Drew Thurman (11:30 am)

For most Buckeye fans, the 2008-09 season holds a lot of promise. With an experienced, deep, and talented team, the Buckeyes could win yet another Big Ten Title or even better. With that said there has been one area of the Buckeyes team that has provided some unrest, the defensive secondary.

The first event took place when Eugene Clifford was removed from the Buckeyes team. Clifford was the prize recruit of the 2007 recruiting, and his future looked very bright. Then the news came out that James Scott was not one of the 105 players that reported to camp. Scott only had 6 tackles and a fumble recovery last season, but many thought he would fight for the two deep this season. Then this last week we finally got the news that Jamario O'Neal and Donald Washington would indeed miss the first two games this season because of disciplinary reasons. 

So what does this all mean for the Buckeyes this season? Well, first I think it means we have to watch the secondary going into the USC game. Obviously the absence of Washington and O'Neal will be felt against Youngston State and Ohio, but one would have to think it will impact the USC game the most. Don't get me wrong, both of these guys could shock me and and play the game of their lives against the Trojans, but I personally think missing these two games will hurt their performance. This will be key to watch.

The other thing major thing to watch is what players step up into the vacancies the Buckeyes have. First some of the veterns like Aaron Gant, Andre Amos, Shaun Lane, and Chimdi Chekwa need to step up their game this season. Second, the youngsters like Nate Oliver, Donnie Evege, Orhian Johnson, and Travis Howard need to be ready to contend in the secondary. I personally think Amos, Chekwa, and Johnson could suprise people this season. 

Anyways, the secondary is the only real question mark for the Buckeyes heading into this season. In some of Ohio State's biggest games last year the secondary let them down. Against Wisconsin, Illinois, and LSU our secondary looked very suspect, especially against LSU when Matt Flynn picked the Buckeyes apart. I do understand that part of this was the lack of pass rush and some poor coverage of tightends by the outside linebackers, but the secondary showed some weaknesses. 

So, the 2008 season has some real questions in store for our paper thin secondary. If they come out and silence these question in the first two games, it could go a long way in resting many Buckeye fans' spirits.  

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