country. He has done a good job bulking up and gaining strength during his first two seasons in Columbus, and with four starters back the Buckeyes should finally have some stability on the offensive front.
If Brewster, Browning and Boren can improve on their 2009 seasons, the Buckeyes could be looking at one of their best offensive lines to date under Head Coach Jim Tressel. Much of that starts with Brewster in the middle, and the Buckeyes will likely ask for more out of him this fall the same way they will ask for more from Pryor.
Post Spring Depth Chart
CENTER
*50 Michael Brewster (6-5, 293, Jr.)
71 Corey Linsley (6-2, 298, RFr.) OR
74 Jack Mewhort (6-6, 288, RFr.)
72 Scott Sika (6-2, 282, Sr.)
*Returning starter
+Injury
Spring Back: Center of Attention
By Brandon Castel
http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2010/summer/springbackcenter.html
COLUMBUS — When Terrelle Pryor was thrust into the starting lineup in just the fourth game of his rookie season, many wondered if the young freshman was ready. While he was as highly touted as they come out of high school, there were questions as to whether he would be ready to handle the pressure of playing one of the most important positions on the field at the collegiate level.
Mike Brewster
Photo by Jim Davidson
The same could have been said for Michael Brewster.
There is no denying that quarterback is the most watched, analyzed and scrutinized position on any football team, but if there’s another position in major college football that might actually be harder to play as a true freshman it’s got to be the offensive line.
Nowhere on the line is it tougher than the center position, which of course is exactly where Brewster was asked to play in his first start as a Buckeye. Not only did he need to know his own blocking assignments, but also those of the other four linemen around him.
Key losses: Jim Cordle
Returning lettermen: Michael Brewster
Spring newcomers: None
Help is on the way: None
What we knew: In his first two seasons as the spokesman of the offensive line, Brewster has had some up and down moments. Even with Jim Cordle and other veterans helping him with protection calls, Brewster struggled at times during his rookie campaign, but seemed to settle into his own against Texas in the Fiesta Bowl.
As a sophomore, the Florida native played through a severely sprained ankle that could barely support his weight against Purdue. We knew there would be some hype surrounding Brewster, much like Pryor, as he heads into his junior season in Columbus. Now in his third year as a starter, he is no longer catching up to the mental aspects of playing the center position, which means Brewster could be looking at a breakout season in 2010.
Once again he has been tabbed as a preseason Rimington Trophy candidate, and recently Phil Steele projected him as the first-team all-conference center in the Big Ten.
“Oh yeah, definitely,” right guard Bryant Browning responded when asked if he believes Brewster is ready for a breakout season.
“Brewster is going into his third year of starting. You know he works really hard. He gets the line organized and stuff like that.”
What we thought: We thought Brewster looked much more like himself in the Rose Bowl against Oregon after a month to rest the injured ankle, and expected he would be one of the most talked about veterans on the offense this spring along with classmates DeVier Posey and Pryor.
With Brewster and the two guards leading the way, the OSU offensive line finally seemed to find itself late last season. They played their best ball in the month of November, despite injuries to Brewster and left guard Justin Boren, as they racked up over 230 yards per game on the ground. We expected offensive coordinator Jim Bollman would want those three B’s (Brewster, Browning and Boren) to take the next step if the offensive line was going to go from good for one month to great for an entire season.
“We have to go beyond just playing extremely physically hard. We have to get better mentally and better technique wise,” Bollman said during spring practice.
“The key is how we focus every single day we're out here at getting better. That's going to be the key to things—a matter of continual daily focus.”
Corey Linsley
Photo by Dan Harker
How it went: The line looked good for much of the spring, but struggled mightily in the jersey scrimmage against the defense as the offense was dominated in the battle for the Scarlet jerseys. It started up front, but the group looked much better in the spring game, despite the fact they split into two different starting units, something that usually throws off the chemistry on the offensive line.
With Brewster in the middle and Boren to his left, the Gray squad looked especially sharp up front as they gave young quarterback Kenny Guiton plenty of time to throw in the early and latter parts of the game.
Filling out the two-deep: On the other side, it was redshirt freshman Corey Linsley getting the nod at center for the Scarlet team during the spring game. At 6-foot-2, Linsley will end up playing inside somewhere, and this spring he got a look at both guard spots along with the center position. He and classmate Jack Mewhort split reps with the second-team offense behind Brewster as the Buckeyes looked to develop some depth at the center position.
“Those guys are going to be a continually rolling until we decide,” Bollman said of Linsley and Mewhort.
“I told them both that it doesn’t matter who ends up being No. 2 and who ends up being No. 3, they’ve both got to come out of here being able to operate the show.”
They may have lost walk-on Andrew Moses, who served as the primary backup to Brewster at center a year ago, in the off-season but they do have another walk-on who can play the position this season.
“We’re very lucky in Scott Sika is really great knowledge wise,” Bollman said of the senior from Strongsville who spent the spring as the third team center.
The Buckeyes need to figure out who is going to take over in the middle after Brewster leaves, presumably following his senior season in 2011. They brought in one offensive lineman in the class of 2010, but Andrew Norwell will almost certainly end up playing one of the tackle positions. The same goes for Marcus Hall, a true sophomore out of Glenville who is backing up J.B. Shugarts at the right tackle spot. Hall came to OSU with Linsley and Mewhort a year ago, as did Sam Longo, who spent the spring working as the third-team left tackle.
That leaves Linsley and Mewhort as the potential future at the center position. Both are versatile and both look to have a promising career ahead of them at Ohio State. At 6-foot-6, Mewhort has more flexibility to move outside and play one of the tackle spots, although it appears—at least for now anyway—that Bollman and the coaches like him better inside. That could change depending on how things progress with some of the tackles like Hall, Mike Adams and Andrew Miller, but the best guess is that Mewhort will play somewhere inside in 2010.
“You look for and try to find guys that can go more than one position. And you also have to develop depth at center too,” said tight ends coach John Peterson, who also coaches the offensive tackles.
“You have to have guys who can know how to play the center position and snap, and you just can’t be one dimensional in that position. So even though you may want to just take a guy and leave him at one position, he still has to learn how to go to guard and center, because you’ve got to develop depth at center.”
Fall outlook: In the same way people are expecting to see Pryor make a significant jump from his sophomore year to junior year, the time is now for Brewster to emerge as one of the better centers in the country. He has done a good job bulking up and gaining strength during his first two seasons in Columbus, and with four starters back the Buckeyes should finally have some stability on the offensive front.
If Brewster, Browning and Boren can improve on their 2009 seasons, the Buckeyes could be looking at one of their best offensive lines to date under Head Coach Jim Tressel. Much of that starts with Brewster in the middle, and the Buckeyes will likely ask for more out of him this fall the same way they will ask for more from Pryor.
Post Spring Depth Chart
CENTER
*50 Michael Brewster (6-5, 293, Jr.)
71 Corey Linsley (6-2, 298, RFr.) OR
74 Jack Mewhort (6-6, 288, RFr.)
72 Scott Sika (6-2, 282, Sr.)
*Returning starter
+Injury
