The turbulent, disappointing offseason for The Ohio State University football team is not over just yet. In another blow to the Buckeyes, linebacker Dorian Bell has been suspended for the entirety of the 2011 season.
Bell’s suspension is not linked with the suspensions of five premiere players, including Terrelle Pryor, Devier Posey, and Dan Herron. Bell’s infraction is not connected to the lies of Coach Jim Tressel. Bell, who missed the 2011 Sugar Bowl as part of a 2-game suspension, will sit out all of 2011 for violating a team rule multiple times.
Bell’s suspension will continue to provide trouble to the OSU depth chart.
A five-star recruit coming out of high school, Scout.com listed Bell as the second best weak side outside linebacker in his recruiting class. Bell is listed at 6’1”, 225 pounds.
A redshirt-sophomore, Bell competed mostly on special teams last season. This year, with the departure of Ross Homan and Brian Rolle at linebacker, Bell was expected to be much more of a contributor. The linebacker recorded six tackles and a sack in an OSU scrimmage, and added a sack in the spring game.
With the holes open in Ohio State’s defense, Bell was expected to be a backup to Andrew Sweat, and perhaps compete for the starting job opposite him. This thins out the competition for the remaining linebacker spot, which will likely go to junior Storm Klein or sophomore Jordan Whiting.
Ohio State always boasts strong defenses, and seems to be able to shuffle players in and out without much change. Bell’s departure hurts the depth of the team, but the Bucks have strong enough recruits year in and year out that it is unlikely to have a large effect on the overall team defense.
Much more of a problem for the Bucks is the negative attention of the suspension. OSU has had its name in the news for all the wrong reasons since December, with almost no positive news for the program to balance it out. If OSU is going to overcome these issues and push for its 7th straight Big Ten championship, the program needs to stay out of the spotlight from this point forward. Every new piece of negativity hurts the team’s outside appearance to the rest of college football. For Buckeye fans, the only remaining hope is that these struggles have strengthened the resolve and determination of the players.
–Jamie Arkin