Spring Football 2008

2008 Spring Football

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Gibson is First Selected for Spring Game Draft

April 16, 2007 6:30 pm EST

Defensive end Thaddeus Gibson was the first overall pick in the Spring Game draft the Ohio State football team conducted today according to the report from the Columbus Dispatch. All seniors are split up among the Scarlet and Gray squads beforehand, so players like James Laurinaitis, Alex Boone, Todd Boeckman and Malcolm Jenkins were not drafted. Also, once a team drafts a player at a position, all other players at the position must be drafted before another position is opened.

Starting tailback Beanie Wells will sit out the game while recovering from wrist surgery, so Brandon Saine was the first tailback drafted (by Gray). Boom Herron will run for Scarlet. At quarterback, Boeckman was assigned to Scarlet, but he will play only the first half. Scarlet drafted Antonio Henton, who will play the first quarter for Gray and the final two quarters for Scarlet. Joe Bauserman then went to Gray, where he will play the final three quarters.

Boone captained the Scarlet draft, and Marcus Freeman was the Gray captain. The draft featured plenty of (mostly) good-natured shouting back and forth, and Boone steadfastly refused to trade any players immediately afterward.

The game is set to begin Saturday at about 1:30 p.m. in Ohio Stadium. Tickets are $5 and available on game day at the north end of the stadium (cash only).

Brent Baver Jersey Scrimmage Review

April 12, 2007 7:15 pm EST

I had the pleasure of observing yesterday's jersey scrimmage in the 'Shoe. Here is a position breakdown and some of my thoughts:

--QB's: Todd Boeckman looked worlds better than both Antonio Henton and Joe Bauserman. I was excited to get a chance to see Bauserman play after hearing many positive things about him this spring. But I must say that I was disappointed. I saw neither the strong arm, nor the accuracy others have talked about. Boeckman looked polished. His TD pass to Brian Hartline in the corner of the end zone was a thing of beauty. Todd did have one ill-advised pass that could have been picked and taken for six the other way, but regardless, there's no debate who the #1 QB this spring. Bauserman was the first QB to take reps with the twos, but I'm not sure who is considered the #2 behind Boeckman right now. Henton showed good mobility, as he usually does, but struggled on his throws.

--RB's: Beanie Wells did not play, but he was running off to the side. I don't think Beanie will get a whole lot of contact before the opener. There is just no reason to take many chances with a talent like Beanie. Mo Wells looked like Mo Wells. Some runs he still seemed to dilly dally too long instead of hitting the hole quickly. But, on other plays, like one of the swing passes they ran, you could see what Mo brings to the table. I believe when the ones took the field for the first time, Mo was on the field as the only RB. Brandon Saine was impressive. His 22 yard TD against the first team defense was one of the nicer runs I've seen in awhile. You saw Saine's power/speed combo at its finest. He also had a nice catch on fourth down just past the first down marker to keep a drive alive. And it was nice to finally see Boom Herron in action. I can now see why some many people have talked highly of him. He was impressive between the tackles. On one serious starting from their own two yard line, Boom ran the ball three straight times giving the offense a first down comfortably out past the danger zone. Curtis Terry repped at fullback and did double duty at times playing the Leo position on the defensive side of the ball.

-WR's: Out with injuries were Brian Robiskie, Taurean Washington, and Jake Stoneburner. Brian Hartline and Dane Sanzenbacher played with the ones. Ray Small was worked in as the scrimmage continued. Small injured his ankle later in the scrimmage. Don't know how bad it is. Hartline looked like he has cranked his game up to a higher level. His touchdown in the corner of the end zone was extremely impressive. I don't believe I saw Sanzenbacher catch a pass, but I did see him drop one he should have had. Grant Schwartz was the other scholarship WR that saw action. There were few passes to the TE's. Go figure. Devon Torrence was dressed and had a black jersey that signified that he could see action on offense or defense. But I did not see Torrence in action.

--OL: Because of injuries and players being held out for precautionary reasons, many walk-ons played extensively. Out were starting guards Steve Rehring and Ben Person and the three true frosh (Mike Adams, Mike Brewster and JB Shugarts were out as well. Two other backups Jon Skinner and Josh Kerr were out nursing injuries as well. That's half of the scholarship O-linemen. The ones were (L to R): Alex Boone, Kyle Mitchum, Jimmy Cordle, Conner Smith, and Bryant Browning. I thought the ones held their own pretty well. Not sure if the glass is half full or half empty, when you look at the matchup between the first team interior O-line against the first team interior D-line. I think Cordle, Mitchum and Smith did an adequate job. Is that because they've made some strides or because our interior D-line continues to be maybe the biggest weak spot on defense? I’m not sure I can answer that question right now. I thought Browning showed some promise and Boone looked good, as expected. Boone looked to be in good shape. I am guessing he is in the 315 lb range, which is probably where the coaches want him to be. Steve Rehring, on the other hand, looked to be in the 340+ range standing on the sidelines. Kerr looked very out of shape as well. I thought all the other scholarship linemen looked to be in pretty good physical condition. The other scholarship O-linemen that played were converted TE Andrew Miller who is now wearing number 55 and played LT with the twos, an redshirt freshman Evan Blankenship who played RG with the twos. I’m trying to remember if I saw Rory Nicol at TE. Can’t remember if I did or not. Jake Ballard I believe played with the ones. Brandon Smith saw action with the twos and/or threes.

DL: Robert Rose is out for the spring, but all other scholarship D-linemen played in Saturdays' scrimmage. Cameron Heyward and Lawrence Wilson played with the ones at DE and it looked like Nader Abdallah, Doug Worthington, Todd Denlinger, and Dexter Larrimore may have split time with the ones at DT. Heyward and Wilson both looked good and Heyward appeared to be providing good pressure on the QB consistently. Doug Worthington probably made the most plays of the DT's, but he still looks much too light to be playing DT. Thaddeus Gibson looked as good as advertised, playing with the twos at DE. Gibson sure can run, but probably needs to add another 15+ lbs. My guess is that we'll see some good things out of Gibson this year, but I think he may still be a year away from being a big-time player. Mark Johnson played DE as well and looked better that what I was expecting. Solomon Thomas did not make many plays when he was in there.

LB's: James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman, and Ross Homan were on the field with the ones the first time the ones took the field. I believe it was Freeman at strong side and Homan on the weak side. Curtis Terry was repping mostly on offense and when he was on defense, he was playing the Leo position with a hand on the ground. Laurinaitis made a number of tackles, as he usually does. Homan seemed quiet early on, but seemed to play better as the scrimmage went on. Tyler Moeller played on the strong side with the ones on occasion with Freeman sliding back to his normal weak side position. Moeller looked pretty impressive. Kid has a nose for the ball. Jermale Hines played on the strong side with the threes and the twos. Hines can run and looked like a kid that will press for major playing time after Freeman, Laurinaitis and Terry move on. The linebacker that probably turned the most heads was true freshman Etienne Sabino who repped with the threes at MLB. Sabino made several plays and seemed to be around the ball frequently. True frosh Andrew Sweat also played with the threes and made some plays. Other scholarship LB's that played were Austin Spitler, playing MLB with the twos and Brian Rolle who is getting worked back into action after missing much of the spring after minor knee surgery.

DB's: There was a shakeup with the units, with three players apparently being disciplined for breaking team rules. Two players that were supposedly having big springs, Jamario O'Neal and Eugene Clifford, were in uniform but did not play. These two likely would have played with the twos at safety. The third player, Donald Washington, was moved from first team to third team. So the units looked like this: Ones - Malcolm Jenkins and Chimde Chekwa at the corners with Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell at the safety spots; Twos - Andre Amos and Sean Lane at the corners with Nick Patterson and Aaron Gant at the safety spots; and Threes - Washington and James Scott at the corners with Rocco Pentello and Nate Oliver at safety. Jenkins uncharacteristically got burned on Brian Hartline's first TD, letting Hartline get a good 15 yards behind him. Hartline was so wide open, I could have probably hit him for a TD. But with the amount of WR's that are currently hurt, it's hard to judge how the DB's did overall against the pass. I thought Chekwa looked in peak form and I can see why there are high hopes for Andre Amos. Rocco Pentello appears to have a long way to go. There were a span of back to back plays where he missed tackles, getting run over on the first play and making a feeble attempt at a tackle on the second play. - Brent Baver

Spring Football, Recruiting and Other Miscellaneous Thoughts

April 10, 2007 6:00 pm EST

Brent gives us some updates of the state of Buckeye football this spring:

Ex-Michigan O-lineman and Pickerington, Ohio native Justin Boren took in a Buckeye practice earlier this week. Sounds like he is heading OSU's way with two years of eligibility starting in '09. Ohio State loses five scholarship O-linemen after the 2008 season, so Boren would be a nice addition to the 2009 team. Ohio State has recently extended a 2009 scholarship offer to Justin's younger brother Zach Boren, a fullback. Justin cannot accept a scholarship from Ohio State, being a transfer from another Big Ten school. Some think the offer to Boren may be a type of package deal, to further entice Justin to become a Buckeye. Justin may have been a first team All-Big Ten member on this the 2008 Michigan team, had he stayed. Zach on the other hand is not considered to be a top 40 prospect in Ohio for 2009. I should note, however, that it's pretty hard to question Tressel's recruiting strategy when you see the results over the last five or six years.

We're told that the current DB starters are currently identical to last year, but in the nickel package, Michael Jenkins may not be sliding to safety like he did last year with Chimde Chekwa coming in at his corner spot, and Anderson Russell covering the slot receiver. Sources say Jenkins will remain at corner in the nickel package and Chimde Chekwa and Jamario O'Neal are currently battling for the 5th spot, the one that will cover the slot receiver. With Jamario, supposedly the light bulb has gone on. If you see photos of him, he looks like a physical freak. He looks like he is 220+ pounds, although I'm not certain of his true weight.

Curtis Terry is getting some reps at fullback, but is still the #1 strong side linebacker on the current Buckeye depth chart. Behind Terry, there appears to be a battle between Tyler Moeller and Jermale Hines. Many are raving about both Moeller and Hines, but unfortunately there's nowhere for these two to play right now. Marcus Freeman may also play so SLB to make room for Ross Homan at WLB at times.

Although I don't necessarily think it will happen, Beanie Wells has made recent comments (basically) stating that it is all but certain that he will be back for his senior year. Wells said his goal is to win two National Championships and two Heismans. Still, I would think the odds of Beanie coming back for his senior year are less than 50%. Hope I'm wrong.

One of the most talked about names this spring is Eugene Clifford, who has moved from a crowded cornerback spot to safety. He is currently practicing with the twos and may push the incumbents for PT or maybe for a starting job. Clifford needs to keep his nose clean after a suspension cost him a chance to play in the past BCS title game. If he can do that, the sky is the limit for this extremely gifted kid.

Devon Torrence is getting a few reps at corner, much like the way Chris Gamble got his feet wet at CB in 2002. But look for Devon to remain a WR unless he really turns some heads at corner. As mentioned above, there is some real talent at corner, so it is going to be tough for anyone to upstage the current top four corners (Jenkins, Washington, Chekwa and Amos). Andre Amos, by the way, is supposedly turning heads this spring. He is said to be 100% recovered from a knee injury he suffered last spring.

Grant Schwartz moved from safety to WR in 2007 and now appears to be settling in at his new spot. He could be in line for some PT in the fall, but I think there are too many bodies that will be ahead of him. However, look for Schwartz (who is now wearing #6) to make an impact on special teams.

Word on the street says Mike Adams was making an immediate impact this spring before his untimely shoulder injury. Unfortunately, Adams may not be able to participate in contact drills until September, so a redshirt is not out of the question. Although, immediately after his injury, sources said that Adams would be having surgery the following week. We're told this surgery has yet to happen. If Adams doesn't undergo surgery, then you no longer have a 5 month (or so) recovery time.

Multiple sources have commented that JB Shugarts is impressing everyone this spring. Some, myself included, thought Shugarts would be a likely redshirt this year, as he learned the ropes of pass blocking, something he did little of in high school. But it now appears Shugarts, despite a minor injury, may be in the rotation this fall.

Our sources say Etienne Sabino and Andrew Sweat, the two LB's of the 2008 recruiting coup, have been impressive so far. Sweat is said to be a monster run stuffer and has drawn comparisons to Ross Homan. But, with the abundance of talent at LB, I wouldn't expect much from Sabino and Sweat this year. 2009 will be another story.

Building on the LB talent, the Bucks may lose three starters after 2008, but add Sabino and Sweat this year, and will add, at a minimum, two more top 100 overall prospects in Jordan Whiting and Storm Klein in 2009. And now it appears OSU has a decent shot at landing Dorian Bell, a LB from PA that is considered by some to be the top LB prospect in the nation for '09.

Boom Herron is now wearing #1 and sources say Terrelle Pryor will wear #2 this fall. Herron supposedly looks good so far, but has not drawn as much praise from insiders as Brandon Saine has. Saine is supposedly back to full speed and up from 224 lbs to 230 lbs. He is lining up as a pony back at times with Beanie at tail. The coaches apparently want to play Beanie and Saine in the same backfield at times this fall. Walk-on converted LB Ryan Lukens is currently the #1 FB.

Ray Small's jersey number has apparently been changed, at least temporarily from #4 to #82. It also has been reported that Small has been doing physical workout exercises on the side, as the rest of the team participates in actual football drills. It has not been reported that Small is hurt, so the reports have some of us wondering what is exactly going on.

Aaron Petty is supposedly 100% and may challenge Ryan Pretorius for the FG kicking duties this fall.

Ben Person and Steve Rehring are sitting out spring drills with injuries but should be good to go come August. Person is said to be the vocal leader of this O-line group and played through some real pain in 2007. So, for those who thought he may be pushed this fall, I would not count on anyone unseating Person for the starting RG spot.

Multiple sources have said that speed coach Butch Reynolds' recent departure from the team had much to do with philosophical differences with OSU Director of Football Performance (i.e. Strength and Conditioning coach) Eric Lichter.

Sources say there were several (minor) scraps in the hoot and holler drill. I wouldn't read this as a bad thing, as I think the coaches actually somewhat encourage this kind of thing during that drill.

Many sources are saying that incoming freshman Jake Stoneburner has been extremely impressive this fall. Stoneburner is a WR in tight end's body, but don't look for a move to TE for Stoney. He will likely be in the WR mix this fall and will created some matchup nightmares for average sized DB's.

Our people tell us QB Joe Bauserman has had a great camp so far. Bauserman has a big-time arm and may be more accurate than current second teamer Antonio Henton. He may not have the mobility Henton has, but Bauserman can run. But, the prevailing thought is that both Henton and Bauserman are going to sit back and watch Terrelle Pryor spell Todd Boeckman this fall. That's what I'm putting my money on.

Bryant Browning appears to have seized the starting RT spot, at least for now, and sources say he has looked very good. Look for Browning to start at RT this fall, with JB Shugarts spelling him. A healthy Mike Adams could push for time there as well.

Kyle Mitchum and Conner Smith are playing with the ones at the guard spots with both starting guards out during the spring. Mitchum supposedly looks surprisingly serviceable. Jon Skinner's bad knee has flared up again and he again is not practicing. The hope that Skinner will one day contribute on the O-line is fading fast.

Last and surely not least, Thaddeus Gibson continues to be the name we hear the most this spring. Gibson, now wearing #90, looks like he is going to play a lot at DE, after moving down from LB. His workout habits have apparently made quite an impression on the coaches. Gibson, like Eugene Clifford, has about as much pure talent as anyone on the team. If the light bulb has indeed gone on, this could be bad news for opposing Big Ten offenses.

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