New guys step up for the Buckeyes

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Call them The Replacements.

In its season opener, No. 15 Ohio State found itself relying heavily on several players who few might have expected to be such integral parts of the team just a short time ago — before more prominent players were suspended or quit the team.

Joe Bauserman, Andrew Norwell, Carlos Hyde, Dominic Clarke and Verlon Reed all made their first career college starts. And almost all played extremely well in the Buckeyes’ 42-0 thrashing of Akron.

Once afterthoughts who were counted on to add depth, they’re now central figures for the Buckeyes as they prepare to take on Toledo on Saturday.

“All those guys showed up,” interim coach Luke Fickell said. “They didn’t dwell on it. They weren’t worried about the guys we were missing, and they stepped forward.”

Bauserman had a surprisingly good game as one of the two quarterbacks replacing three-year starter Terrelle Pryor. He passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, with freshman Braxton Miller tossing another scoring pass.

After two years holding a clipboard on the sideline, Bauserman was asked if he ever thought he’d be the main attraction.

“You just don’t know,” he said. “You take it one day at a time and take it as it comes.”

Norwell took over at left tackle for Mike Adams, one of four top players suspended for the first five games for taking cash and tattoos from the target of a federal drug-trafficking probe. The Buckeyes didn’t permit a sack and piled up 224 rushing yards.

Hyde got the call at tailback, where last year’s leading rusher, Dan Herron, is also among those sitting out the first five more games. Hyde, with just 24 carries as a freshman last season, rushed for 93 yards on 19 carries. Freshman Rod Smith added 74 yards on 18 carries.

“Coach called on me to be the starter today so I felt like I had to step into it,” Hyde said. “Next week, I’ll be ready.”