Jack Mewhort successfully made the move from guard to left tackle last season.
By Bill RabinowitzThis time a year ago, they remained a mystery.
The panic about Ohio State?s offensive linemen from the early spring had subsided, but they still had proved very little by last July.
Then the Buckeyes? line blossomed, taking the biggest leap of any unit on the team and becoming the foundation for Ohio State?s 12-0 season.
Four of them ? Jack Mewhort, Andrew Norwell, Corey Linsley and Marcus Hall ? are back for their senior seasons and are determined to take another step forward.
Preseason camp starts in two weeks, but the offensive linemen, like the rest of their teammates, have hardly spent the summer chilling on the beach.
?Right now, it?s just the daily grind,? Mewhort said.
A typical morning starts with an intense weightlifting session under the direction of strength coach Mickey Marotti. That?s followed by a class or tutoring session. After that are meetings and drills run by the players because coaches can?t have hands-on involvement in the summer.
?I feel like we?re pushing ourselves the most we ever have,? Hall said. ?Every time we look at each other, it?s, ?All right, we?re seniors and it?s our last go-round,? and we have to pull everybody with us ? the rest of the team.?
A year ago, only Norwell at left guard was projected to play the position he?d played in 2011. After some uneasy moments during spring practice, line coach Ed Warinner?s constant chiding started to produce results. But even the players themselves had concerns as preseason camp approached.
?I made the leap to left tackle (from guard) last year and was still feeling it out, and I wasn?t 100 percent confident in myself,? Mewhort said. ?Now I have a season under my belt, and we were pretty successful. I have very little apprehension. I know the system. I don?t hesitate.?
Mewhort and Norwell have been named to the Outland Trophy watch list. Linsley was named to the Rimington Award watch list, given to the country?s top center. Hall, the right guard, has transformed his body, dropping his body fat index to 20 percent from 25.
?He?s stronger, faster, more athletic than ever,? Mewhort said. ?He?s come a long way as a player. I know in the spring, guys were saying he?s improved a lot.?
Still, there are questions. Linsley missed some of the spring with a foot injury that hobbled him late last year. And the competition to succeed Reid Fragel at right tackle figures to be one of the more compelling ones of camp. Sophomore Taylor Decker might have a slight edge on converted defensive lineman Chase Farris, though others can make a run at the job, as well.
?It?s going to be a lot of fun to watch them compete during camp,? Mewhort said.
Depth was a major issue last year, and the Buckeyes were fortunate that their linemen stayed healthy ? or could play through pain. Mewhort and Hall said the development of young players such as Pat Elflein and Jacoby Boren should ease those concerns.
But it will be the four returning seniors who will likely determine whether last year?s success will be built on.
?We?re trying to be the core of the team,? Hall said. ?We accept all the pressure and everything that?s coming. We?re the four veterans. We?re so close. It?s like we?re brothers.?
With only Fragel and tight end/receiver Jake Stoneburner gone from last year?s offense, and quarterback Braxton Miller touted as a Heisman Trophy contender, expectations are sky high. For those to be realized, the linemen understand that it starts with them.
?I think we have to be the best,? Mewhort said. ?I don?t think we have a choice. We set a standard for ourselves last year.
?We have a lot of pride in our ability to run the ball. In the passing game, we need to step up and protect Braxton better than we ever have, because I know he?s come a long way as a quarterback this summer. It?s going to be on us to protect him and let him do big things.?
brabinowitz@dispatch.com
@brdispatch
Source: http://buckeyextra.dispatch.com/content/stories/2013/07/21/osu-line-no-longer-question-mark.html
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