One of the bigger surprises on the recently released depth chart is the presence of true freshmen at multiple positions on the two-deep. To be honest, I didn't even really begin to dissect why that is the way it is until I saw this post over on MGoBlog's MGoBoard:

"Three true freshmen cracked the OL two-deep: Corey Linsley at left guard, Jack Mewhort at center and Marcus Hall at right tackle. One thing to remember, when Adams returns from suspension, he could go back to second-team left tackle, which could bump Shugarts over to right tackle and Hall loses his spot in the two-deep."

Adams is recently suspended redshirt freshman Mike Adams, a highly regarded recruit who was a member of the heralded "Brew Crew." Shugarts is redshirt freshman (ed. note: actually a soph) another member of said crew.

This whole paragraph intrigues me because it shows how young Ohio State is at offensive line, similar to Michigan on defense. The 2-deep includes Adams/Hall, Shugarts, true sophomore center Mike Brewster (a starter who had a good season last year), Mewhort, and Linsley. That means that HALF (!) of Ohio State's 2-deep on the line are the same age as Patrick Omameh and Ricky Barnum (or younger).

To which I responded:

[...]vThose true freshmen did not necessarily get there due to lack of warm bodies; Linsley beat out Connor Smith (a former five-star bust), Mewhort forced Andrew Moses to switch positions, and Hall beat out junior Josh Kerr.

It'll be a raw unit, undoubtedly, but I think it will eventually jell into a solid Big Ten line. Probably not soon enough for USC, but by the time The Game rolls around, it should be up to snuff. This line is actually far deeper, talent-wise, than any line Jim Tressel has had since 2003.

But, nevertheless, I was taken back just a bit by how young this team is overall. It's not like that fact hasn't dawned on me yet, but the depth chart really hit home: Five freshmen on the offensive side of the ball have realistic shots at solid playing time: Duron Carter, Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort, Adam Homan, and Marcus Hall. I don't recall this being the case - at least, not to this disagree - in quite some time in Columbus, and it could mean two very good things:

The freshmen are actually living up to the hype

It's no secret that few freshman have made much of an impact under Jim Tressel. There are three obvious exceptions - Maurice Clarrett, Chris Wells, and Terrelle Pryor - but each of those guys came to the team with otherwordly amounts of hype and two of them were thrust into the situation with no better alternative. Outside of those three, freshmen have largely been non-entities, and especially sp on the offense line. Nick Mangold got solid playing time this year, but the general motif of the Tressel era is that freshmen are to be seen on media day and not heard of afterward. This is, more often than not, a solid strategy. But with the uptick in recruiting the past couple years has come a bit of a talent glut, and it's particularly exciting to see it happening in spots it usually doesn't: on both lines and in a deep receiving corps. These freshmen are beating out veterans in units that, for the most part, underperformed last year. If anything, the whippersnappers giving the rest of the team motivation.

The staff is continuing to shed its "loyal to a fault" label

2008 may have been the death knell for the "Jim Tressel is loyal to seniors" meme. Todd Boeckman beat out Terrelle Pryor in camp for reasons that no longer seem clear to those of us who watched him struggle against Ohio and USC. It's very possible that in camp, Boeckman looked solid, even behind an offensive line that gave him jack and shit to work with. Whatever the case may be, Boeckman barely looked like a Big Ten quarterback once the Buckeyes got past Youngstown State.

To some (including myself), he's the poster child of a meme that hasn't quite died the death I want it to: that Jim Tressel, and by extension the rest of his staff, will give its upperclassmen a lot more leeway than underclassmen. Mistake-prone underclassmen were much quicker to get the hook than underperforming seniors. Last year ended up being just the opposite of that. Tressel saw a barely functional offense because he is not blind, and inserted the touted true freshman who could evade the inevitable pass rush, because it was coming and there was clearly nothing Bryant Browning or Alex Boone could do about it. It worked out splendidly. Tressel now seems a little less reluctant to place freshmen in positions of importance as a result of both Pryor and Michael Brewster's emergence, as long as they earn the reps they get. This creates a system of allotting playing time that is much closer to that of USC, Florida and Alabama than, uh.... the old Ohio State and should make the Buckeyes a much more competitive team week-to-week, because players will be constantly fighting for their jobs.

But there's always a stinkin' caveat...

Of course, there is one potentially bad outcome: these freshmen may end up getting playing time, and.... will actually look like freshmen. If nothing else, Brewster and Pryor's freshman years should inspire you: perhaps the staff has learned from the fact that Boone and Steve Rehring never panned out, and as a result freshman will play like sophomores. Or something.

Just think happy thoughts, damn you! Kickoff in four days! There's still time for mindless optimism!