I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaack

Greetings from C-bus where preseason camp is winding down and next week is a game week for the Buckeyes. Today's preseason camp ended with the voting on captains and reminiscent of the 2002 season, there will be captains on the defense and a rotating offensive captain on a weekly basis. But this year there are 3 defensive captains in a departure from tradition: Kurt Coleman, Austin Spitler, and Doug Worthington. Any speculation about the health of Austin Spitler should be alleviated by his elevation to the captaincy by his teammates. It shows he's a contributor.

And what does the lack of a captain on the offense say ... perhaps too many votes for Terrelle Pryor and the coaching staff's unwillingness to name him a captain as a sophomore? Perhaps no clear leader has emerged, as well. I tend to think that if the talk coming out of camp is true and Pryor has made huge improvements in his game, his reads, and his execution, it may be the former. In the case of 2002, Craig Krenzel ultimately emerged as the true leader on that offense and he was a junior. There were also 2 other offensive leaders in the 2002 season - Jenkins and Hartsock. It did not turn out too bad that season! I was a bit surprised that a captain did not emerge this year from the O-line. However, that might speak to the unsettled nature of that line right now due to injuries and quite a bit of uncertainty on the left side. That gives me NO comfort.

In another surprise announcement yesterday, USC announced that they will start a true freshman in Matt Barkley in the QB spot next Saturday. And Coach Carroll stated that it is not just a 1-week experiment. He is the freshman phenom on the team ... could the outcome on 9/12 be akin to that of the outcome in 2008 but in reverse order ... the Bucks will start a more seasoned QB to USC's true freshman. True, the Bucks did not start Terrelle Pryor in that game but he got his "trial by fire" and baptism all in one game. Could Barkley be headed for the same rude reception? Let's hope so.

Next week is game week ... but the Bucks are not back in school due to the quarter system ... they have nearly another month before classes begin. No distractions. All football, all the time.

And high school football in Ohio begins tonight. Look for my alma mater in the Herbstreit Classic on Saturday at noon eastern on ESPN. The Upper Arlington Golden Bears will be taking on the defending national champions St. Thomas Aquinas in the first of 4 games over 2 days played in Ohio Stadium. Please go easy on my Bears men! Shock the world! GO BEARS!

Stay tuned ... more next week as the 2-deep gets announced and game preparations begin in earnest. The O-line is what I am watching .....

GO BUCKS from JennyBucks!