"I'm sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of how awesome I am"

Today heralds the coming of the real most wonderful time of the year: fall practice is in session, starting spots are up for grabs, and football season is mind-bogglingly close, like a hobo waiting to shank you in the night. Only, an awesome hobo whose shank brings countless hours of watchable sports television. I wouldn't watch an hour of a Cleveland Indians baseball game if you put a gun to my head, but San Jose State-Fresno State at two in the morning? SIGN ME UP, HOSS. Bid adieu to your significant others for about four months or so, ladies and gents: football is officially here.

At Ohio State, it's a season of renewal. Camp should be an interesting one; Ohio State replaces all of its skill position starters, breaks in two new linebackers, as well as at least one corner, and will be looking to find a DT that can approximate the consistency of Nader Abadallah. The legends - James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, and Marcus Freeman, are gone - and they will be missed. But the Terrelle Pryor era is just getting started, and competition in camp is pretty damn fierce with so many spots up for grabs. Let's briefly review some of the key position battles heading into fall camp.

Left tackle - This one is coming down to Mike Adams and Andy Miller. Miller has got seniority on Adams as a redshirt-junior, and as a converted tight end, he's probably the more athletic of the two. However, Adams is the one who came in with the all-world recruiting hype, and an inability to secure a starting spot over a former TE is a bit worrisome, to say the least, for a kid who was considered the next Orlando Pace coming out of high school. Both are expected to bring a bit more of a "finesse" approach in pass pro, as opposed to Alex Boone, who blocked with all the finesse of elephant sex.

Right guard - While left tackle is probably the most important battle on the line, right guard might be the most interesting. It's possible that the most experienced player on the line - Jim Cordle - may get crowded out. I don't think that's likely, however, as his main competition is none other than Bryant "El Matador" Browning. Browning has been mercifully moved over from tackle to a position he's probably better suited for with his size and speed (or lack thereof on the latter). That this is even a competition, however, shows that Browning may have made some offseason strides. Ohio State does have the luxury of some veteran Plan B's here; both Connor Smith and Evan Blankenship could provide some quality depth at all three interior positions.

Right Tackle - In the spring, Cordle moved over to right tackle, but apparently, JB Shugarts is now the frontrunner to start. The other star tackle prospect in the '08 class, Shugarts may be the most athletic lineman Ohio State has, and he apparently plays with a bit of an edge - something this line needs. Shugarts' backup just might be Jim Cordle, who'll probably rotate over in the event of an injury.

Wide Receiver - After DeVier Posey, things get eeenteresting. I'm going to assume, for simplicity purposes, that if Ray Small remains on the team, he'll find a starting spot in the slot. But he sounds like he's in pretty deep this time. My guy, Dane Sanzenbacher, is probably the frontrunner at split end. If Ray Small is truly done, then Taurian Washington will battle with the younger guys: James Jackson, Duron Carter and Lamaar Thomas, all of whom could be dangerous weapons at that particular position.

Left cornerback - Most have Andre Amos penciled in as the starter, but apparently Devon Torrence is making the senior corner's life interesting. Amos has overcome constant bouts with injury to get where he's at, but Torrence is a converted wide receiver and two-sport athlete with very soft hands who showed more flashes in the spring than what's expected of a back-up. This isn't quite the fiercest of battles, but Torrence is definitely someone to keep an eye on throughout camp.

Defensive tackle - The main competition here is to see who's going to complement Doug Worthington. Worthington has his spot locked up as a big, quick, and most importantly experienced interior guy, but Todd Denlinger and Dexter Larimore are in a fight to the death. Or, at least to the Navy game. I personally think Larimore has the upper hand, as he was pretty solid backing up Nader in the latter stages of 2008.

There are other minor positions up for grabs - nickelback against non-spread teams (Hines has it locked down against the Penn States and Illinoises of the world, but against Wisconsin et al., they might be looking for someone else), and punter has a bit of a battle between John Thoma and Ben Buchanan, but that's really it as far as the most important positions go. Personally, I'd expect at least two of these rotations - corner and defensive tackle - to end in some form of rotation.