COLUMBUS — Ohio State will have its Beanie back for Southern California.
Buckeyes tailback Chris “Beanie” Wells has been given the OK to play in the showdown at No. 1 USC on Saturday night.
Wells, who rushed for 1,609 yards and 15 touchdowns a year ago, went down with a foot injury in the second half of the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ opener against Youngstown State and did not suit up when Ohio State struggled to beat Ohio University 26-14 last week.
But coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday that Wells would definitely play against USC.
“You know, Beanie ran well yesterday,” Tressel said. “In fact, he ran better than I thought he might.”
The next test for the 6-foot-1, 237-pound Wells is how he feels after going through his first workouts in 10 days.
“The big thing is Tuesday and Wednesday work and will that create soreness,” Tressel said. “Not only was he running well, then they (trainers) put him on the bike and wore him out, so they’re trying to do all the things. He’s been in the underwater treadmill and anything we can do, we’re doing (with rehab). I feel good about him.”
Wells would seem to be a weapon the Buckeyes (2-0) cannot do without against the fearsome Trojans (1-0) in the first meeting between the two old rivals in 18 years.
Defensive lineman Lawrence Wilson, one of Wells’ best friends, said he believes Wells will give the Buckeyes a big lift.
“Beanie told me he was going to play and when Beanie says he’s going to do something, he does it,” Wilson said. “He’s a tremendous competitor. I know when he says he’s going to play, to play.”
The only catch in Wells’ rapid return to action is that he won’t really be participating in full-contract workouts until at least Wednesday. Ohio State’s trainers will work with him away from the team on Tuesday and then will watch closely when he practices with his teammates a day later.
“If he steps on the field, he’s going to give it his best. And his best is pretty good, you know,” offensive tackle Bryant Browning said. “Yesterday I saw him running and he said he felt pretty good. He said he wasn’t in much pain at all. He said he would be ready.”
Tressel said Wells told him, “I’m ready to carry 45 times on Saturday.”
That doesn’t mean he’ll get the chance, however.
“He’s not going to carry 45 if he’s not effective,” Tressel said. “He’s like every other kid, he wants to play and he’s going to do all he can do and his effectiveness will be, in large part, based upon what the other guys do. If they block people, he can be effective. If they don’t, it will be harder.”
Last year Wells averaged 124 rushing yards on 21 carries per game. Dan Herron (12 carries, 50 yards), Maurice Wells (9 for 48) and Brandon Saine (5 for 15) combined for 113 yards on 26 carries against Ohio, which led 14-6 midway through the third quarter and 14-12 heading into the fourth.
“They ran hard. They combined for a pretty decent total,” wide receiver Brian Hartline said. Hartline said their numbers might have been even more impressive except for some listless and out-of-sync play by the rest of the offense.
Wells isn’t the only addition to the lineup, either. Starting cornerback Donald Washington and backup Jamario O’Neal both return as well after serving two-game suspensions for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
They figure to give the Buckeyes a shot of depth and talent in a secondary that has been stretched thin during their absence.
Asked if Washington would take his accustomed place at field corner, making Chimdi Chekwa, who started the past two games, a backup and nickel back, Tressel grinned.
“Tune in,” he said.

Buckeye periscope

BUCKEYES BUZZ: Let the hype begin!
No. 5 Ohio State will practice Thursday morning at the Woody Hayes facility, then will fly out to play top-ranked USC on Saturday.
After weeks of avoiding all questions about the Trojans, the Buckeyes seemed happy to offer their comments.
“We play in a lot of big games, but this is a REAL big game: playing in L.A., 1 vs. 5,” DE Lawrence Wilson said. “It’s a tremendous challenge for our team. It’s a big game. We’re excited for it.”
NOT A FAN: Remember last month when Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer, a USC grad, said he was sick of hearing Ohio State fans talk about how great the Buckeyes are and hoped his Trojans won big?
DT Lawrence Wilson, asked if he was a Palmer fan: “No. Not at all.”
STAT PACK: USC is riding a string of six straight top-4 finishes in The Associated Press Top 25, six straight Bowl Championship Series bowls, six straight Pac-10 championships and six straight 11-win seasons. Oh, and the Trojans are 66-5-2 in games when ranked No. 1.
BUTTER FINGERS: OSU WRs had several dropped passes on Saturday in an uncomfortably close 26-14 victory over Ohio.
QB Todd Boeckman and WRs Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie watched the painful replay of that game and reached some conclusions.
“There were some minor things that we noticed,” Hartline said. “I felt myself thinking about what I was going to do after the catch before I even caught the ball. My head was already turning kind of away from the catch. Things like that, small things. It’s sort of that rushing thing — wanting to make a big play and get things done instead of just being patient, catching the ball then reacting. Very easy, simple things to fix, concentration issues.”
— The Associated Press  

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