[Buckskin86]

Nothing like playing
Orhian Johnson will welcome fellow safety Kurt Coleman back to the active roster this week, but Johnson will miss the role he had during Coleman's one-game suspension. Johnson, used primarily on special teams this season, played extensively for the first time as a safety in the nickel defense.

"Of course, Kurt brings a different element to the game, because he is a great athlete, a great player," Johnson said. "But I think we responded very well. Everybody did their (part).

"We don't know how it would have been if Kurt had been in there, but coming away with a 'W' is pretty good."

Johnson, a redshirt freshman from St. Petersburg, Fla., said that as he took the field, "I wasn't feeling so much butterflies; it was more about excitement, about getting out there and playing football."

He even said he enjoyed the preparation.

"I paid attention all week, asked coach (Paul Haynes, the safeties coach) a lot of questions, I came in and watched extra film," Johnson said. "I wanted to be ready just in case I faced those situations."

BuckeyeXtra - OSU notebook: Offensive line boosted by freshman