Braxton Miller may be Ohio State’s most indispensable player, but coach Urban Meyer wouldn’t want to have to go one snap without his starting five offensive linemen, either.

He called center Corey Linsley, guards Marcus Hall and Andrew Norwell and tackles Reid Fragel and Jack Mewhort a “dynamic” unit — a big change from spring practice when they may have been the most criticized position group.

But the Buckeyes’ depth beyond those five is non-existent, according to Meyer.

“Our backups are non-functional,” he said. “God bless us, if a shoestring breaks or something, we’re going to call timeout and get a new shoestring because we just don’t have the depth there right now.”

Taylor Decker, a freshman from Vandalia, was battling Fragel for a starting spot all through preseason camp. But the gap has widened since the season began.

“I went after some backups (in practice),” Meyer said. “Taylor Decker has all the talent in the world. He should be rotating in there, and he and Chase Farris and (Antonio) Underwood are the next three that have to be ready to go, and they’re not.”

The Buckeyes are so dependent on the first unit that Meyer doesn’t even trust second-stringers enough to send them out for a mop-up PAT. Mewhort and Norwell joined the kicking unit on the field after the Buckeyes’ ninth TD in a 63-38 win over Nebraska on Saturday.

“That shouldn’t happen. That’s wrong, and that’s where the young linemen have to step up and go play,” Meyer said.

The offensive line isn’t the only trouble spot. The linebacker position is notably thin, too.

“We’ve got a couple of older linebackers and everyone else are freshmen,” Meyer said.

Because of the Buckeyes’ rich tradition there — some would say they’re the real Linebacker U., not Penn State — Meyer checked into the team’s recent recruiting to find out what happened to the current corps.

“Of the last 10 (signees), only two are really playing,” he said. “Either we’ve got to get guys going, or we’ve got to get some guys in here. That position, it’s just not up to Ohio State standards right now.”

The Buckeyes are starting to feel the pinch of the first year of scholarship losses from NCAA sanctions. They were limited to 82 instead of 85, and player defections since last season have dropped the number to 76.

“We are definitely feeling the issues of a scholarship reduction — absolutely we are,” Meyer said. “Any time there is transition of a coaching staff, there is transition of players, and we’re feeling that in a big way.

“When we lost a couple of D-linemen, that hurt us bad. It doesn’t show up until someone gets a turf toe or someone has an issue, then it really starts to surface, and we’re at that point right now.”