Who will our starters be in 2009?

[I <3 OSU]

I'm interested to see predictions as to who will start going into next season, including incoming freshmen.

[NFBuck]

My Guess:

QB- Pryor
RB- Herron
LT- Adams
LG- Boren
C- Brewster
RG- Cordle
RT- Shugarts
WR- Posey
WR- Sanz
SL- Small
TE/flex- Ballard/Stoneburner

E- Gibson
T- Heyward
T- Denlinger
E- Williams
LB- Homan
LB- Spitler
LB/Star- Moeller
CB- Chekwa
CB- Howard
S- Russell
S- Coleman

*These are starters in name only. I expect a lot of rotation along the lines and LB in particular.

[BuckNutty]

Originally Posted by NFBuck

My Guess:

QB- Pryor
RB- Herron
LT- Adams
LG- Boren
C- Brewster
RG- Cordle
RT- Shugarts
WR- Posey
WR- Sanz
SL- Small
TE/flex- Ballard/Stoneburner

E- Gibson
T- Heyward
T- Denlinger
E- Williams
LB- Homan
LB- Spitler
LB/Star- Moeller
CB- Chekwa
CB- Howard
S- Russell
S- Coleman

*These are starters in name only. I expect a lot of rotation along the lines and LB in particular.

I agree with the majority of that list but I would add Sabino, Hines and Lawrence Wilson to the debate. The DT along side Heyward could be debated too. I could see Worthington or Larimore starting.

[NFBuck]

Originally Posted by BuckNutty

I agree with the majority of that list but I would add Sabino, Hines and Lawrence Wilson to the debate. The DT along side Heyward could be debated too. I could see Worthington or Larimore starting.

Agreed. I think there will be a lot of rotation on the DL and at LB. Sabino is too good to not see the field often, same with Hines in the "Star" position. Tons of depth in the front seven should help ease in the new corners.

[billmac91]

I think Amos will start opposite Chekwa, and Wilson starts at end over Williams.

Other than that, I agree.

Springball should have lots of competition, which should be a very good thiing.

[BuckeyeMac]

I kept almost all of NFB's list, but I changed a few

QB- Pryor
RB- Herron
LT- Adams
LG- Boren
C- Brewster
RG- Cordle
RT- Shugarts
WR- Posey
WR- Sanz
SL- Small
TE/flex- Ballard/Stoneburner

E- Gibson/Wilson (couldn't decide on these 2)
T- Heyward
T- Denlinger
E- Williams
LB- Homan
LB- Spitler
LB/Star- Sabino
CB- Chekwa
CB- Amos
S- Russell
S- Coleman

[3074326]

I had Sabino starting over Moeller, and Wilson over Williams, but aside from that it was the same as NFBuck's.

Wilson over Williams/Thad was a tough decision.

[martinss01]

QB- Pryor
RB- Herron
LT- Adams
LG- Boren
C- Brewster
RG- Cordle
RT- Shugarts
WR- Posey
WR- Sanz
SL- Thomas (i want to say Small, but he has some things to take care of first)
TE/flex- Ballard/Stoneburner

E- Gibson
T- Heyward
T- Worthington
E- Williams
LB- Homan
LB- Spitler
LB - Sabino
CB- Chekwa
CB- Coleman (just cuz i gotta be different)
S- Russell
S- Hines

hines is going to start. don't know where, but he's going to start.

[OregonBuckeye]

What about Andy Miller at LT? Adams has been snakebitten for a while now and at one point Andy was second string LT. If Adams can't stay healthy, I think Miller has a good chance at getting that spot. Just needs to get bigger and stronger.

[Buckeye86]

Originally Posted by martinss01

hines is going to start. don't know where, but he's going to start.

in my opinion, he is a lock at nickel back (especially against spread option teams) unless he wins the starting outside linebacker position opposite Homan

[calibuck]

All looks good, what about the freshmen? Anyone who plays from day 1? Don't think so, maybe Bell, but OSU is too deep I think.

Anyway, starting is an ego thing, but what I want to know, is who FINISHES the game? An old bball saying, "it doesn't matter who starts the game, it's who finishes, that counts." (Or maybe I have the wrong thread )?

[Bill Lucas]

I think Duron Carter is going to see a TON of playing time next year and it wouldn't surprise me if he ends up starting. He's such a precise route runner and with his size and great hands he can contribute immediately in a big way IMO.

[DaddyBigBucks]

Originally Posted by calibuck

All looks good, what about the freshmen? Anyone who plays from day 1? Don't think so, maybe Bell, but OSU is too deep I think.

...

I believe that Brown and Barnett are a better bet than Bell. I'd mention the other CB's on the list, but I was going for alliteration.

The point is, while CB and LB are both a position of need; CB is a position where athleticism>experience. As Chris Spielman likes to say, "the farther you line up from the ball, the easier it is to play early".

Look to the players who just vacated those positions for your example. Both Laurinaitis and Jenkins came in as 3* recruits and both ended up being highly decorated all-americans. MJ played a lot more in 2005 than did JL. While some of that had to do with the players in front of JL, the truth is that JL did not really show much when he did play (against TSUN and Notre Dame). MJ, on the other hand, turned heads from day one.

[Zurp]

My guess is that Dustin Fox is going to do great at making the move back to safety. He'll probably play both free safety and strong safety. At the same time. Then he'll compete the Pryor at all of his positions: quarterback, kicker, holder, center, peanut vendor, and grandmother.

[southcampus]

QB- Pryor
RB- Herron
LT- Adams
LG- Cordle
C- Brewster
RG- Boren
RT- Shugarts
WR- Posey
WR- Sanz
SL- Small
TE/flex- Ballard/Stoneburner

E- Gibson
T- Heyward
T- Denlinger
E- Wilson
WLB- Homan
MLB- Spitler
SLB- Sabino
CB- Chekwa
CB- Amos/Howard (similar to Chekwa/Washington from '08)
S- Russell
S- Coleman

I see the D line playing a lot like it did this past year with everyone getting good looks in there. Obviously Williams will get in there and I think Rob Rose will see some good action as well. Same thing with the WR's I think. We have a plethora of them and although none of the receivers have guaranteed spots at this point, I would say that after Posey and Sanz it is wide open. In my mind, those two are almost locks.
For lack of a better explanation, I would call our skill positions on offense "unexperienced depth" meaning on paper, it looks like we have some solid guys with limited starting roles.