Defense must replace 9 starters

The Buckeyes have only two defensive starters back from last season.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Now if the Ohio State Buckeyes can just defend like this during the season.
Everyone seems to know that the nation's No. 1 team has only two defensive starters back from last season, and that new front-liners will be filling in at every linebacker and secondary position.
Despite those losses -- or maybe because of them -- the Buckeyes have spent the preseason defending their defense.
"Yeah, we may not have a lot of big-name guys -- the A.J. Hawks and Bobby Carpenters -- on defense," safety Brandon Mitchell said. "But we have great talent. That's what it boils down to."
In addition to those two high-profile linebackers, the Buckeyes are also missing linemen Mike Kudla and Marcus Green, linebacker Anthony Schlegel, cornerbacks Tyler Everett and Ashton Youboty and safeties Nate Salley and Donte Whitner.
The only returnees from the first unit are tackles David Patterson and Quinn Pitcock.
This year's defense will likely be manned by a bunch of decidedly non-household names: Lawrence Wilson, Jay Richardson, John Kerr, James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, Malcolm Jenkins, Nick Patterson, Jamario O'Neal, Kurt Coleman, Antonio Smith and several other character actors now in starring roles.
Offense ahead of defense
The talk, naturally, is that Ohio State's offense -- led by quarterback Troy Smith, tailback Antonio Pittman and wide receiver/returner Ted Ginn Jr. -- will likely have to carry the day until the defense finds its footing.
"We know what people are saying about us, but we really don't pay attention to that," said Laurinaitis, who is expected to fill one of the holes at linebacker. "We lost some really, really, really phenomenal players. We know what we've got cut out for us. We have athletes here. We have plenty of great players here. We need to reload."
Jim Tressel, in his sixth year at Ohio State and his 21st as a head coach, acknowledged that it's rare for a team to lose so many players off one side of the ball and so few off the other.
"From an experience standpoint, it's unusual," he said. "Hopefully, we'll get that experience fast."
There are several major questions on the defensive side. Can oft-injured linebacker Mike D'Andrea be a factor? Can incoming freshmen such as end Robert Rose, linebackers Larry Grant, Tyler Moeller, Mark Johnson and Ross Homan and defensive backs Chimdi Chekwa, Grant Schwartz and Aaron Gant contribute right away?
Kerr is transfer
Kerr, a former starter at Indiana, has bided his time after transferring and should be more than an adequate replacement at linebacker. Laurinaitis played almost all of the Michigan game after Carpenter broke his foot, and then started the bowl victory over Notre Dame. Freeman would have been in the mix at linebacker a year ago but had to be red-shirted after a knee injury.
Unlike a year ago when several players rarely sat out a play, this year's team will have to rely on depth, fresh legs and fast learners.
"Some people consider me a veteran and I played in two games. That's kind of crazy," said Laurinaitis. "But we've got a bunch of guys who know we have to show up at practice every day and work hard to get better."
It's the backfield that most concerns the coaching staff.
"Where we're brand new is the secondary," Tressel said. "One time I saw them [this spring] and they had a play scripted where there were three red-shirt freshmen and a true sophomore on that play.
"And I thought, 'Ooooh.' "
Jenkins came on at the end of last year as a true freshman and played well in the Fiesta Bowl. But the rest of the DBs are relatively raw and not proved.
"We're young, but we make up for youth with talent," Mitchell said.