At a time when “green living” is pushing Americans to be more aware of their cars’ fuel efficiency and the size of their carbon footprints, it’s easy to appreciate Jim Tressel’s knack for recycling talent.

Tressel, now in his ninth year as head coach at Ohio State, has a reputation for replacing key players that either graduate or jet early for the NFL. More often than not, he finds a way to improve at the vacated positions, and 2009 is no exception.

The conference media have chosen the Buckeyes as the favorites to win the conference for an almost unprecedented fifth year in a row; the Buckeyes tied with Penn State last season. The last team to win the Big Ten crown for five years straight was Michigan from 1988-1992. Ohio State also won six in a row in the mid-1970s.

“It’s very humbling,” senior tight end Jake Ballard said at the Big Ten media days in early August. “But it’s something we don’t really look much into because it’s preseason rankings, and we haven’t done anything yet … If anything, it puts more pressure on us and puts even bigger bull’s-eyes on our backs.”

The Buckeyes are accustomed to the bull’s-eyes by now, though, as is their superstar-in-waiting, sophomore quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

Pryor was named the Big Ten preseason Offensive Player of the Year in August after starting 10 games last season as a freshman. He is expected to develop into an elite dual-threat quarterback before he leaves Columbus.

He showed plenty of dual-threat ability in 2008, throwing for 1,311 yards and 12 touchdowns with a 60.6 percent completion rate. He also rushed for 631 yards and six scores, including an 11-yard game-winning scamper against Wisconsin.

“I thought for a freshman he was pretty careful with the football and grew to learn from every experience,” Tressel said. “He’s a guy who’s passionate about being good. He’s very serious about the game [and] studies the game extremely hard.”

Tressel will have the luxury of placing a slew of competent running backs behind Pryor to handle the workload left behind by Chris “Beanie” Wells, who bolted for the NFL.

Sophomore Dan Herron played a significant role last season when Wells went down with a foot injury, and he will likely shoulder a substantial load for the Buckeyes. Junior Brandon Saine leads a talented group of backup running backs.

One area of interest on Ohio State’s initial two-deep is the presence of three true freshmen on the offensive line. In total, 20 sophomores and freshmen are listed on the depth chart, although, that is likely due more to Tressel’s recruiting prowess than a lack of talented upperclassmen.

However, several key losses on defense might be hard to replace, even for Tressel.

All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis graduated after leading the team in tackles for the last three seasons. Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins is also gone after earning the 2008 Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back.

Despite losing Jenkins, the secondary will be counted on to cover for the revamped linebacking corps. All-Big Ten safety Kurt Coleman is the team’s leading returning tackler and is primed for a breakout senior campaign.

Ohio State will host Southern California on Sept. 12 in one of the first marquee games of the college season. If the Buckeyes survive the Trojans and can withstand back-to-back games with Iowa and Penn State, they should have a shot at a national championship birth.

“We’re going to need to have a heck of a preseason,” Tressel said. “We’re going to need to grow very, very quickly.”