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Offense
Quarterback- This is one of the big question marks the Buckeyes have heading into the new season. The two main contestants for the starting job are Steve Bellisari and Austin Moherman. Both are at sophmore eligibility. Bellisari is the early favorite for the job, though I would not count out Moherman yet. Steve is definitely the more athletic of two, as you probably saw him on special teams last year. There is some talk that if Moherman is the starting QB they could move Belissari to safety. I would think that unlikely though because the only other QB's are true freshmen. Those two are Craig Krenzel and Scott McMullen. Look for one of them to be the #3 QB and the other to redshirt. Our success for next year may hinge on how quickly the new quarterback can develop, especially with the two early tests(Miami and UCLA).
Fullback- Not a glamour position but an important one none the less. Matt Keller, the starting FB from last year returns, but whether he starts or not this year could be up in the air. This is because of the emergence of Jamar Martin, who has a lot of potential. When I saw him playing in the Sugar Bowl I thought he looked more like a linebacker than a RB. Either way we should be fine at this position.
Running Back- There will be a ton of talent in the backfield next year. Mike Wiley will likely be the starter, and depending on how the rest of the team develops he could be a sleeper Heisman candidate. The only thing that could prevent this would be the loss of carries to star-to-be Jonathon Wells. He will be a great one, but will probably have to wait until 2000 to start. Derek Combs will be the third string RB.
Wide Receiver- This position sustained some tough losses when it lost the starting tandem of David Boston and Dee Miller, who were probably the best pair of receivers in college football last year. Despite this loss we still have a lot of talent at WR, so it shouldn't hurt us too bad. This should be the year that Reggie Germany and Kenyon Rambo start to emerge, as they were both very highly touted coming out of HS and have shown flashes of talent in the backup role. Vaness Provitt should be the main veteran backup, though some of the incoming freshman could get a look etoo. Out of the freshmen I think that Maurice Harris and Maurice Lee (more as a punt returner than WR though) could see some playing time this year.
Tight End- After losing John Lumpkin, this group is a little thin on depth, and will likely a target of next year's recruiting. This year's group will be led by Steve Wisnewski, who is a senior. A potential star here though may be Darnell Sanders, whom I have heard compared to Ricky Dudley and apparently is a good pass catcher. He was used last year as a "big" receiver for the scout team. He is only at freshman eligibility so he may be a star a few years down the road.
Offensive Line- This unit only lost one starter, RT Brooks Burris. The remainder of the line is in tact, and it looks to be one of the Buckeyes strengths next year. The LT will be Tyson Walter, who I believe is the strongest of all the Buckeyes. The LG spot is a little up in the air. Of course All-American Rob Murphy returns, but there is some talk that he could move to RT. This would only happen though if Bellisari is the QB (Bellisari is left handed-move him there to protect his blind side). Should Murphy move the most likely candidate to replace him is Tam Hopkins, who was very highly regarded coming out of HS. The center spot will be manned by R. Murphy's brother Kurt, and the RG spot should once again be taken up by Ben Gilbert. The RT spot will likely be filled by either Murphy or Hopkins, depending on which one plays LG. The only freshman really to watch here is Bryce Bishop, who could compete for the starting job, but more likely will be a backup or possibly even redshirt this year. One last player to mention, and that is Jim Massey. I personally have not heard too much about him, but a reader has informed me that he is a very strong candidate to take over Burris' RT spot. There should be some interesting competition for that open spot. As I said before look for the line to be one of the Buckeyes strongest areas this coming year.
Defense
Nose Guard- The first area of a very strong defensive line that we'll be looking at. Two players I expect to contribute next year are Clinton Wayne, last years starter, and Mike Collins, a true sophmore. The best player in this group though may be Paris Long, whom Cooper said would have started last year...if he was eligible. Sounds like he could be a real force on the inside and I'm hoping that he can get his grades taken care of before the start of next year.
Defensive Tackle- Joe Brown and Ryan Pickett are the two names to watch here. I believe Brown was the starter at the beginning of the year last season, but Pickett started some later in the year as a true freshman. Pickett's got a lot of talent and I would look for him to start, but either way we should be fine at this position.
Defensive End- The Buckeyes have an excellent stockpile of talent here at DE. Matt LaVrar and Rodney Bailey, the two starters at the beginning of last year return. Also returning are Brent Johnson, who started some games last year, and James Cotton, who could possibly be moved back to linebacker. Two other players to watch are redshirt freshmen Julius Yeast and Kenny Peterson. Peterson was rated higher than Pickett coming out of HS but fell into Cooper's doghouse early last year and redshirted. With all the talent here we should be set for the next few years. The only senior in this group is LaVrar.
Middle Linebacker- The Big Kat left early, so we will have to break in a new LB this year. The favorite at this point is Jason Ott, with the main backup being Chris Kirk. Another possible move would be to move James Cotton back to his old linebacker spot.
Outside Linebacker- The star of next year's defense could be Na'il Diggs, who first started to get national recognition last year and actually had better stats than Katzenmoyer. Now he just has to do it without having the same supporting cast around him. The favorite for the other OLB spot is Courtland Bullard. Another player to watch is Joe Cooper, who as of now is at LB but could be moved to safety.
Cornerback- The lone returning starter is Ahmed Plummer, who is all but assured a starting spot this year. He may be moved to the LCB spot vacated by Antoine Winfield. The other spot is up for grabs, but the favorite has to be Nate Clements. He played some last year and did a pretty good job. Another candidate is Derek Ross, but he will more likely play safety than cornerback. Incoming freshman Curtis Crosby could see some work in nickel packages.
Safety- The free safety spot is all but guaranteed to be taken by Gary Berry. Some people don't feel he's a great player, but I think he improved a lot last year and is about to have a breakout year, but that's just my opinion. I believe I read somewhere that Mel Kiper said he could have come out last year and been a late-first round/early-second round pick. Fortunately he decided to come back. There should be some strong competition for the strong safety spot. The two main people to look at there will be Percy King and Derek Ross. The favorite there right now is King. Another player to watch will be Mike Doss, who could see some signifigant playing time as a true freshman.
Special Teams- Dan Stultz will return next year to handle the place kicking duties. He will be a JR. Incoming freshman B.J. Sander will start out as the punter. He could eventually handle some of the kicking duties as well. I am looking for Maurice Lee to come in and handle some of the returns. He sounds like a very exciting player, kind of small, but very fast. Hopefully our kicking game can improve some because I've felt that it's been a little weak that last couple years.
