By: Brandon Castel (Rivals.com) —
It is easy for Ohio State fans to get caught up in the fact that freshman quarterback Terrelle Pryor will team with tailback Beanie Wells in the Buckeyes backfield.

As talented as those two are, however, they will only be as good as the offensive line in front of them.

Particularly in a game as physical as the one they will play against Wisconsin this week, the line play will be crucial to OSU’s success.

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was not happy with the performance of his offensive line earlier this season, and he let the unit know in no uncertain terms.
Maybe it was overdue, but Tressel came down hard on his offensive front for their lackluster performance in a 35-3 loss to USC on Sept. 13. Whatever Tressel’s methods, they seem to be working.

“The attitude after the USC game was let’s play fast, let’s play physical,” left guard Jim Cordle said. “Now we’ve picked up an attitude going into the Wisconsin game of being tough.”

The Buckeyes certainly did not look tough against the Trojans. Unlike the Oregon State offensive line, they were pushed around all night long by the USC defensive line.

To make matters worse, they shot themselves in the foot on multiple occasions with false start penalties - something the Buckeyes know they must avoid when they travel to Camp Randall Stadium this week.

“When you have the crowd against you, that’s tough for an offense,” Cordle said. “You’re trying to communicate and it hurt us in the USC game.”

Adding insult to injury, the Buckeyes lost starting left guard Steve Rehring in that game to a foot injury. They were forced to shuffle guys on the line in the second half.

“Steve got hurt in the USC game and that kind of hurt us in the second half because we didn’t have the chemistry,” Cordle said. “It’s there now that we’ve had a couple weeks.”

With Rehring out of the lineup, the Buckeyes made a decision to move Cordle over from his center spot to play next to Alex Boone at left guard. This opened the door for the first member of the freshman group nicknamed “Block O” to crack the starting lineup.

Over the last two weeks, Michael Brewster has assumed the role of center for OSU. The former five-star prospect out of Orlando, Fla., has done a fine job adapting to his new role.

“Some of the freshmen we have, they surprise me with how calm they are,” Cordle said. “They really don’t get that rattled or nervous.”

If there was ever going to be a game that would rattle Brewster, this might be it. Not only is he making the first start of his career on the road, but it comes in one of the loudest and most hostile environments in the country.

“It’s going to be very tough for him, but I think with two starts under his belt he will settle in,” Cordle said. “After the first drive or two he will settle in and he’s got me there to assist with the calls.”

The Buckeyes do expect to get Rehring back this week in some capacity, but it is unlikely he could resume his role as the starting left guard against Wisconsin.

“What I envision is getting a little help from Steve,” Tressel said. “Exactly where and what, I think, is going to be determined how he looks. Steve is a guy that has the ability to play both guard and tackle.”

Although they would like to settle on a consistent five for most of the game, ultimately it sounds like OSU could use a rotation of eight or nine guys up front, including freshman J.B. Shugarts.

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