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Football
Fall Camp Insider: Kickers Steal Show at Ohio Stadium
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS — The Buckeyes got together Saturday for the annual Fall Kick Scrimmage at Ohio Stadium, with the Gray team beating the Scarlet 33-30 on a 37-yard field goal by freshman Drew Basil.

Devin Barclay
Photo by Jim Davidson

Senior Devin Barclay—who is expected to be the team’s primary kicker this season—missed a game-tying kick from the same distance to preserve the win for the Gray. It was one of only two misses for Barclay, and one of only three misses for the kickers, who went 21-of-24.

A lot was riding on today after rough performances in the spring kick scrimmage by just about everyone, only this time the specialists passed with flying colors. The highlight of the day was the back-and-forth kicking between Barclay and Basil, who both looked like they might never miss.

They connected on their first 14 field goal attempts Saturday, including three of over 40 yards, before Basil finally hit the right post on a 45-yard attempt. It was the lone miss of the day for the Chillicothe native, who was 11-of-12 with a long of 47 yards.

Barclay was just as good, if not better, before the final kick. His only miss prior to the last one came from 58 yards after Chris Fields mishandled a punt return to give the Scarlet an extra field goal try. Barclay finished the day 10-of-12 with a long of 45 yards, and while neither kicker made one from more than 50, most of Basil’s kicks would have been good from that range.

Redshirt sophomore Ben Buchanan did not participate in kick offs or field goals Saturday, but did have a great day punting the ball. Expected to be Ohio State’s starting punter this fall, Buchanan was doing all three in the spring before Head Coach Jim Tressel approached him this fall about sticking with punting.

The best punt play of the day, however, was a fake. Fullback Zach Boren grabbed the ball and ran right over wideout Grant Schwartz with a nasty stiff-arm as he rumbled his way inside the 10 yard line.

Freshman wideout Corey "Philly" Brown had the return of the day, a slick 45-yarder down the left sideline on a 41-yard punt by Buchanan, who made the touchdown-saving tackle. He looked much more comfortable back there than Fields, who also had a return where he lost nine yards.

Freshmen Christian Bryant, Verlon Reed and Carlos Hyde all had nice days on the coverage teams, as did senior corner Chimdi Chekwa, who recovered the muffed punt that set up the 58-yard miss by Barclay.

Injuries Spoil Kicker’s Big Day

It wasn’t all smiles at the Horseshoe Saturday, as defensive end Nathan Williams went down with a left knee injury during the practice that preceded the kick scrimmage. Expected to replace Thad Gibson as the team’s starting Leo this season, Williams had his knee bent the wrong way and sat out the rest of practice. At the end he was seen walking on crutches with his entire left leg wrapped.

Junior Solomon Thomas replaced Williams as the Leo with the first team, but he wasn’t the only new face in the starting lineup. Redshirt sophomore cornerback Travis Howard continues to fill in for senior Devon Torrence, who was limited with a sore hamstring again, and sophomore C.J. Barnett stepped in for safety Orhian Johnson when he had to go to the sideline.
Junior Andrew Sweat was back with the first-team again Saturday, this time filling in for Ross Homan after subbing for Brian Rolle during Tuesday’s practice.

On the offensive side, it was starting right tackle J.B. Shugarts missing practice to do what looked like extra shoulder exercises on the side. Senior Andy Miller was the first-team left tackle today and junior Mike Adams, who is competing with Miller for the starting job on the left side, slid over to the right side to take Shugarts’ spot on the first-team offensive line.

Sophomore Marcus Hall filled in as the No. 2 left tackle with freshman Andrew Norwell getting some reps at right tackle with the twos along with senior Josh Kerr.

Offensive Line Struggles

Maybe it was the absence of Shugarts or the shuffling guys around, but the offensive line did not have its best day Saturday. We praised them in our Tuesday practice report for dominating the red zone against OSU’s stout defensive line, but they didn’t hold up in pass protection Saturday, even without Nathan Williams in the lineup.

Freshmen Johnathan Hankins, David Durham and J.T. Moore all got chances to play with the second-team defense, but offensive coordinator Jim Bollman still wasn’t happy with what he saw out of his offensive line. They gave very little time to quarterbacks Terrelle Pryor, Joe Bauserman and Kenny Guiton.

T-Wash Blowing Up, Again

Despite the poor protection, Terrelle Pryor was still able to rip off a few really good passes during practice. The best of them, though, came on a beautiful post play to senior Taurian Washington. Pryor put just enough air under the pass for Washington, the star of the spring game, to run under it and jaunt into the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown.

A few plays later, Washington had another nice catch, this time for 20 yards when he found a soft spot in the defensive zone. He spent the rest of the day working with the first-team offense after senior Dane Sanzenbacher had to go to the sideline. Redshirt freshman Chris Fields slid up to become the No. 3 receiver and tailback Brandon Saine found himself lined up in the slot when the Buckeyes went with four wides.

With Fields up working with the ones, freshman Corey  “Philly” Brown got a chance to play with the twos while fellow freshmen T.Y Williams, James Louis and Verlon Reed worked with the threes.

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