Jim Cordle

Ohio State enters its brutal November stretch with the offensive tackle positions still very much in flux.

The Buckeyes would like nothing more than to have a pair of tackles that have locked down the starting jobs. However, that is not the case. And that’s cause for concern going up against arguably the best defense the Buckeyes have faced this year (with the only possible exception USC) in Penn State.

Fifth-year senior Jim Cordle – who has played every position on the line except right guard during his career – is the starting left tackle. He is being pushed by junior Andy Miller.

At right tackle, sophomore J.B. Shugarts is the starter, and true freshman Marcus Hall continues to receive meaningful playing time as his backup.

At his Tuesday press conference, OSU head coach was asked point-blank if Ohio State can contend for the Big Ten championship with its current situation at the offensive tackle spots.

“I think those are critical positions and I think those will have a significant say in whether we do contend,” he said. “I feel as if we’re contending right now. If we continue to contend, we’re going to need good tackle play.

“At right tackle, I think J.B. Shugarts has shown a lot of improvement. And I think Marcus Hall has shown a lot of improvement. They’ve both been in there, they haven’t missed any practice or any games. You can just see their steadiness.

“At left tackle, Mike Adams was coming along and got banged up and so forth. Jimmy Cordle was out with the foot. Andrew Miller was out for two weeks with the flu. So, have they shown the steady, progressive improvement? I don’t think so. But, the good news is that both of those kids have been back for a couple weeks now. That’s why I think having a game last week (instead of a bye week) was a good thing.

“And if we are going to contend, they are going to have to play well against very good players.”

It sounds like there is a chance that Cordle and Miller could platoon against the Nittany Lions. If one left tackle is playing well, the Buckeyes might stay with them. But as of now, the plan is to rotate Cordle and Miller.

“Right now, we’re working them both, yeah,” Tressel said.

The good news for Ohio State is that Penn State does not have a dynamic pass rusher like it did last year with Aaron Maybin. However, the Nittany Lions will still provide a very tough test for what continues to look like a patchwork OSU offensive front.