Buckeye nation undergoing Urban renewal

May 16, 2012 - 3:58 PM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The Ohio State University football program has had quite a year, and it has absolutely nothing to do with any success, or lack thereof, the team had on the field of play.

This time last year, under the direction of the highly-successful, yet somewhat controversial Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes began to fall apart at the seams as the NCAA launched an investigation into allegations that several players were involved in a cash-for-memorabilia scandal. In the end, the damage was substantial as the governing body of all things related to college athletics lowered the boom by suspending several key players, taking away nine scholarships, posing a bowl ban for the 2012 campaign, and placing the program on three years probation. Additionally, mounting pressure forced Tressel to resign, and Luke Fickell was handed the reins on an interim basis.

With his lame duck status in tow, Fickell directed the team to a tumultuous 6-7 season, and simply put, that kind of lackluster effort just won't do at Ohio State. Therefore, Urban Meyer was courted heavily to leave his cushy TV job and take over a program in dire need of stabilization as it looks toward a rapid return to national prominence.

Meyer, who began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Ohio State back in the mid-1980s, and who won two national championships while at Florida, is one of the top two or three coaches in the country. Few can dispute that, but he didn't come to Columbus without some questions, most notably his desire to stay the course and be in this for the long haul. There is also the fact that during his three years in Gainesville, 25 of his players were arrested on various charges, and there were also rumblings about rampant drug use among his players as well. Apparently none of that detracted from OSU's love affair with Meyer, and he was signed to a perk-filled, six-year, $24 million contract last November.

Never one to shy away from hard work, Meyer knows this isn't going to be a quick fix. He has assembled a stellar staff of assistants which includes retaining Fickell as his Defensive Coordinator, and bringing in former North Carolina [interim] head coach Everett Withers. While perhaps lacking the kind of identifiable star power the Buckeyes have had in the past, Meyer has a solid core of returning players which includes seven starters on offense and nine on defense.

There are some who thought it would take some time for Meyer to convince prospective student-athletes that the issues that have recently plagued Ohio State were in the past, but that was clearly not the case as the Buckeyes landed one of the top recruiting classes in the nation this year. Meyer and his coaches worked tirelessly to assure that they would get their share of top- flight talent, however, since that initial influx, two players have de- committed, including four-star LB Alex Anzalone who apparently had contact with a registered sex offender during an on-campus visit. Anzalone, while taking back his oral commitment, claims he doesn't hold Meyer or the university responsible for the debacle and hasn't ruled out Ohio State entirely, but this is clearly not the way Meyer envisioned his first year at the helm beginning.

Even with the recent defections, Meyer and his assemblage of teachers and motivators will need to mold the rest into a cohesive unit. But as mentioned, the Buckeyes' success this fall won't hinge on the efforts of a bunch of inexperienced, albeit talented newcomers, but rather on the guys who have already been in their share of Big Ten battles, and have the scars, both physical and emotional, to show for it.

After a freshman campaign in which he led the team in rushing (951 yards, seven TDs) and passing (85-of-157, 1,159 yards, 13 TDs, four INTs), Braxton Miller appears to be the man Meyer will entrust to run his spread offense in 2012. With a lack of proven playmakers around him, Miller may have to improvise early as his cohorts hone their skills. The defense, which ranked in the upper half of the Big Ten in allowing 323.5 total ypg in 2011, should be able to keep most teams at bay, giving the offense ample opportunity to produce.

The fact that Ohio State will play eight home games this season is a benefit for sure, but having more than 100,000 scarlet and gray-clad fanatics scrutinizing your every move could be a negative as well, particularly if the team struggles. Now that shouldn't be the case early on, as the team opens with four straight in Columbus against non-conference foes Miami-Ohio, UCF, California and UAB, but the Big Ten slate is littered with potential pitfalls so Meyer's honeymoon could be short-lived, particularly if he doesn't lead the Buckeyes past hated rival Michigan. The Wolverines earned their first win over Ohio State since 2003 last season.

Meyer was clearly the best choice to be the Buckeyes' new head football coach, and while his track record suggests success isn't far away, this is Ohio State -- a place already synonymous with excellence. Coaching the team isn't the issue. But saying the right things to the media, and doing the right things by the players, the university and loyal fan base certainly is, and that means keeping the distractions to a minimum. Time will tell.