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 The fate of the Ohio State football season in 2011 may not totally be decided by the hands of the players that star QB Terrelle Pryor left behind.
And although Luke Fickell will ultimately be the leader the Buckeyes need to rally behind, he may not be the biggest person that decides the outcome of the season. That fate rests in the hands of Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. By saying that, most Ohio State fans are probably moaning and dreading this season, and they do have some right to do so. Bollman has been notorious for under-coaching and under-recruiting the offensive line position at a school that has produced good linemen such as Orlando Pace, Nick Mangold and Korey Stringer. Most of the stagnant offenses in the Jim Tressel era were a result of Bollman having heavy offensive influence before he was phased out slowly by former WR coach Darrell Hazell. With Hazell off to Kent State to be the head coach, Bollman comes back into the spotlight and will likely be the primary play caller. In addition, it is unlikely that new WR coach Stan Drayton will be calling many plays since this will be his first season with the team. That is why Jim Bollman might instantly become the most important person for Ohio State in the 2011 season. The defense will be fine because of the talent on that side of the ball and the good defensive coaches OSU has. The offensive staff, on the other hand, is a very different story. Fickell will not have a chance to set up his own offensive staff since he started his head coaching tenure just a few weeks ago. And Ohio State's offense is all but set up to be one-dimensional: an incredibly deep RB corps, but potentially starting a true freshman QB in Braxton Miller along with an inexperienced and inconsistent group of wideouts. Add that all together with Bollman who's reputation is being a bland play caller, and that can potentially be a recipe for disaster. Fans can hope Bollman has been fooling us all, but if that's the case, where was this creativity years ago? But with the exact blueprint of a one-dimensional offense, the last thing Ohio State can do is be bland, conservative and uninventive. If Jim Bollman is somehow able to avoid all of that, he deserves to stick around in some capacity. However, his current resume suggests otherwise, and that could be a huge worry for Ohio State fans. The defense shouldn't be an issue, as long as the offense doesn't become stagnant or porous this season, which would put huge pressure on the defense. Most of that will be up to Jim Bollman, and this season's performance will decide what his future as an OSU coach will be. For more college football news and updates, visit The BCS Blitz and follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim.
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