Football
Spring Game Breakdown
By John PorentasThe Scarlet defeated the Gray 20-7 in the annual spring game in rain-soaked Ohio Stadium before an announced crowd of 76,346.
Returning starting quarterback Todd Boeckman played just two quarters and was the leading passer in the game. Boeckman completed 12 of 18 for 145 yards. He was intercepted twice and scored a touchdown on a one yard plunge.
Backup quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Antonio Henton each saw three quarters of action. In his first appearance in front of a crowd in Ohio Stadium Bauserman was seven of 14 for 125 yards and a touchdown while playing for the Gray. Henton played one quarter for the Gray and two for the Scarlet. His combined passing stats were six of 12 for 73 yards.
Bauserman was sacked three times, Boeckman twice and Henton once.
Quarterback Comments: Joe Bauserman impressed everyone who saw him play, but make no mistake about it, the race is for the backup position, not the starting job. The lone knock on Boeckman in the spring game is his two INTs, one by safety Kurt Coleman and one by linebacker Ross Homan. The pick off by Homan was probably on Boeckman, but the one by Coleman was more a great play by a defensive back than a mistake on Boeckman's part.
"I thought that Todd played solid," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
Todd Boeckman "I thought the one interception that Kurt Coleman made a great play. It wasn't that far under thrown and I don't think B-Hart (Brian Hartline) noticed that Kurt was that close and Kurt made a great play.
"On the other interception Todd tried to force it a little bit and Ross made the pick," Tressel said.
What was clear in Boeckman's play was the chemistry that he and Hartline have developed, and there is no way either of the other two quarterbacks are going to develop that over the summer.
"I think we're building on last year," said Hartline.
"The more you play with each other the more chemistry you've got. We see a certain defense and I know right away what he's thinking and he knows what I'm thinking. He knows what I'm supposed to do and I'll be in the right spot. That's just playing with each other," Hartline said.
As for the backup position, we don't think its settled. Both Bauserman and Henton still have a shot, but Bauserman was a pleasant surprise in the spring game.
"Joe's a gamer," said Hartline.
"This guy has not even a full year under his belt yet and he's been out (of football) three years. It's just a matter of time," said Hartline.
"Joe can make all the throws," added Boeckman.
"He showed a little bit of his legs out there too as did Antonio. Antonio got out of some of those plays but I don't know how he did it. He's throwing the ball real well and they're both getting better."
Receiver Comments: The chemistry between Boeckman and Hartline was obvious, and its probably fair to assume that the same kind of thing will be true of Boeckman and Robiske when he comes back next fall as well. Those two are clearly the top-two receivers, but there were a couple of player who stood out in the spring game as well.
Both Taurian Washington and Ray Small were very productive. Washington had four catches for 71 yards and a touchdown. He also had a 63 yard TD reception from Bauserman nullified by a penalty. Small had five catches for 74 yards. Washington was by far the most effective receiver on the Gray squad while Small had to share receptions with Hartline and four other receivers who had catches for the Scarlet team.
Brian Hartline "He (Washington) was out of practice for a couple of days and didn't participate but in the last couple of days he's been really stepping up," said Boeckman.
"He's a smart football player and I think he's learned from both of the Brians. They're really helping him out and he can be a great players here. He can run and he's 6-2 or 6-3, so he's tall and lanky and can do some things out there."
"I think we have a chance to have a good receiver corps. I really do," said Tressel.
"Taurian I thought made some plays which is a good thing. Brian Hartline is as competitive as can be and Robiske will be back and Dane Sanzenbacher is coming along. Ray Small is out there running around and Grant Schwartz is starting to develop an understanding of the receiver game coming over from defense. Jake Stoneburner is getting that experience and we have a couple of other guys coming in," Tressel said.
Offensive Line Comments: The offensive lines were very much a patchwork affair for the game due to a rash of injuries at that position. That slowed both offenses, particularly in the rushing game. The one bright spot was at right tackle where the Buckeyes must replace Kirk Barton from last year's starting unit. It's pretty clear that Bryant Browning has stepped up to win that spot.
Bryant Browning "That's the guy I was going to bring up, Bryant Browning," said Boeckman.
"I think he did some good things out there today. He was going against Cameron (Heyward) for the most part and I don't think Cameron did too much today, so you've got to give a lot of credit to Bryant. He's been doing some really great things this spring."
"He's very dependable, he's got power, he does some things we think are very, very special," said Tressel.
"He works like crazy. We've felt that way every since he's been here, that he's going to be a good player, and he's continued to grow and we think he's going to be a good one."
"I think if we had a game tomorrow it would be Bryant (at right tackle)," Tressel said.
Running Back Comments: The running backs were not very visible in the spring game. Boom Herron led all rushers 30 yards on 10 carries. He also scored a touchdown.
Beanie Wells did not play and Brandon Saine was called upon for just four carries. Between the patchwork offensive line and the play calling the running game was not going to be much of a factor and it wasn't. Herron did show some flashes in the ability to cut and see the field.
"I think Boom Herron is going to be a contributor," said Tressel.
"I think anyone that has watched practice knows that and anyone that has seen him in a scrimmage knows that. He showed that today I thought. He's going to help us."
Herron, Saine and Mo Wells were all also utilized as kick returners as were Ray Small and Devon Torrence.
Overall offensive comments: In scheme the OSU offense looked very familiar, as in almost exactly the same as it did last year.
"I think our offense is a better version of last year's," said Hartline.
"There was definitely a lot of room for improvement because we had a lot of first-year starters growing throughout the season."
The only real difference was in the backfield where the Buckeyes don't yet have an established fullback. The OSU brain trust used this spring to tinker with the idea of lining up two tailbacks in the backfield to get Beanie Wells on the field with Brandon Saine.
"We didn't focus on our everyday stuff, the power game and the lead and all that stuff. We focused on doing some things different, trying some things out, new formations, new personnel groupings, stuff like that because as an older group we're able to do that kind of thing," said Maurice Wells.
The new formation is called the pony formation. Wells likes it very much.
"I think that can be very effective because you can do a number of things from that formation," he explained.
"Brandon Saine comes in and plays fullback and they don't know if we're in pony or regular, if we're going run it or throw it, because we can do a lot of things out of that formation so I think it can be real effective."
Defensive Line Comments: The defensive line was very strong against the run, but the lack of offensive linemen still leave open the question of just how good that unit is. What was encouraging was the play of Lawrence Wilson at defensive end and the amount of pressure the interior defensive line was able to generate in the pass rush. Dexter Larimore had two sacks from his defensive tackle position. Defensive linemen also recording sacks were Nader Abdallah, Todd Denlinger and Wilson.
Todd Denlinger "From the defensive line standpoint we took strides and creating pressure and using our hands and playing more physical," said Doug Worthington.
"I think last year was a building year for us," added Denlinger.
"This year we're really emphasizing our strength and our speed and our technique. We're going to try and build on that to get more pressure, apply pressure as far as the run game, affect the quarterback more and overall have a better scheme of football and get more productive."
Defensive Backfield Comments: Coleman's play on the interception of Boeckman was a thing of beauty, and something that was lacking in last year's secondary. If nothing else, it was a pass not dropped by a DB.
Of some concern is the success that Hartline, Washington and Small had in the passing game. You are not going to shut down everyone, but there were at least three big plays registered in the passing game, one of which was nullified by a penalty. Bauserman completed a 51 yarder to Washington for a touchdown, Boeckman completed a 48 yarder to Hartline that led to a score, and Bauserman his Washington for an apparent 63 yard touchdown pass that was brought back on a holding call.
The defensive backfield seemed to tackle well, but the big plays are a bit worrisome.
Linebacker comments: The linebackers are expected to be a strength in 2008 and did not disappoint in the spring game. They were active and sure tacklers. Of note was the play of freshman Etienne Sabino who had five tackles including one tackle for loss.
"I thought both (freshman) linebackers, Etienne Sabino and Andrew Sweat, showed that they can certainly contribute and are going to be good football players here," said Tressel.
Sabino was extremely quick to the football and was physical once he got to it. Also making some plays that stood out was Tyler Moeller with a sack that resulted in a five yard loss. Austin Spitler had five tackles to be the leading tackler on the Scarlet team. Marcus Freeman collected seven tackles for the Gray team, one less than team leader corner back Andre Amos.
Special Teams Comments: The kicking was good to average. Neither punter had a particularly good game with A. J Trapasso averaging 36.0 yards per kick and Jon Thoma 35.4. Neither Aaron Pettrey nor Ryan Pretorious registered a touchback in the kickoff department. The most impressive kick of the day was a 47 yard field goal by Pettry as the first half ended to give his team a 10-7 halftime lead. The kick on a windy, rainy day was impressive.
"That 47 yard field goal caught my eye in tough conditions, banging that through," said Tressel.
The coverage teams were decent. The punt returners did next to nothing, but the kickoff return game, while it didn't produce any big plays, looked improved.
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