OSU’s young stars are eyeing 2010

By DOUG LESMERISES

PASADENA, Calif. — Singing the final refrains of “Carmen Ohio” on the field of the Rose Bowl while basking in the aftermath of a victory Friday night, Ohio State senior defensive lineman Doug Worthington turned and looked over his shoulder at sophomore center Mike Brewster. They caught each other’s eyes and smiled as they nodded together. Both could enjoy what they’d done for the other.

Ohio State’s underclassmen knew how they wanted to send out the seniors, and the OSU seniors know what they want from the future of which they won’t be a part.

The growing pains gone, the Buckeyes’ recruiting class of 2008, the current sophomores led by quarterback Terrelle Pryor, Brewster and receiver DeVier Posey, turned a corner and are right on track for the future they mapped out for themselves when arriving as one of the highest-ranked and highly anticipated groups in Buckeyes history.

“This is just the beginning,” sophomore right tackle J.B. Shugarts said as he strode up the Rose Bowl tunnel toward the victorious locker room. “It’s going to be a big year next year, I can promise you that.”

With their 26-17 win over No. 7 Oregon, the previously No. 8 Buckeyes should finish in the top five of the final polls for the sixth time in the past eight years, behind BCS championship game participants Alabama and Texas, Sugar Bowl winner Florida and the winner of the TCU-Boise State Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State certainly will start in the top five next August, aiming for the national title every one of them envisioned when signing with the school.

“That definitely was our vision,” Posey said. “That’s what we talked about coming here. We used to talk three times a week in high school. And a bunch of guys came in early, and we’d come up and stay in the dorms — it feels like we’ve been here three years already. It’s big for our class, and it makes you feel good.”

The greatest vision of the future manifested itself in the overall game of Pryor, who took the kind of leap in bowl practice that he didn’t make a year ago.

“I thought I could have a game like this at any time,” Pryor said. “I’ve gotten a lot better in this bowl practice, a lot better, just meeting with Coach [Jim] Tressel all the time. ... I think you need to earn the head coach’s trust and even your teammates’ trust in throwing the ball. I had 10 turnovers this year, but it was somewhat of forcing stuff.

“You think you’re at a certain level, and you can just sit in the pocket and throw the ball, but I was waiting a little bit too long, going through four or five reads, and that’s where the picks were coming from. I had a meeting with Coach Tressel, and he calmed me down. He knew what I was going through because I was trying to force too many throws, trying to prove to everybody that I’m a quarterback.”

Next season, Pryor and his classmates won’t have to prove anything. They’ll just have to do. They’ll gladly trade questions for expectations.

“I love our class,” Brewster said. “I think it’s a special class. We just have to keep working hard. At the beginning, we thought we could do great things, but it’s not going to come easy. We really have to get after it in the winter and spring, but I feel like we have a good base.”

Before the Buckeyes get to winter workouts, the most pressing issue is figuring out what defensive lineman Cameron Heyward will do. One NFL Draft analyst said Saturday that Heyward would go as high as the middle of the first round if he chooses to leave school early.

A true junior who has been at Ohio State for three seasons, Heyward seems like he wants to stay in school, but that kind of projection can be hard for anyone to pass up.

“I’ll probably make a decision in a few days,” Heyward said.

The consensus is defensive end Thaddeus Gibson will go to the NFL, and he will be a loss. But Nathan Williams is a similar type of player ready to step in.

Heyward has a unique blend of size and athleticism that allows him to play both defensive end and defensive tackle, drastically changing the look of the Buckeyes’ defensive line from snap to snap. He’s rather difficult to block, as he showed with his early sack of Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli on Friday night.

“That might have set the tone a little bit,” Heyward said. “When you can get a sack early, it starts momentum for your side. And I think the guys took that and really wanted to get after this guy.”

Heyward would set a similar tone all next year as an All-American candidate. His decision will have a huge effect on a defense that controlled the game on Friday night.