By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) –

It wasn’t a new look. Yet when Ohio State went five wide, with an empty backfield and Terrelle Pryor in the shotgun, for a stretch during Thursday’s practice, there was a lot to take in on both sides of the ball.

This formation won’t ever be a foundation of what the Buckeyes do, but success in these situations can change games. Ohio State should be more effective offensively in this look this year, while needing to make sure a step back isn’t taken in this defensive look.

First, the offense as it lined up.

Taurian Washington, the No. 3 receiver, was split wide right, with tight end Jake cheap Propecia Stoneburner next to him and receiver Dane Sanzenbacher working the slot. On the left side, DeVier Posey was wide, with running back Dan Herron in the slot. The Buckeyes did this last year as well, with tight end Jake Ballard splitting out and either Herron or Brandon Saine used as a running back out wide.

But this idea will look even better in the fall. And instead of Pryor often running out of this look, spreading out defenses to run a quarterback draw, the Buckeyes should be able to take advantage of defensive mismatches caused by lining up with typical personnel and then going with an empty look. I would love this twist – how about putting Herron and Saine in the game together, flanking Pryor in the shotgun, with Stoneburner as the tight end in a base look, then readjusting and going five wide with both running backs and Stoneburner split out?

Maybe that’s too much. But what the Buckeyes showed isn’t. I wrote about the offensive variety Wednesday and asked receivers coach Darrell Hazell about the possibilities, because it seems like the Buckeyes could use their No. 3 receiver less this season with Stoneburner assuming that role more often. Even when they are not five wide, they can go three or four wide and create an edge by splitting out a tight end or a running back, rather than running a third receiver into the game.

“You get teams who try to substitute personnel, but when you have a guy who can play outside and they can’t put the nickel or the dime in, then you get mismatches,” Hazell said. “We have the ability to take guys out of the backfield and put them in the slot. We have the ability to take the tight end and detach them from the formation and create mismatches. So that is going to help us.”

A point that needs to be emphasized is the greater experience on the offensive line. It’s more difficult to split out tight ends and running backs when you need to keep them in to block and help a young offensive line, especially young tackles. The more Ohio State can trust Mike Adams and J.B. Shugarts (with Marcus Hall and Andy Miller also in the tackle picture), the more the Buckeyes can free up Stoneburner and the backs in the passing game.

“Those guys were young last year and they fought their tails off and did a good job,” Hazell said of the tackles. “But you can tell watching them now they feel so much more relaxed and more confident.”

So a four-wide look with Posey, Sanzenbacher, Stoneburner and Herron/Saine could be a winner for the Buckeyes, as could the five-wide look with that third receiver – Washington, Chris Fields or Duron Carter - in the game. Not a regular look. But a big-play look.

Now the defense…….

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