Arrival date set for Chad Lindsay

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Help is now officially on the way for Ohio State at center. The anticipated transfer of a former starter at Alabama with instant eligibility — thanks to his status as a graduate — is all set, with Chad Lindsay confirming via email that he will be on campus in time for summer workouts and ready to compete right away for a position that was something of a trouble spot during spring practice for the Buckeyes.

“I will always be a proud graduate of the University of Alabama and I will always be appreciative to the coaching staff for the privilege of playing for the Crimson Tide,” Lindsay wrote in a statement to ESPN.com. “I was fortunate to have had great teammates and to have been a part of an incredible four-year run of success.

+ EnlargeCal Sport Media/AP ImagesChad Lindsay should figure into the mix at center immediately for the Buckeyes.“And now I am looking forward to enrolling at The Ohio State University in June to play for the Buckeyes and to pursue a master’s degree. My goals are to compete hard, to be a productive member of the team and to do whatever I can to help Ohio State win championships.” If the Buckeyes are going to compete for championships again this season, finding replacements almost entirely across the offensive line has been at the top of the priority list for coach Urban Meyer since losing four starters to graduation off last year’s wildly productive unit.

After naming just two OL starters after the spring game and without much experience to choose from between Jacoby Boren and Billy Price at center, a veteran option somewhat unexpectedly materialized in Lindsay.

Lindsay spent two seasons in a reserve role before moving into the starting lineup in the middle of his final campaign with the Crimson Tide, starting three games in a row and also running with the first string in the regular-season finale against Auburn. That game experience and his time competing on the practice field with a team that won a pair of national championships could be invaluable for the Buckeyes as they retool the offensive line, and it figures to give Lindsay an edge over Boren and Price when practice resumes in August.

That doesn’t completely solve the puzzle for the Buckeyes as they head into the offseason conditioning program with just tackle Taylor Decker and guard Pat Elflein currently tabbed for starting jobs. But if nothing else, the addition of another experienced blocker and a product of a program that has been the most successful in the country over the last five years will certainly provide more depth and competition at a crucial spot.

“Coach Meyer likes to have the depth chart set leaving spring, but if it’s not there, it’s not there,” Decker said after the spring game. “That battle will just continue through camp. There’s good and bad to it, but I’d say there’s more good to it.

“It’s good because there’s that competition there, so there’s going to be a sense of urgency. You’re not going to have guys taking days off, taking plays off in practice because you still have to earn that spot.”

Another guy is on the way to fight for one.

Continue reading this article at ESPN: Arrival date set for Chad Lindsay