Football
Familiar and Not So Familiar Names Appear to be Improved Players Headed into Fall Camp
By John PorentasOSU safety Kurt Coleman has a different look about him this fall. So, for that matter, does running back Beanie Wells.
Coleman and Wells are two Buckeyes that you can just look at while they are sitting in a chair and know they are changed players from the ones that walked into fall camp last season. The changes are both physical and mental and are obvious the minute you talk to them..
For Coleman, the long, tough summer conditioning program this year has helped him get noticeably bigger.
"Last year I was about 185, 186," said Coleman, "Now I'm a solid 196."
"It was just working hard and running and my brother kept forcing me to eat and eat and eat.
"Eric Lichter's workout helped me get a lot stronger and faster in the off season as it has everyone else," Coleman said.
Beyond the physical changes there is a change in his demeanor as well. Last year he was polite, but not quite sure of himself in the interview room. This year he is still polite, but has an air of confidence that was not exactly there a year ago. According to Coleman, that air is really just a manifestation of a growth of his overall confidence as a person and as a football player that is a result of having been out there on the field for a season.
"You can feel yourself grow as an athlete and as a player," said Coleman.
"Last year I was just a fundamental player. This year I want to be a fundamental player but I want to make plays," Coleman said.
To that end Coleman spent time this summer with two of the best playmakers in the OSU defensive backfield in recent years, Mike Doss and Will Allen.
"When I worked out with Doss and Will Allen we worked on the basic things of getting out of my breaks and just making the play. That's what it comes down to. I didn't make the play last year and now I'm ready to step up," Coleman said.
Wells has taken almost a parallel course. Despite his gaudy numbers last season, he started relatively slowly, and now admits that his slow start was due to a lack of confidence.
"It's great to have that year under my belt because last year at the beginning of the season I wasn't confident at all. It was a big difference from being on the field periodically to being on the field all the time," said Wells.
"Throughout the season the more games we played, the more I was out there on the field the more confident I became. That's something that's going to happen with anybody. The more you do something the more you become comfortable doing it," Wells said.
As his confidence grew last season so did his production. At season's end he carried the OSU offense in the rain against Michigan and made OSU biggest play of the game in the national championship game against LSU. He did all that while nursing ankle and wrist injuries that hobbled him as a runner.
"Last year there were times when it felt like my wrist was going to fall off," Wells said.
Coleman and Wells' stories diverge a bit when it comes to spring ball and summer conditioning. Coleman was able to use them to get bigger and better. Wells was able to better himself physically but taking it easy following his surgery, a process that was not easy for him to endure.
"It was really tough because a guy like me wants to be on the field all the time. When you can't be on the field it's just a down moment," he said.
His off-season surgery has left him 100 percent fit physically headed into fall camp. Mentally, there is just a different aura about him this year when he talks to reporters. Last year he tried to accommodate, but his answers were often short and sometime riddled with cliches, a convenient device for somebody not sure of what to say. This year however he is obviously much more confident in interview situations, a reflection of his growth of overall confidence. And while he may not ever be as quotable a Kirk Barton or Alex Boone, you can just see that Beanie is a different guy this year, far more confident, spontaneous and responsive. He is also a guy who thinks he and the rest of the Buckeye offense have a little bit of proving to do when they take the field this fall.
"Whenever you end on a bad note you always want to go out there and really reprove yourself to the world," he said.
Coleman and Wells will be improved players this year, and according to Coleman, there are a number of other players on the roster who really began to shine this summer.
"Some of the young guys that stepped up were (wide receiver) Grant Schwartz, he looked really good," said Coleman.
"He was with the DBs a year ago and within a year he's come around. I'm telling you, he's going to make an impact on this team. He was a QB in high school and a DB second and he came in as a DB. I feel like his natural side was the offensive side.
"(Freshman wide receiver) Devier Posey looked really good coming in this spring as a freshman," Coleman said.
Wells too has noticed some young players who have begun to shine. One of them is fellow running back Brandon Saine.
"Brandon is the type of guy that can do everything, whether it's blocking or receiving or running the ball, he does all of them very well," said Wells.
"That's something that I try to model my game after because Brandon is a tremendous blocker. That's one thing people don't know about Brandon."
Return to the-OZone Front Page
(c) 2008 The O-Zone, O-Zone
Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.