Dave Thurman (4:50 pm)

For only the second time in the 121-year history of Ohio State football there will be six captains in 2010.  Three seniors from the offensive side of the football were named: Bryant Browning, Brandon Saine, and Dane Sanzenbacher.  And, three senior defensive stalwarts were also chosen: Cameron Heyward, Brian Rolle and Ross Homan. 

Personally, I think all six are excellent choices, and bring strong leadership to this year's team.  Incidentally, the only other time that six captains were chosen was back in 1982.  While this is certainly a rare occurrence, it is hard to find fault with any of the players selected.  This group of young men are all smart, focused, and hard-working, and it excites me to see such a level of leadership for a squad that has so much promise.

Dave Thurman (9:05 am)

All summer long columnists and bloggers have weighed in on what to expect from the 2010 version of the Ohio State Buckeyes.  We filled our time guessing about strengths and weaknesses, based off of last season's performances combined with spring practices.  But a lot has changed in the past few months.  While the real answers won't come until the games are played, there are some things we now know that we didn't know a month ago.

1.  We now know that the offenisve line isn't as deep as anticipated - Marcus Hall played pretty well last year and checked into fall practice looking lean and mean.  Without doubt the team looked at him as a key cog in a deeper, more athletic line.  Now that he is redshirting for off the field issues, things don't look quite so bright.  Outside of Andrew Miller, who is serviceable at best, and Corey Linsley, there doesn't seem to be much reliable depth. A name we have heard little about is Jack Mewhort, who I thought would be a solid player this year.  The coaches do like Linsley a lot, and most seem to think true freshmen Andrew Norwell is going to be a player, hopefully sooner rather than later.  Still fans are left to hope for few injuries again this year, which is getting to be an old song and dance. 

2.  We now know that our backfield is deep but not necessarily powerful - The deepest position on the roster coming into fall practice appeared to be tailback.  It still looks that way, but we may have to wait a little longer to see a power back in the lineup.  Brandon Saine and Boom Herron are good backs who are battle tested.  Jordan Hall is talented and fearless.  And, Jaamal Berry is beginning to realize his vast potential. None of these four is overly big or strong however.   Unfortunately, Carlos Hyde, who some believe could be a true "bell cow", has been injured and probably won't play any significant minutes, at least in the early games.  And, we are still waiting on the NCAA (who continues to make the US Post Office seem fast and efficient) to clear Roderick Smith for action.  At this point it is obvious that Rod will redshirt.  Without Hyde or Smith playing, there will be no power back for short yardage and goal line situations.