Pre-Snap Read

Questions and Answers

Q&A: Eleven Warriors’ Luke Zimmerman

By Paul Myerberg   //   Sep 2, 2010

My recent Ohio State preview predicted great things from the Buckeyes, though I fell short of projecting Ohio State as one of two teams playing for the national title in January. Was that a fair forecast for Jim Tressel, Terrelle Pryor and the rest of the Buckeyes? That’s a good question, and one I posed to Luke Zimmerman of the terrific Ohio State blog Eleven Warriors. That’s not all we discussed: I asked Luke what he thought of the Buckeyes in 2009 — were they better than most gave them credit for? What about Pryor’s Heisman chances? Ohio State also has a few position battles to watch: what does Luke think of brewing competitions going on at running back, wide receiver and free safety?

Last year’s finish

Paul How important were the final six games of last season? It seemed the Buckeyes answered their critics, pundits that were out in full force after the loss to Purdue. Could you imagine O.S.U. being a national title favorite if it hadn’t finished strong?

Luke Zimmerman I think they were important for Terrelle Pryor on a subconscious level, just simply in terms of him producing the actual tangible results I think he’d internalized himself as being capable of doing since he first stepped foot on a college campus. Critical for the team as a whole? I suspect a B.C.S. win would’ve probably been all the momentum this team needed, though handling a tough Big Ten slate and in many ways bouncing back from adversity certainly didn’t hurt from a character development standpoint.

Recapping 2009

Paul Do you think Ohio State was better than most gave it credit for in 2009? I mean, the Buckeyes might have struggled at times on offense, but they beat five 10-win teams, which I believe to be an F.B.S. record.

Luke The offense was inconsistent, unquestionably. You had a still somewhat immature (from a passing standpoint) sophomore quarterback, an offensive line struggling to find themselves, and I think a budding young No. 1 receiver who hadn’t quite come to terms with the physical gifts that came along with the responsibility he’d been awarded. Had Ohio State not over-thought their way out of what should have been a gimme win against a sub-par (at least from recent historical standards) U.S.C. team, I think the actual quality of the team would’ve been more greatly recognized from a national perspective.

The 2010 schedule

Paul Let’s take a look at your 2010 schedule: Miami (Fla.) comes to Columbus, as do Michigan and Penn State, but the Buckeyes travel to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes and Madison to take on the Badgers. How would you rank those five games, thinking from least worried to most?

Luke I suspect it’s going to be awfully hard to do this and not sound like some kind of Big Ten wonk, but I’ll do my best. Probably Miami from least worried (I know, I know, but the day this team puts together a consistent 60 minutes of football against an elite level defense will be the first that at least I’ve seen), to Penn State second least concerned (true freshman quarterback, a coach who seems content to pass on making a B.C.S. run this season), to Michigan (while the least talented and arguably poorest coached of the group, rivalry games are just that), to Iowa (that defense; goodness), to the Badgers (probably the most complete team of the group and a frighteningly difficult place to escape with a W).

The 2010 Ohio State offense

Paul What should we expect from the O.S.U. offense in 2010? If the final month and a half of last season was any indication, it should be far better, right? Will the Buckeyes do anything differently this season?

Luke If Jim Tressel finds a way to trust them and lets them be themselves like he did in the Rose Bowl, expect fireworks. I think you’ll see the same conservative ideology in terms of protecting the ball, but just how many chances he allows the junior Pryor to take will be predicated on a merit basis. If summer practices were any indication, this offense should be clicking on all cylinders.

Position battles on offense

Paul There are two position battles I think worth noting on the offense. The first is to be the team’s third running back. Is it Jaamal Berry or Jordan Hall there? Or will it be someone else?

Luke This is just like the finish in a great horse race; neither were actually listed on the formal Marshall opening week depth chart, which leaves much to the imagination. I really like Jordan Hall from a work ethic and grit perspective, but Berry may be the highest upside back on the team. I think, including freshman Carlos Hyde, this has to be the deepest tailback corp of the Tressel era. Not quite U.S.C. of a few years back, but it’s not out of the question to see four or five guys get touches any given Saturday.

The receiver corps

Paul The next is on the second level at wide receiver. Posey and Sanzenbacher will start, but who do you see making an impact as a third or fourth receiver?

Luke Depth at wide receiver has to be a Buckeye fan’s biggest question mark going into the season. Chris Fields has been incredibly rock solid in both spring and summer ball, but I think we’ll probably see senior Taurian Washington rewarded for his own hard work and his years of service. If Washington can ever manage to pull balls down in the fall the way he has the last two spring Games, Ohio State won’t have anything to worry about after the top two. It’s worth keeping an eye on freshman Corey “Philly” Brown as the season rolls on as well; as buzz would have it, he has all the makings of the next Ted Ginn or perhaps a Midwest equivalent to former California all-purpose threat DeSean Jackson.

Terrelle Pryor and the Heisman

Paul Now, onto the big question on offense. What do you think we’ll see from Terelle Pryor in 2010? Is the Heisman talk premature?

Luke As mentioned previously, all signs point to this being the year that everything clicks for the Jeanette, Penn., product. Again, I’m going to be hard-pressed to not be dismissed as some sort of completely impartial homer, but I’d say that award is Pryor’s to lose. With Ingram battling injuries and a capable, job-challenging backup; Jake Locker having to deal with the limitations of the rest of his offense; A.J. Green lacking a proven quarterback to get him the ball; and the possibility of Dayne Crist canceling out Michael Floyd’s buzz (sort of like what we saw with Ken Dorsey and Willis McGhee both contending for the award), I’d have to Pryor is hands-down the favorite in my book.

The 2010 Ohio State defense

Paul The defense looks to be superb, as always. Cameron Heyward’s a future star, those two senior linebackers are terrific and the cornerback duo the best in the Big Ten. With all this talent, who is the one irreplaceable guy on this defense?

Luke I don’t think there’s any denying that Heyward’s the most talented guy out there, but the defensive line corp is just at an unheard of level of depth under Jim Tressel. While certainly not irreplaceable from a physical standpoint, I think from almost a pure leadership point of view middle linebacker Brian Rolle represents in many ways the heart of this defense. His backup Etienne Sabino will probably be the better pro and probably is more in the Brandon Spikes mold than the diminutive Rolle could ever hope to be, but Rolle’s intelligence, savvy, and spirit is something that you can’t just package substitute in and have an a-for-b linear replacement.

Position battles on defense

Paul I see two position battles of note on defense. One is at free safety, where I saw C.J. Barnett ahead of Orhian Johnson on the latest depth chart. Was this surprising to you?

Luke Absolutely. I think Johnson’s lack of being out there in the last couple of weeks snap-in, snap-out due to injury was probably the deciding factor, though not for Barnett’s lack of quality play. The coaching staff can’t seem to speak his praises highly enough, though I do suspect we’ll see both of those guys as opening night and the Miami game progress.

What about Sabino?

Paul Most notably, I see that, yet again, Etienne Sabino is not in the starting lineup; Andrew Sweat is starting on the strong side, Sabino running behind Rolle in the middle. The guy has to earn some major time at some point, right?

Luke I think going back to the A.J. Hawk’s and James Laurinaitis’ of the world, and you see these three-star gym rat types that pretty much will their way into N.F.L. caliber linebackers. Sabino was pretty much the highly decorated four- or five-star type who many thought would play a major role as soon as he got to Ohio State. I think Sabino’s time will come yet, but it certainly makes you wonder what else has been going on behind the scenes that has prevented his potential from becoming reality.

2010 prediction

Paul Now, I had Ohio State at No. 3 in the country. Too high? Too low? Are you feeling confident in 2010? Let’s get your prediction for this coming season.

Luke It’s not unreasonable (depending on your No. 1 and No. 2) though I think on paper there’s not a better returning group than the Buckeyes. Given the lingering “post-traumatic stress” of the 2007 and2008 B.C.S. championship games, I’m not sure I’m really going to be able to say I’m fully confident in a group until I see them hosting a football shaped crystal, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit this was the best team I’ve seen since the 2006 group and certainly in the mix with that group and the 2002 championship bunch for consideration as Tressel’s best team. I’m honestly expecting to watch Ohio State as the last team celebrating the night of Monday, Jan. 10, but given the general unpredictability of the college football season, if they happen to come up short, I can’t say I’ll be terribly shocked either.

Tags: Eleven Warriors, Luke Zimmerman, Ohio State, Terrelle Pryor, The Heisman Trophy

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