With all the "defections," where is the biggest area of concern now with depth?
Offensive and defensive lines have been hit the hardest, obviously. Bowie is the biggest loss so far, by far, whether it be from players leaving or getting hurt. You kind of expect a freshman or two to not make it (Brantley). Mustafa provided some depth but was more of a practice player than a guy that was going to see a lot of playing time. Losing your left tackle certainly isn't good, but Parker Graham has starting experience there, so it's not an emergency situation. Jimmy Bean's injury is not as serious as it may have appeared initially, so he should be back to provide some depth at DE, as well.
Are you worried about all of these injuries that are suddenly popping up?
Nothing "worries" me, technically, because I'm just a sportswriter. Honestly, though, I don't feel like OSU fans should be too concerned. As mentioned above, Bean's knee injury is NOT an ACL. He just got it scoped and will be out 2-3 weeks. But based on what I'm hearing about some of the true freshmen, Irokansi specifically, Bean might get passed on the depth chart. Tshimanga's knee injury appears to be serious, but he had not cracked the depth chart and was likely going to redshirt (or just play on ST) this season. Carr is going to be a factor this season, but he's only going to be out 2-3 weeks, so nothing serious. This stuff happens in camp, and no real impact/experienced players have been affected yet.
Any sense yet of whether or not the offensive brain trust is working on a package for Walsh?
All indications are that they are working on getting him involved in the offense. Mike Gundy and Todd Monken have been asked about it every time they do interviews, and they always say yes. Right now, it sounds like Walsh would come in and run the system, but that there are certain plays that cater more toward his skill set. Again, he's not going to be a Belldozer/Tebow/Collin Klein--he's too small. How many snaps he takes per game remains to be seen, but he's going to play.
When is David Glidden expected back at full speed?
Soon. He had a pin taken out of the ankle he injured at the tail end of spring a few weeks ago. Right now, rosters are set at 105 players, but they expand once school starts, so I'd expect to see him back then.
Anything on who will be back for punts and kickoffs?
Glidden on punts, once he comes back from injury. Gilbert of course will be the main man on kickoffs. Josh Stewart, despite his fumbling troubles in the spring game, Isaiah Anderson and Caleb Muncrief could be in the mix as well.
Team rules, legal wranglings ... is "leadership" among the players struggling a bit?
This team definitely lost some good leaders in Weeden, Richetti Jones, etc. But when you have a team of 100+ players, you're bound to have a few knuckleheads. You'd be hard-pressed to find any team across the country that doesn't deal with these types of issues, especially during the offseason. This IS more than a normal season, but I still think there are some good leaders on this team. Joe Randle, Alex Elkins, Daytawion Lowe, Brod Brown come to mind right away.
How has Seth Jacobs looked so far in fall camp?
I haven't heard much about Jacobs. Linebacker, by far, the toughest position to crack on the depth chart right now with all three starters returning and numerous quality backups. Guys like Ryan Simmons and Lyndell Johnson can play. At best, I would expect Jacobs to play on special teams this year, barring injuries or something like that. It's just too crowded at LB right now. But that's a good problem for the Cowboys to have.
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