Saturday, December 24, 2011
By Bill Rabinowitz
Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS
For someone who has played outside linebacker during his career at Ohio State, it’s not surprising that a shift to the middle would feel strange to senior captain Andrew Sweat.
What is strange is that the move feels so natural.
When Ohio State plays Florida in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 2, Sweat will play middle linebacker. Freshman Ryan Shazier will play Sweat’s previous spot at weak-side (will) linebacker.
“Honestly, it’s weird,” Sweat said this week. “I probably feel more comfortable at mike [middle linebacker]. At [middle linebacker], it’s more you come down and fit the fullback and are inside, tackle to tackle. I haven’t taken that many reps, but I feel pretty comfortable there.”
If all had gone according to plan, Sweat wouldn’t be making his debut at middle linebacker in Jacksonville, Fla. The Buckeyes wanted to make the move late in the season, but the plan was foiled when Sweat sustained a concussion in practice before the Purdue game.
He was in for only a few plays against Purdue before it was clear he couldn’t continue. Sweat wobbled to the locker room with help after trying to warm up at halftime.
The concussion symptoms subsided as practice for Michigan began, and he was cleared to practice. But in the Wednesday practice, he first dislocated a finger and then, an hour later, dislocated an elbow.
“It was severe pain,” Sweat said of the elbow injury. “It probably took them 15 minutes to put it back in.”
He had to miss the Michigan game but is now ready to finish his career on the field. Sweat is wearing a brace to protect the elbow but said he is about 90 percent healed.
“It’s feeling pretty good,” he said.
The hope is that Shazier is, as well. He injured a leg in the Michigan game and gamely soldiered on, though his effectiveness clearly waned.
“He’s practicing, modified a little bit, but he’s close to being 100 percent,” Sweat said.
A healthy Sweat and Shazier could provide a huge lift to a linebacking group that hasn’t played up to normal Buckeye standards. Sweat has been solid. But missed tackles and improper angles have been a problem for that unit.
Shazier, who spent most of this season as a dynamic special-teams player, has the speed, instincts and hitting ability to be a star. In his first start, Shazier had 15 tackles against Penn State.
As for changing positions so late in the season, Sweat said it hasn’t been that difficult. For one, he’s a smart guy. Sweat is a three-time all-Academic Big Ten selection. Another reason is that Buckeyes coaches require all players on defense to learn the entire scheme, not just the responsibilities of their position. their individual position’s responsibilities.
“When you do that,” Sweat said, “it’s easier to interchange people into different spots because you know what the sam [strong-side linebacker] is doing and know what the mike[middle linebacker] and will [weak-side linebacker] are doing. It hasn’t really been that hard of a transition.”
Though most Ohio State fans are underwhelmed about a Gator Bowl involving 6-6 teams, the Buckeyes seem enthused about the matchup. After all, they won’t be going to any bowl next year because of NCAA sanctions announced this week.
“The past two days have been probably the two hardest practices we’ve had since camp,” Sweat said. “I think everybody’s extremely excited about playing in the Gator Bowl.”