By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) –

Safety Kurt Coleman, defensive tackle Doug Worthington and tight end Jake Ballard, all seniors, were announced today as the representatives for the Buckeyes at the Big Ten media days on July 27 and 28 in Chicago.

And I’m guessing those will be three of your four captains for Ohio State in the fall.

The guys who are trusted by Jim Tressel to sit in suits at round tables and field several hours of questions from reporters typically fare well in the team voting for the captain spots later in preseason camp.

Since I started covering the team, seven of the nine players I’ve seen in Chicago have become captains.

2006 - Troy Smith, Doug Datish, Quinn Pitcock

2007 - Kirk Barton, Vern Gholston (not a captain), Marcus Freeman (not a captain)

2008 – Todd Boeckman, James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins

I think Coleman is an obvious no-brainer captain choice, while Ballard is nearly as much of a lock. I think Worthington is interesting – he got a DUI last year, but Tressel said how out of character that was for Worthington, and he has come across as solid leader in other ways. The other strong candidate on defense is senior safety Anderson Russell, and he could still win the vote, though maybe the Buckeyes don’t want two guys from the same position.

On a young offense, the other obvious captain candidate is center/tackle Jim Cordle. I would lean toward Ballard and Cordle as the choices on offense for now, though the obvious question is:

Will Terrelle Pryor be a captain as a sophomore?

My guess is no, not when Ballard and Xenical Cordle are good candidates. But I would not be completely shocked if it happened.

Do you think Pryor should be a captain as a sophomore?

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