This is the 2012 version of the annual column in which I speculate on ten OSU players I think are about to emerge as star-quality talents in the season ahead, throwing in the perennial missed guesses at no extra charge. Even with 16 starters returning, the Buckeyes will be counting on several key players to make the leap from starter to star, and those are the guys we’ll try to identify and profile below.

The rules are the same every year...no seniors are on the list. Senior breakouts sometimes happen...but it’s rare, and besides, it’s against the rules of my list.  And no true freshmen are allowed either, although several of them will no doubt be exploding onto the scene in Columbus. (That’s next week’s column)  So everyone on my list has at least two years of eligibility remaining, though one guy in particular may be tempted to go pro a year early after this season.

The majority of Buckeyes on my list are returning starters, and all ten are projected to start in 2012. If I’ve learned one lesson in five seasons of doing this, it’s that it’s nutty to project a player to break out if you can’t project him to be on the field a whole lot. The list is defense-heavy, including three defenders in the top four that I feel are on the cusp of stardom.

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Close might be matter in horseshoes and hand grenades, but I’ve found that actually hitting your target usually returns the best results.  It’s true in sports, and it’s applies in life.  Losing a close game still means you lost, and almost getting the job means you didn’t get the job.  Sometimes, something might present itself as what you hope it is, but a closer look can tell you the brutal truth.

On the surface, the whole world of College Football has earned itself a giant cookie for applying common sense, and evolving towards the proper solution for crowning a champion.  On the other hand, I can cite only unfathomable levels of stubborn to understand why anyone would cut a good idea short before they’re even halfway to righting and undeniable wrong.  Make no mistake about it, the process of selecting just two teams for a title shot, in a faction as large as what we now call the Bowl Subdivision of Division I NCAA Football, is a borderline criminal act.

In the past decade and a half, we’ve had some interesting dialogue, some heated debates, and most of all, some inconsistency.  If you’ll concede that this whole system is based on the absence of common sense, it’s the inconsistency that bothers me the most.  For example, perfection is the best thing you can for, but the reward for such an effort varies, depending on geography, and even chronology.  The ultimate prize is awarded for perfection in Tuscaloosa and Austin, but perfection equals participation awards in Idaho and in Fort Worth.  At a school like Auburn, six years can change the meaning of undefeated from “Good Effort, Good Job” to “National Champions”.

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Ohio State will return two thirds of their starters from 2011, but only three of their ten coaches from a year ago. Defensive co-coordinator Luke Fickell is the only coach with any significant tenure on the Buckeye staff, as the two other returning assistants, running backs coach Stan Drayton and defensive line coach Mike Vrabel, will both be entering just their second season in Columbus.

Urban Meyer brought in six new assistants to the staff, and we’ll profile them below so they won’t be total strangers when you see them on the sidelines this fall. Almost to a man, Meyer’s new assistants have strong Ohio ties, to go along with reputations as top-notch recruiters. Meyer knows he needs a deep coaching bench because historically his programs have lost coordinators and other assistants to head-coaching opportunities elsewhere.

Meyer hired a young, like-minded offensive coordinator in Tom Herman, and strengthened the defensive staff with Everett Withers, who will be co-defensive coordinator along with Fickell. All three of those coordinators might be head coaching candidates at other schools down the road, but for the moment, the Buckeye staff has a wealth of talent and experience at the top.

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There is no Texas or USC on the non-conference schedule for the Buckeyes in 2012, and with dates in East Lansing, Madison and Happy Valley looming down the line, the temptation might be for Ohio State to look past the September slate. But a team entering the season riding a four-game losing streak can afford to do no such thing.

Despite the lack of marquee names, no apologies are necessary for the strength of the early OSU schedule. There are no FCS programs...no YSU’s or Appy States. The Buckeyes will host Miami (OH), Central Florida, California and UAB before they jump into Big Ten play, and today we’ll look at that first third of the schedule to see if any of the non-conference visitors could potentially spoil Urban Meyer’s coming out party.

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