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Football
Fall Camp Insider: Bucks Take in Practice and Photo Day
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS — With the players in shorts and shells (shoulder pads and helmets) there wasn’t much hitting Sunday at Ohio State, but there was plenty of football, and it was beautiful.

Beautiful because it was football and because the college season is just around the corner now that the Buckeyes have opened camp. There was plenty to see as practice was opened to the media for the first time this fall (we will get our first chance to watch them practice in pads Tuesday morning) but we start by breaking down the quarterback play on practice No. 2 of 29 this fall.

Terrelle Pryor
Photo by Dan Harker

1) Terrelle Pryor definitely seems to have a better command of the offense. He better if his head coach is talking about throwing the ball as many as 35 times a game. He threw the ball well at times, including a picture perfect out route to senior Dane Sanzenbacher on the left sideline, but he also had a few that fell short on the Turf. His teammates raved about his progress after practice during media day at Ohio Stadium, but it was backup Kenny Guiton who looked the best throwing the ball Sunday.

While Joe Bauserman struggled with his consistency, Guiton continued where he left off in the spring by throwing the most consistent ball, particularly when he was on the run. It’s early, and he has zero chance of taking snaps away from Pryor, but things are looking great for Guiton to be the backup right now.

Mke Adams
Photo by Jim Davidson

2. Battle ongoing at left tackle. The Buckeyes didn’t expect to have things settled at left tackle when they opened fall camp, so it’s no surprise that both Mike Adams and Andrew Miller got reps with the first-team offense Sunday. They aren’t expecting to have this thing figured out anytime soon and will likely go into the season with both guys still getting reps. The biggest difference so far this fall has been the addition of sophomore Marcus Hall to the mix. The OSU coaching staff, Jim Tressel included, talked about moving Hall or starting right tackle J.B. Shugarts over to the left side to give them another look, but Hall said Sunday that he volunteered himself to join the competition.

It was a smart move by Hall, who seems to have a bright future but could find himself stuck behind Shugarts on the right side for two more years (Shugarts is a junior this season). Hall was getting reps at left tackle with the second group Sunday while senior Josh Kerr worked as the No. 2 right tackle. Freshman Andrew Norwell also got some looks on the right side.

3. Shugarts staying put on the right side? After starting 10 games at right tackle last season, Shugarts said Sunday he feels like he could easily move over to the left side to play tackle but might feel more comfortable staying on the right side. That’s not because he doesn’t feel like he can handle the rigors of playing left tackle, but because he feels so comfortable playing next to senior Bryant Browning.

“We’re almost like brothers out there,” Shugarts said.

Taurian Washington
Photo by Jim Davidson

4. Taurian Washington staking his claim as the third wideout. Another battle that needs to be decided this fall is the No. 3 wide receiver spot. Unlike the left tackle spot, the list of contenders for this job seems to be dwindling by the day. With Duron Carter, Ray Small and Lamaar Thomas all gone from last year’s team, senior Taurian Washington was the front-runner for the third sport behind DeVier Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher. Washington was clearly running as the third wideout Sunday with senior Grant Schwartz and redshirt freshman Chris Fields also working with the twos. Washington said that he has been approached by both coach Tressel and wide receivers coach Darrell Hazell about how important a role he could play this fall.

5. Sabino playing dual roles.  Speaking of important roles, linebacker Etienne Sabino was filling two of them Sunday. Not only was he back in his familiar as the Sam linebacker with the first-team defense, a spot that he played in the spring, but he was also getting reps as the third-team Star or nickelback. That says a lot about Sabino’s athleticism that he can play linebacker and defensive back, although the Star position is very much a hybrid between an outside backer and a safety.

Andrew Sweat
Photo by Dan Harker

6. Sweat back in action. One of the most noticeable changes to the defense this fall was the return of junior Andrew Sweat. The linebacker from Pennsylvania missed the second half of last season with a knee injury that held him out of contact in the spring. He was back in practice Sunday, however, working as the No. 2 Sam linebacker behind Sabino. He was joined on the second-team defense by second-year linebackers Storm Klein and Dorian Bell, but Sweat is the one guy on the entire second unit who could really make a push for a starting spot during fall camp.

7. Moeller ready to contribute. Although Sabino was playing nickel with the third-team defense, he came off the field when the first group went to that look as Tyler Moeller made his real return to the defense. Moeller played a little safety in the spring as he works his way back from a devastating head injury suffered last off-season, but wasn’t cleared for contact until this fall. We won’t know how he can hold up to the physicality of football, especially with the way he delivers hits, but the staff seems to think positively enough about it that they made him their No. 1 nickel back (Star) this fall.

8. Chekwa impressive at corner, but Torrence struggles. Also starting in the secondary this fall will be a pair of senior corners. Devon Torrence was wearing his new number, No. 1, and said it’s the number he has always wanted but Marcus Freeman had it when he got here. It didn’t seem to do him a lot of good, however, as he struggled in the one-on-one coverage drills. He got burned a few times and had to hold on another few occasions, which drew the wrath of cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson. Meanwhile, the other starting corner, Chimdi Chekwa, had the best day of any of the corners. He was the only one who stayed with the receivers on consistent basis and even turned to look for the ball.

9. Some impressive looking freshmen. Without contact, it’s too early to make an assessment on any of the new freshmen, except for how impressive they look in uniform. No one fits that bill more than 6-foot-7 wideout T.Y. Williams and 300-pound defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins. Take a look at Jim Davidson’s photo gallery (link) from today’s practice and look for the tall guy wearing No. 18 (Williams) and the massive guy wearing No. 52 (Hankins). As far as play goes, the three guys who stuck out on day one (without contact) were Hankins, Corey Brown and Scott McVey.

10.  A closer look at some key depth chart items:

-Kenny Guiton and Joe Bauserman were both working with the second-team offense.

-The first-team offensive line was LT Adams/Miller LG Boren C Brewster RG Browning RT Shugarts

-The second-team offensive line was LT Hall LG C.Smith/Longo C Linsley RG Mewhort RT J.Kerr

-The first-team defensive line was DE C.Heyward DT D.Larimore DT J.Simon DE N.Williams

-The second-team defensive was DE M.Fellows DT G.Goebel DT A.Bellamy DE S.Thomas

-C.J. Barnett and Aaron Gant were the second-team safeties while Travis Howard, Donnie Evege and Dominic Clarke all got time at corner with the twos.

-The third-team safeties were Zach Domicone and Jamie Wood. Corey Brown and Clarke were primarily the third-team corners while the third-team linebackers were Jordan Whiting, Jonathan Newsome and Scott McVey.

-Senior walk-on Ricky Crawford moved over from wide receiver to play some tight end with the third group with Nic DiLillo missing. DiLillo was in uniform at photo day but he was not on the field for practice.

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