Many people were surprised when Pat Elflein opted to come back for one final season with the Buckeyes after so many members of his recruiting class of 2012 are no longer on the team. In fact, Elflein is the only member of the class of 2012 class to remain on the roster.

Elflein also shocked many observers moving from offensive guard to center for the 2016 season. Elflein has been an all-conference level performer over the last two years at guard and is now taking on a new position after the departure of Jacoby Boren.

The Pickerington (Ohio) native is not a stranger to playing center as a backup center at Ohio State but it has not been an everyday position for Elflein during his Ohio State career and will require a lot of work as Elflein is only one of three returning starters for the Buckeyes.

"It is a little different," Elflein said at Big Ten Media Days. "If it was someone who had never played center before and transitioning like I am now, it would probably be a little more difficult than it is."

Elflein has been in the mix at center before but at the time the best opportunity to get the top five players on the field was to slide Pat over to guard. Now the team needs him at center and the consummate team player is ready to take on the challenge.

"I actually played center at spring ball a few times so I think my redshirt freshman spring ball I was competing at center, the following spring ball Jacoby (Boren) was hurt so I was taking snaps at center, so he has seen me play center there and I guess he is just going off the transition of what I have done at guard will go well at center too," Elflein said.

Head coach Urban Meyer has noted that Pat Elflein may be as important player on the team as anyone. With fellow returning starter J.T. Barrett at quarterback, it does give a young offense a pair of starters coming back at key positions.

"Recognizing stuff and making calls, without those initial calls no one is going to know what to do," Elflein said. "We having experience there is pretty nice. Guys can really set the tone for the play and set the blueprint of what is about to happen each play. It is like you have your managers back and you have got all new employees. Being able to do that."

Elflein has been pressed into service at center before with the Buckeyes. He did enter the Sugar Bowl national semifinal against Alabama when Boren went down with an injury briefly in the first half of the game and the Buckeyes did punch a touchdown in on the ground with Elflein at center.

The tandem of Pat and J.T. have worked together during the offseason and even though Elflein missed some time over the summer after having a cyst removed from his shoulder.

"He snapped all spring," Barrett said. "Then recently when he just had surgery on his shoulder, he now started to get back snapping. We are getting some snaps twice a week."