By: MIKE PERRY (MorningJournal.com) —
COLUMBUS — The Buckeyes will be young in the secondary, but that does not especially mean they will not be good. All-American Malcolm Jenkins is gone, but junior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa is a returning starter who made great strides as the 2008 season progressed.

Senior safety Kurt Coleman led the Buckeyes in interceptions last season with four, and his 78 tackles was third on the team.

Fifth-year senior Anderson Russell is a hard-hitting safety who recorded 67 tackles last season,poicked off a pair of passes and forced three fumbles.

Tressel likes the depth at safety.

The defensive backfield is not Tressel’s biggest concern … at least at the safety position.

“You’ll probably see Kurt Coleman and Anderson (Russell) the bulk of the time, but we also have Jermale Hines and Tyler Moeller in there playing in the nickel positions,” he said. “We’re hoping to mix and match and have a lot of guys playing with each other. It probably won’t be as locked-in on either side of the ball.”

The cornerbacks are another story as Chekwa is the only sure starter.

“The one that’s clearly out in front and will lead that corner group will be Chimdi,” Tressel said. “After that you’ll see a lot of different combinations this spring. At a lot of positions you’ll see different things on different days. Andre Amos, Devon Torrence, Travis Howard and C.J. Barnett just got in from Northmont and Donnie Evege … we have a group that is going to get a lot of reps with a lot of different units.

“They’ll all be playing with Chimdi on the first group, then be by themselves in the second and third groups, with different groups on different days.”

Cornerback Corey Brown from Gateway High School in Monroeville, Pennsylvania and safety Jamie Wood (Pickerington Central) are both top 10 recruits who signed with Ohio State. Wood is in camp already, as is Barnett, a 6-1 cornerback from Northmont High School in Clayton, Ohio.

Dominic Clarke is undersized at 5-10, 168 pounds, but he will be one of the fastest players on the team. He also will be one of the smartest, he graduated Tuscarora High School in Maryland with a 4.0 grade point average in his core classes.

Linebackers

“Little Animal,” James Laurinaitis, will be a first round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft after a stellar career at Ohio State. He leaves a very large void in the middle of the Ohio State defense.

Austin Spitler, a fifth-year senior, is expected to move into the starting middle linebacker slot after starring on the kickoff and punt coverage teams over the last couple of seasons.

Junior Ross Homan has a middle linebacker’s mentality, but he will likely compete for one of the outside spots. Homan made six starts last season and ended up tied for fourth on the team with 67 tackles. He also had six tackles for a loss last season and recorded a sack.

Other than Homan and Spitler, however, the linebackers have little significant experience. But Tressel does think a couple of players have the potential to step in and make an impact.

“Tyler Moeller and Brian Rolle have some ability,” he said. “I also really like Etienne Sabino and Andrew Sweat. They both have been working hard and are talented players.”

Tressel brought in a bumper crop of linebackers this recruiting season, starting with Dorian Bell also from Gateway High School.

Bell was widely regarded as one of the top two linebacker recruits in the nation. At 6-0 227 he will have to add some size, but runs a 4.5 40 yard dash and is a natural middle linebacker. He’s fearless and smart, takes great angles to the ball and has good “chase down” speed.

Storm Klein (Licking Valley H.S.) was the first Buckeye recruit to sign with Ohio State, and he is with the team already. He was a four-year starter with tremendous speed at 6-3 220. Klein could also see plenty of action this season.

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