Football
Jersey Scrimmage Breakdown
By Brandon CastelAfter capturing the Scarlet jerseys in the spring for the first time in quite a while, the Ohio State defense looked determined Saturday to defend their big victory in the semi-annual jersey scrimmage.
Despite a late rally from the offense, in which they actually managed to tie the game at 42 points apiece, the defense held on to win the coveted jerseys 52-44 in a game that truly was never as close as the coaching staff made it, as the offense totaled only two touchdowns (one on a 33-yard scramble by Rocco Pentello, who was running the Navy offense).
Terrelle Pryor did connect with Jake Ballard for a touchdown but the offensive line allowed seven (touch) sacks and their Hook-and-Ladder attempt on the final play fell a good 30 yards short of the end zone, preserving the win for the defense.
Observations:
Offensively, the Buckeyes struggled to move the ball consistently – primarily due to the unpredictability of the offensive line – with the exception of Pryor’s 13-play drive on the second possession of the scrimmage. Pryor did hook up with tight end Jake Ballard for the only real offensive touchdown of the day, but overall the passing game lacked the punch it needed to compete with this Ohio State defense. Saddled with a black “no contact” jersey, Pryor unofficially completed 17 of his 28 pass attempts for 131 yards during the scrimmage. He looked good in the short and intermediate passing game with the exception of one bad drive late in the scrimmage where he skipped a ball to DeVier Posey and pulled the string on another pass to Boom Herron over the middle.
They didn’t try much deep, but when they did, things didn’t go too well. Pryor too much air under a long ball to Posey that was broken up by Devon Torrence and Nate Oliver. He threw a good ball to Sanzenbacher in the end zone, but it was broken up by Andre Amos on a potential pass interference no-call. Later in the scrimmage, Duron Carter had a step and a half on Amos down the left sideline on a play that looked like a sure 50-yard touchdown before Joe Bauserman overthrew the ball just out of Carter’s reach.
While they didn’t complete any of those deep balls, they may have helped to loosen up the defense against the run, as Herron, Brandon Saine and Jordan Hall combined for 121 yards rushing on just 21 attempts, an average of nearly 5.8 yards per carry. Herron’s (10 carries, 53 yards) biggest contribution came on his back-to-back 10 yard runs when the offense was backed up to its own five yard line, and Saine (6 carries, 17 yards) had some tough, hard-nosed runs that drew the praise of Tressel after the scrimmage.
The most exciting runner of the day, however, was Hall (5 carries, 46 yards), who appears to be moving ahead of fellow freshman Jaamal Berry (5 carries, 6 yards) in the race for the No. 3 running back spot. A high school teammate of Pryor’s, Hall had the prettiest run of the day when he bounced outside to the left for a 26-yard run that he finished with a stiff arm on Jermale Hines.
How they lined up - Offense
Offensive line: Starting left guard Justin Boren was in shorts and shoulder pads today and was not wearing a brace on his injured right knee. I asked a few of the players about it after practice and they all told me they are hoping to have Boren back sometime next week, but certainly by the season opener.
Without him, the Buckeyes lined up with Andy Miller at left tackle and Andrew Moses at left guard on their first series to go along with the trio of Michael Brewster, Bryant Browning and Jimmy Cordle. Those three played the entire game with the first group, but Miller spent most of the day rotating with J.B. Shugarts at left tackle while Moses split time on the first team with freshmen Corey Linsley and Jack Mewhort.
Expected to compete for the starting left tackle spot, Mike Adams spent the entire day working with the third team offensive line, where he shared reps at left tackle with freshman Sam Longo. After practice, coach Tressel revealed a pecking order of Miller, Shugarts and then Adams at left tackle.
The second group went LT Shugarts, LG Linsley, C Mewhort, RG Connor Smith and RT Josh Kerr across the front, while the third group was LT Adams or Longo, LG Chris Malone, C 72 Scott Sika, RG Evan Blankenship and RT Marcus Hall on their first time out. Hall and Blankenship also saw limited opportunities with the second group late in the scrimmage.
Skill positions: Quarterback Terrelle Pryor took every snap with the first team offense Saturday while backup Joe Bauserman worked exclusively with the second group. Freshman Kenny Guiton split time on the third team offense with Justin Siems and safety Rocco Pentello worked as the Navy quarterback on scout team, scoring a touchdown on a 33-yard run.
Tailback was an interesting position in this scrimmage. Boom Herron got the start and ran well, and the same goes for Brandon Saine, who split carries with Herron on the first team. Freshmen Jaamal Berry and Jordan Hall both saw time with the second and third groups, with Hall being the more impressive of the two. Walk-on James Georgiades got most of the reps at fullback (when there was one) with the ones while freshmen Adam Homan and Zach Boren splitting time between the second and third groups.
At receiver, it was DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher getting most of the work with the first unit. Junior Taurian Washington also saw some action with the ones when they went three wide, but senior Ray Small was relegated to working with the third-team offense as a part of his (extended) stay in the doghouse. Freshmen Duron Carter, James Jackson and Chris Fields all saw action on the second team, as did junior Grant Schwartz. Sophomore Lamaar Thomas was held out of action, but coach Tressel said afterward that he could have played in a real game.
How they lined up - Defense:
Defensive line: The starting front four remained the same Saturday as they have been since the spring: Thad Gibson and Cameron Heyward at defensive end along with Doug Worthington and Dexter Larimore inside. Senior Lawrence Wilson was held out of action and Todd Denlinger saw plenty of action with the first group. Nathan Williams also saw a series with the ones, but he spent most of his time playing opposite Rob Rose or Keith Wells on the second unit. Solomon Thomas split time between the second and third groups and Willie Mobley worked at both defensive tackle and end. Inside, it was Garrett Goebel and John Simon getting most of the reps with the second and third groups.
Back seven: Senior Austin Spitler missed the scrimmage with his strained calf muscle but Ross Homan played with the first group at the Will position alongside Brian Rolle (Mike) and Etienne Sabino (Sam). Sophomore Andrew Sweat also saw action with the first team and freshman Storm Klein played the entire last series at middle linebacker. Klein spent the rest of the day working with the second group alongside Sweat and walk-on Tony Jackson. The third group included all freshmen: Jordan Whiting (Mike), Dorian Bell (Will) and Jonathan Newsome (Sam).
On the back side of the defense, it was Andre Amos getting the start at corner across from Chimdi Chekwa, but Amos alternated between the ones and twos with Devon Torrence. Seniors Kurt Coleman and Anderson Russell worked at the two safety spots while Jermale Hines saw most of his action at the Star position with the first group. Hines also worked at safety with the second group alongside either Orhian Johnson or Aaron Gant. Nate Oliver worked at the star position with the twos while Donnie Evege stepped in to play with the second group while Travis Howard was out. Freshmen Corey Brown, C.J. Barnett and Dominic Clarke all saw action with the third group at corner.
What to take away:
Positives:
- The defensive line looked dominant
- The offense used middle of the field
- They actually threw to the tight ends (4 catches)
- Good game for Herron, Saine and Hall running the football
- Pryor was sharp in short/intermediate passing game with the exception of one drive
- The young linebackers looked good
- Secondary played well
- Pettrey showed off his big leg, hitting kicks of 54 and 57 yards
Negatives:
- Still major question marks on the offensive line, particularly at left tackle
- The touchdown allowed to Pentello/ Navy offense is not a good sign
- Still no vertical passing game
- Another injury, this time to Cam Heyward
- Offense has a ways to go as a whole
- Three dropped interceptions by the secondary
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