By Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) — Former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce didn’t soften the blow when asked what the absences of Buckeyes boss Jim Tressel and five players could do to the 2011 season.

“This could be something you might not recover from this season as a team,” Bruce told The Columbus Dispatch. “You’re talking about a lot of things happening — taking away the head coach and five great football players for the first five games.”

Bruce called Tressel’s absence “a tremendous penalty for the team.”

Tressel’s predecessor at Ohio State, John Cooper, offered a different take to The Dispatch.

“It could give your team a little motivation, knowing its head coach isn’t there,” Cooper said. “They could play a little harder.”

Cooper added that Tressel’s game-management skills, which he considers the best in college football, will be missed for at least the first five contests of the 2011 season. Tressel’s staff boasts two former head coaches — defensive coordinator Jim Heacock and running backs coach Dick Tressel — and several other veteran assistants, but those men haven’t had final say in quite some time…..

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