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Football
Spring Game Standouts, Letdowns
By Brandon CastelCOLUMBUS — Technically Saturday’s Scarlet and Gray Spring Game was just one of 15 spring practices at Ohio State, but in reality it meant so much more.
Getting a chance to play in front of more than 65 thousand fans at Ohio Stadium, there were a number of players who stood out in the Gray’s 17-14 win over Scarlet to conclude spring practice for the Buckeyes. There were also a few who didn’t exactly stand out.
10 Players Who Looked Good
1. QB Kenny Guiton (Gray) – While Terrelle Pryor looked good in his one quarter of work, the star of Saturday’s spring game was redshirt freshman Kenny Guiton. He entered the spring as a distant third behind Joe Bauserman on the depth chart, but things may look a little different after the spring. Starting for the Gray team, Guiton completed 11-of-21 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. He showed a strong arm and good accuracy while standing tall in the pocket and may have given Buckeye fans a glimpse of life after Pryor.
2. WR Taurian Washington (Gray) – If you didn’t have Guiton as your MVP Saturday, then no question it had to go to Taurian Washington. The new Mr. Spring Game, Washington made three big grabs for the Gray team, including the game-winner late in the fourth quarter. He broke free for a pair of long touchdowns and proved once again that he is best spring game wide receiver on Ohio State’s roster.
3. WR Dane Sanzenbacher (Scarlet) – Washington may have gotten all the attention for his big grabs for the Gray team, but Sanzenbacher quietly put together a solid afternoon for the Scarlet. He made three catches on OSU’s first scoring drive, including a 12-yard touchdown catch from Pryor, and finished the day with four catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. It was a solid display of good hands and route-running ability, proving once again why Dane will be a favorite target for Pryor in the fall.
4. TE Jake Stoneburner (Scarlet) – A new favorite target for Pryor could be emerging at the tight end position. That’s right, tight end position, no typo. All spring we heard how Pryor and Stoneburner were on the same page in practice. We even got to see it for ourselves, but then the jersey scrimmage came and not a single hookup between the two classmates. That changes in the spring game, however, as they hooked up early and often to the tune of three catches for 43 yards in the first quarter.
5. FB Zach Boren (Gray) – Another unusual suspect who looked good catching the ball Saturday was fullback Zach Boren. Like the tight ends at Ohio State, fullbacks are not used to having the ball in their hands, either as rushers or receivers. That could change this fall with the way Boren has established himself as a solid check-down option for Pryor in the spring. He caught four of those check-downs Saturday for the Gray team, totaling 44 yards.
6. LB Etienne Sabino (Gray) – By all accounts it’s been a great spring for Sabino. Expected to make an impact last year, it took the Florida native an extra year to start playing the way linebacker coach Luke Fickell wanted. Things appear to be clicking on all cylinders for Sabino now that he is trusting his instincts. He led all players with seven tackles Saturday, including five solo stops.
7. DE Keith Wells (Scarlet) – Few players found themselves in the backfield as consistently as Wells did during the spring game. Officially he finished with one sack and four tackles, but he was in on, or at least close to being in on a number of other plays in the backfield. After Solomon Thomas and Melvin Fellows impressed in the jersey scrimmage, it was important for Wells to keep pace with a fine showing in the spring game.
8. DT Adam Bellamy (Scarlet) – He isn’t a household name like the other players on this list, but Adam Bellamy had an excellent spring game for the Scarlet squad. The redshirt freshman defensive tackle cracked into the two-deep this spring and Saturday he led all players with 1.5 sacks for minus eight yards.
9. HB Jordan Hall (Scarlet) – Because of the depth at tailback, Hall didn’t get many opportunities to touch the football in the spring game, but he made the most of the ones he did get. As a running back he showed good burst, picking up 17 yards on just four carries. He also caught two passes out of the backfield for 11 yards to go with three returns (2 punt, 1 kick) for 38 yards.
10. LB Jonathan Newsome & Dorian Bell (Scarlet) – It’s hard to say who looked better Saturday between Jonathan Newsome and Dorian Bell, two young promising linebackers from the class of 2009. Bell was a five-star out of Pennsylvania, but redshirted last season while Newsome made an impact on special teams. Both are extremely athletic and both look to have bright futures. Bell led the Scarlet defense with five tackles, while Newsome recorded three, all solo stops.
Five Who Didn’t
1. CB Devon Torrence (Scarlet) – It was just one of those days for Devon Torrence Saturday. A returning starter at corner for the Buckeyes in 2010, Torrence struggled mightily with his one-on-one coverage skills in the spring game. He interfered with DeVier Posey on the Gray’s first drive on a play that Posey should have made for a touchdown. Two plays later, Torrence gave up the touchdown anyways to Taurian Washington on 28-yard pass from Guiton. Later in the first half he was juked out of his cleats by tailback Brandon Saine and it was Torrence in coverage again on T-Wash’s game-winning touchdown score.
2. QB Joe Bauserman (Scarlet) – Take away the 35 yards rushing and it was a really lousy day for Ohio State’s backup quarterback. He was the game’s leading rusher, but mainly because he looked hesitant to pass. When he did, typically good things did not happen. He completed only six of his 15 attempts for 75 yards, 43 of which came on one play.
He was also intercepted twice in the fourth quarter, both of which ultimately cost Gray the game. Leading 14-10 with under four minutes to play, Bauserman was picked off by Nate Oliver in the end zone on a first-and-five play from the 12-yard line. That pick set up Gray’s go-ahead touchdown and Bauserman was picked again on the ensuing possession by walk-on Taylor Rice.
To his credit, Bauserman was all smiles after the game and went up to make sure Guiton was okay after the hit in the end zone. He even had his arm around Guiton during Carmen Ohio, so it looks like no hard feelings.
3. WR DeVier Posey (Gray) – It wasn’t a particularly awful day for Posey, but for a guy who is supposed to be the biggest playmaker on the offense, he made very few of them in the spring game. Although he was interfered with by Torrence, Posey dropped a ball that hit him in the chest on a play that likely would have resulted in a touchdown. He couldn’t come up with a few other close passes that hit him in the finger tips and finished the day with just one catch for 14 yards.
4. P Ben Buchanan (Scarlet) – Although he did blast a 51-yard punt in the spring game, it was mostly a day Ben Buchanan will want to forget. Coming off an up-and-down showing in the kick scrimmage, OSU’s probable starting punter averaged only 35.7 yards on his seven punts Saturday. He downed one inside the 20, but also had one sail into the end zone for a touchback. Along with his 51-yarder, Buchanan had punts of 28, 32, 33 and 16 yards in altogether ugly day.
5. OT Andrew Miller (Gray) – Give him credit for battling neck-and-neck with Mike Adams for the second straight spring, but Saturday was not one of Andrew Miller’s better days. He struggled against both Keith Wells and Solomon Thomas, not to mention Cam Heyward, as the three combined for 2.5 sacks on quarterback Kenny Guiton. Although they were not called, he seemed to get his hands outside the pads a lot and even reached out and grabbed the back of Keith Wells’ jersey after he was burned on the final possession.
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