OSU offseason questions: Safeties

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Almost as soon as it arrived, spring camp at Ohio State wrapped up. Time isn’t likely to fly by quite as quickly in the offseason with the summer months sure to drag by until the 2014 campaign finally opens in August. The Buckeyes have plenty of work to do to get ready for their debut against Navy on Aug. 30, and to help pass the time, we’re looking at some of the most pressing positional questions they’ll have to answer to make another run at a championship. Was the spring injury a setback for Vonn Bell?

+ EnlargeZach Bolinger/Icon SMIVonn Bell, who is a likely starter in the Ohio State secondary in 2014, missed spring practice with a knee injury.Bell finally had the big stage and an opportunity that was even bigger to show why he was such a coveted recruit. The Ohio State safety certainly made the most of it with an eye-popping, one-handed interception in the Discover Orange Bowl that only raised the expectations moving into his sophomore season. There was another chance to impress waiting for him in spring practice, with a new coach in the secondary ready to watch him and a fresh, aggressive scheme that seems perfectly suited to capitalize on his athleticism. But this time the result wasn’t the same, as a fluke injury on the opening day of workouts ended his camp shortly after it started.

Bell is expected to be a full participant in the offseason program after undergoing minor knee surgery, but there’s no question he would have benefited from the live reps he missed during March and April. After spending so much of his first year of the program in a reserve role, Bell would have had no shortage of snaps to work on his technique, absorb the system and make sure that co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash headed into the summer as sold on Bell’s ability as the rest of the staff was during a heated recruiting battle for his services.

Ash, of course, has seen the film from the Orange Bowl and is obviously aware of the physical tools Bell can bring to the lineup alongside Tyvis Powell in the reworked secondary. And while Ash didn’t express any concerns about the absence during practice, with fellow rising sophomore Cam Burrows helping fill the void during spring, it seems safe to assume that everybody would have benefited from having Bell healthy during the spring and pointing toward the fall.

“From a physical standpoint, yeah, it’s too bad that he’s not out there,” Ash said. “But does it hurt us? No, it’s next man in. Cam Burrows has stepped in, taking advantage of the opportunity, and done a great job. Vonn will be healthy soon and we’re going to have a great competition for those safety positions.

“Would Vonn benefit from the opportunities? Absolutely…

Continue reading this article at ESPN: OSU offseason questions: Safeties