ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio football team went to its second bowl game in a row last season, but it is not enough. This year’s Bobcats are hoping for more.

“I like what our football team is all about,” Ohio coach Frank Solich said. “They want to be good and they want to have a great season. They want to take the program to the next step. The next step is to win the conference championship and to win a bowl game, and then for those younger players, the next step is to do that with regularity.”

Ohio has appeared in two Mid-American Conference Championship Games and three bowl games during Solich’s six-year tenure, but has gone winless in those postseason games. The Bobcats never have won a bowl game and have not claimed the MAC championship since 1968.

Last season, Ohio started 1-3, but rebounded with seven straight wins, including key victories at Miami and at Temple, putting it in the drivers’ seat to return to the MAC Championship Game. But that opportunity slipped away in a regular season finale loss to Kent State. The season concluded with a blowout New Orleans Bowl loss to Troy.

“Two years ago, we were there and didn’t get it done against Central (Michigan),” Ohio tight end Jordan Thompson said. “Last year, it slipped out of our hands the last game against Kent State. It’s definitely left a bad taste in our mouths just because we controlled our own destiny last year and came up short. The hardest thing probably was we went to Miami and stuck it to them and then to see them get to the MAC Championship Game and win it, it was hard to know we handled Miami and put it to them. To see them win that game, it was like, ‘Wow.’ But things happen and we’re ready to go this year.”

Offense

After Troy’s no-huddle offense caused Ohio’s defense all kinds of trouble – to the tune of 600-plus yards – in the New Orleans Bowl, the Bobcats opted to borrow from what they saw form the Trojans, instituting a quick-paced offense beginning in the spring.

With seven starters returning on offense and with many other players with a lot of playing experience, the expectations for the Bobcats’ offense are high.

Quarterback

But the Bobcats are not experienced behind center, where redshirt sophomore Tyler Tettleton takes over at quarterback for Boo Jackson.

Jackson threw for 1,897 yards with 18 touchdowns last year and added 345 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, but he also was guilty of 17 interceptions.

Tettleton beat out redshirt freshman Kyle Snyder and senior Phil Bates and was named the starter in the first week of fall camp, the earliest a starting quarterback has been established at Ohio in several years.

“Tyler does everything well,” Solich said. “He’s a bright quarterback. He’s got some experience. … He knows our offense. … He will go through his reads. He will find the right receiver. He can throw the ball really, really well at the point in time. He’s going to be able to give you big play potential as a deep thrower and … he has running ability. He can run our offense. … We like what we’re seeing.”

Tettleton, who stands only 5-foot-11, gained playing experience as a true freshman, appearing in 10 games. He completed just 9 of 23 passes for 128 yards with two interceptions and one rushing touchdown. Most of that experience came in a loss to Kent State.

He redshirted last year, and said he is much more ready almost two years later.

“I feel like I’ve progressed a lot, just being able to be more mature and be more of a leader,” Tettleton said. “Being around the guys has helped me a lot. I am able to be more comfortable back there and go through my reads and know where to throw the ball.”

Bates has moved to wide receiver, but still will be used at times as a wildcat quarterback. Snyder, though he has struggled some in fall camp, is listed as the Bobcats’ backup. True freshman Derrius Vick is on Ohio’s travel roster to New Mexico State, and Ohio also has another scholarship quarterback in true freshman Ronnie Bell.

Running back

Since the graduation of Kalvin McRae following the 2007 season, the Ohio football team has used some form a running back-by-committee approach to the ground game. This year, the Bobcats are hoping that changes and they are putting it on senior Dante Harden to take control of the position.

A senior last year, Vince Davidson led Ohio’s ground game with 549 yards rushing. But he shared carries with Harden, who missed the first six games due to a suspension, Ryan Boykin and Dallas Brown.

Harden, a 5-11, 182-pound back who rushed for only 244 yards in seven games a year ago, is set to carry the load this season. He has nearly 1,000 yards in his career, and he has said he would like to add, 1,200 or as many as 1,600 this season.

“Dante is our most experienced running back and is a very explosive back,” Solich said. “He can go the distance for you. He can be a physical runner. He needs to become consistent. He understands that. He’s got to be lined up right, he’s got be in tune to what play is called, he’s got to take the right steps, he’s got to do all the right things. Once he has the ball in his hands, he is capable of being your No. 1 guy. We expect that that will happen and that he’ll be focused and have a great senior year.”

If Harden is not ready for the responsibility, the Bobcats have behind him Boykin, a 6-1, 218-pound sophomore who bruised his way to 213 yards with an average of 5.2 yards per carry last season.

Also in the mix is the speedy Beau Blankenship, a 5-9, 184-pound transfer from Iowa State, as well as Brown, a senior. The Bobcats also have a pair of freshmen expected to redshirt this year, Kyle Hammonds and David Fulcher.

Wide receiver

Tettleton will have talented targets at wide receiver, led by LaVon Brazill, who earned a medical redshirt after missing most of his true senior season because of injuries.

Brazill, at 5-11, 191 pounds, was a second-team All-MAC pick two years ago after making 53 catches for 702 yards and two touchdowns. In parts of three games last year, he had 12 catches for 78 yards.

Minor injuries caused him to miss time early and his season ended with a broken hand against Eastern Michigan.

Also returning as a starter is Riley Dunlop, a 6-2, 191-pound wideout who caught 27 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns.

Bates (6-2, 226) being added to the wide receiver mix should help make up for the graduation of two wide receivers who signed free agent NFL contracts, Terrence McCrae (35 catches, 505 yards, 9 TDs) and Stephen Goulet (25 catches, 388 yards, 1 TD). But Bates’ development as a receiver likely has been slowed by an injury that has caused him to miss two weeks of fall camp.

“When Phil comes into the game, you’re not going to be able to tell for sure if he’s going to line up at quarterback or whether he’s going to line up at wide receiver,” Solich said. “We have the potential with LaVon, Riley and a number of other people down the field to get you plays in the receiving corps.”

Ready to step into a starting role is sophomore Donte Foster, a 6-1, 186-pound athlete who also had college basketball scholarship offers. He caught nine passes for 151 yards and one touchdown as a freshman.

Listed as backups on the depth chart are junior Bakari Bussey (6-2, 206, 6 catches for 107 yards), sophomore Mario Dovell (6-0, 203, 4 catches for 32 yards) and senior Jerry Gross (6-1, 183, 1 catch for 9 yards).

Also in the mix at wide receiver are junior Tyler Futrell (6-0, 179), redshirt freshmen Stephane N’goumou (6-3, 205) and Chase Cochran (6-2, 201) and true freshman Landon Smith (6-2, 181), who arrived on campus in time to participate in spring ball.

“This is the most talent collectively we’ve had in the wide receiver spot, in terms of being able to make people work, in terms of the deep ball, as well as the shallow ball,” Solich said. “I’m going a little wild here. Usually I try to be a little more reserved, but I’m not sure what that all means, other than I think there’s potential, but it’s got to be more than potential. We’ve got make that work.”

Tight end

Junior All-MAC second-team pick Jordan Thompson returns to fortify the tight end position for the Bobcats.

At 6-4, 247 pounds, Thompson caught 21 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns in 2010.

He is backed up by senior Zac Clark (6-3, 262), who had just two catches for 30 yards last season.

“We have tight ends that certainly with experience coming back, and that should be a very strong point for us,” Solich said.

Injuries have hurt what was a very deep position for the Bobcats. Sophomore Troy Hill (6-5, 210) will miss the season with an injury that required surgery, and Notre Dame transfer Derek Roback (6-3, 233) will miss at least a few weeks with an injury.

Junior college transfer Tyler Knight (6-5, 250) provides some depth, and walk-on Joey Inks (6-0, 214) has been moved from running back to serve as a backup.

Offensive line

It is not often a team returns all five starters on its offensive line, but Ohio does, and that is part of the reason for high offensive expectations this year.

Leading the way is Ohio’s only first-team All-MAC pick from a year ago, senior right tackle Joe Flading. At 6-4, 290, Flading graded at a team-best 1.89 last year with 63 pancakes and a team-best 16 decleaters.

At the other tackle position, the Bobcats return 6-5, 293-pound senior A.J. Strum. A second-team All-MAC selection, he graded out at 1.80 with 30.5 pancakes in 452 plays.

Junior Eric Herman, at 6-4, 317 pounds, returns at right guard, after accumulating a 1.80 grade with a team-best 65 pancakes in 697 plays. Sophomore John Lechner, 6-5, 339 pounds, is slated at left guard. He stepped into a starting role because of injuries to Vince Carlotta last season and graded at 1.80 with 49 pancakes in 555 plays.

Junior Skyler Allen (6-5, 290) returns at center, where he graded out at 1.83 with 42 pancakes in 580 plays.

“I think we are a very talented offensive line and we do have a lot of experience,” Flading said. “I think all of our starters are coming back from last year, and we also have backups who are going to be fighting for starting jobs who have game experience, too. I’m looking forward to taking good steps in the preseason and continuing our progress. I think we have a very talented offensive line.”

Sophomore Ryan McGrath (6-6, 298) is the Bobcats’ key returnee as a backup at tackle. Sophomores Mark Smith (6-3, 270) and Sam Johnson (6-3, 304) provide experienced depth at guard.

Florida State transfer John Prior (6-6, 289) gives the Bobcats another big body at tackle, and junior J.D. Bales (6-5, 296) is listed as Allen’s backup at center. Carlotta, a 6-4, 302-pound junior, also will be among the contributors on the line if healthy, along with redshirt freshman Bryce Dietz (6-5, 290).

“We’ve got an experienced line, so that should be a very strong point for us,” Solich said.

True freshmen on the roster include center Lucas Powell (6-4, 294), guards Jacob Welter (6-4, 292) and Mike Lucas (6-4, 340) and tackles Mike McQueen (6-7, 278) and Michael Curtis (6-5, 315).

Defense

Ohio’s defense is far less experienced and returns just three starters from last year, but also linebacker Noah Keller, who missed most of last season.

“We’re going to have a young defensive football team in some spots, but I think we have enough talent to make things work,” Solich said. “We’ve got to develop some of the younger players, however, in our system, and get quality backup depth, but we could have possibly the fastest football team on both sides of the ball that we’ve had since we’ve been here.”

The Bobcats have the most experience defensively at linebacker, while no starters return to the defensive line.

Defensive line

Ohio graduated its entire starting offensive line – defensive ends Stafford Gatling and Dak Notestine and defensive tackles Marcellis Williamson and Ernie Hodge.

Still, the players expected to play starting roles are not completely inexperienced; all of them received substantial playing time last year, led by junior tackle Carl Jones, who started once when Hodge was ineligible for the New Orleans Bowl.

Jones (6-0, 265) had 3.5 sacks, 40 tackles, including 5 for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

“The guys we have right now are good enough to make good decisions on the D-line, and definitely we’ve looked forward to our opportunity on the D-line,” Jones said. “As long as we step up and make the most of opportunity, we should be fine.”

Joining Jones in the middle is junior Neal Huynh (6-3, 303), who had 17 tackles, including one for loss, last season.

On the outside are senior Curtis Meyers (6-2, 262) and junior Tremayne Scott (6-3, 247).

Meyers has suffered a number of injuries throughout his career, and put up his best numbers as a sophomore. He had 29 tackles, including four for loss, with two sacks, in 11 games that year. Scott had 14 tackles, including two for loss, with two quarterback hurries in 2010.

“We have to replace our starters up front on the defensive unit,” Solich said. “The good thing about that is the guys that were behind the starters last year are all quality football players and they all played significantly for us. Our starting group on our defensive line should be very good. We’re going to have to develop backup players”

Senior Jeff King (6-1, 275) was supposed to be one of those backups at defensive tackle, but a knee injury will have him missing at least the first few weeks. He missed all but three games last year and has managed only 17 games in his career.

Junior Corey Hasting (6-1, 259) is a backup at defensive tackle who saw minimal action last year. Sophomore John Taylor (6-4, 281) has no playing experience.

At the ends, sophomore Nic Barber (6-3, 233) and a convert to defense Brian Albrecht (6-3, 245) will look to provide depth.

The Bobcats were hurt with the losses of two defensive ends, Indiana transfer Kyle Kozak, who was dismissed from the team this summer, and Brad Spivey, a junior college transfer who did not qualify. Redshirt freshman defensive tackle Jamaal Tarrent also is no longer with the team.

Fortunately for the Bobcats, they do have a huge class of true freshmen on the defensive line, and a few of them may be forced into action this year.

Among the defensive tackles they have are Antwan Crutcher (6-1, 278) and Brandon Purdum (6-4, 250). Freshmen defensive ends are Tony Davis (6-4, 255), Eric Price (6-5, 225), Andrew Bennett (6-6, 245) and Justin Haser (6-5, 260).

Linebackers

The only linebacking losses are last year’s starter in the middle Jay Edwards, who also was a summer casualty, and graduated backup Chad Clemens. Edwards filled in last year for the injured Noah Keller, starting nine games and making 48 tackles with one interception. Clemens, though he made only two starts, led the team with 75 tackles.

Keller (6-1, 246) is over last year’s toe injury, but has dealt with a hamstring problem this summer. He was an All-MAC second-team selection two years ago, making 155 tackles, including 9 for loss. He has 322 tackles in 41 career games.

He said he expects to be his dominating self this season.

“It’s usually one of those surgeries you come back from and it’s like it never happened,” he said.

Senior Eric Benjamin (5-11, 216) is slated to start on the outside for the second straight year, but he is questionable for the opener. Last season, Benjamin totaled 56 tackles.

At the other outside spot, junior Alphonso Lewis (6-1, 208) is set to start after getting the nod at the beginning of six games last year. He had 38 tackles with one sack and one interception.

Jelani Woseley (6-1, 209) made one start last year and will back up on the outside. In an injury-riddled sophomore season, he made 11 tackles in nine games. Redshirt freshman A.J. Grady (6-1, 204) is listed as the team’s other backup outside linebacker.

Junior Brandon Weaver (6-2, 219) and redshirt freshman Joe Stefanski (6-2, 224) are set to back up in the middle. On the outside, the Bobcats have junior Joe Morales (6-0, 233) and redshirt freshman Blake Jones (5-11, 227).

The roster also includes true freshmen Ben Russell (6-1, 230) and Jovon Johnson (6-0, 215).

“We’re going to have to hold up in the early part of our season with our starters so some of those guys can develop and be the kind of player you want to step in and do well for you as a backup,” Solich said.

Defensive back

Only junior cornerback Travis Carrie returns to the Bobcats’ secondary as a starter, but Solich said he likes the athletes that will make up his secondary this year.

“I like the athletes we have at corner,” he said. “I like the athletes we have at safety. I think we’ve got more potential football players at both those spots than we’ve ever had before.”

Carrie (5-11, 203) had 39 tackles, two sacks and five pass breakups, while starting 12 games last season. He is joined at the other starting corner spot by senior Omar Leftwich (6-1, 188). Leftwich had 31 tackles and seven pass breakups, and takes over for Julian Posey, who had 46 tackles and a team-high 12 breakups.

A key returnee to the secondary is junior free safety Gerald Moore (6-1, 201), who was a Freshman All-American and a third-team All-MAC selection with six interceptions in 2009. An injury in the season-opener caused him to miss the rest of the season.

A senior last year, Donovan Fletcher was outstanding filling in for Moore , leading the Bobcats with five interceptions and finishing second on the team with 73 tackles from his strong safety position.

Sophomore Xavier Hughes (6-1, 160) takes over at strong safety, replacing free safety Steven Jackson, who had 71 tackles and three interceptions. Hughes had just three tackles last season.

Junior college transfer Mose Denton (6-1, 195) is slated to be the nickel back, and sophomore Jamil Shaw (6-0, 208), senior Octavius Leftwich (6-1, 190), junior Ryan Clark (5-9, 167) and senior Billy Gonzalez-Santos are the backup corners.

Backing up at safety are redshirt freshmen Nathan Carpenter (5-9, 152) and Josh Kristoff (6-0, 192).

“The young guys are really hungry,” Moore said. “They’re soaking up the defense, listening to the older guys. I think we have a lot of guys that are competing right now, especially at corner and safety.”

Three freshman cornerbacks, Larenzo Fisher, Ian Wells and Devin Bass, are waiting for playing time, as are redshirt freshman safety Thad Ingol and freshman safety Aaron Macer.

Special teams

Solich has put a great emphasis on special teams, and it is there the Bobcats might have the most talent, with virtually everyone returning.

“Special teams, we’re not only shooting to be one of the better team in the MAC, we’re shooting to be one of the better teams in the country,” Solich said.

Senior Paul Hershey (6-3, 198) returns as the Bobcats’ punter after averaging 41.0 yards per attempt last season with a long punt of 72 yards. The former wide receiver added four rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown.

At kicker, junior Matt Weller (6-0, 205) returns. He made 11 of 14 field goal attempts with a long of 51 yards in 2010 despite a nagging injury that prevented him from partaking in kickoff duties. Now healthy, he will return to that responsibility and has showed range of nearly 60 yards on field goals in practice.

Junior long snapper Jeremy LaVoie (6-1, 218) is back, and Hershey also returns to his place as the team’s holder.

Carrie averaged 10.4 yards per punt return last year, and Brazill is ready to try to make a difference in the position as well, after being named an All-American punt returner with three touchdowns in 2009.

“I missed playing punt return,” Brazill said. “I can’t wait for someone to kick it to me. I’m waiting on that. I’m excited.”

Harden (20.6 yards per return) shared kickoff return duties last year with Posey (22.2).

Freshman Josiah Yazdani (5-10, 198) and senior Danny Miller (5-11, 180) serve as backup kickers.

Summary

Solich said he sees all the pieces necessary to have a great season, as long as all of those pieces fit together.

Leadership is another positive he said he sees in his team, especially from Ohio’s seven captains, led by Keller, the first three-time captain in school history. Other captains are Dunlop, Thompson, Flading, Brazill, Benjamin and King.

“They are guys that are not only excellent players, but they are really quality guys and quality leaders. I think we’ll get strong leadership from our captains. … Good leadership needs to be a part of what you’re all about. You can have all the athletes in the world running around, but if the leadership is not there and your football team is not a disciplined football team, then you’re going to have trouble. I think these guys are intent on doing the right things off the football field, as well as on the field.”

Admittedly, the offense might have to carry the defense at times this year, especially early in the season, Solich said. But the Bobcats are eager to try to reach their goals of the MAC championship and a bowl victory.

“Our staff and I are excited about this season,” Solich said. “I think we have the potential to be a very, very good football team. Obviously, a lot of things have to fall into place for that to happen, but I do know I like what our football team is all about.”