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- Thread starter Buckin' A
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OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
Dispatch
3/31/06
3/31/06
RUMBLINGS
Friday, March 31, 2006
BOB HUNTER
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It would be a stretch to call coach Jim Tressel’s spring football media policies at Ohio State a test of the First Amendment, but he seems to have placed a price tag on the freedom of the press. One of the team’s jersey scrimmages on April 8 is closed to the press but open to subscribers of coachtressel-.com, a Tressel-managed news site that costs sideline pass holders $49.95 per year.
It’s not as easy to manage the news outside the Web site, but Tressel is giving it the old college try. On the first day of spring practice, when most media outlets who cover the team were there to do stories on the major issues facing the team, the only players he made available for interviews were the three who had 4.0 grade-point averages last quarter.
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Buckin' A
Veritas Aequitas
From the Ozone.
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Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas
Day One a Good One: It was a nice day in Columbus yesterday for OSU's first day of spring drills, and the Buckeyes made the most of it. According to linebacker James Laurinaitis, the day wasn't the only think that looked good, the Buckeyes looked good on the practice field as well.
"I think the offense is always going to look good with all the great guys they have. Our secondary looked good. We had a lot of great communication for everyone being new. A lot of the checks are between the linebackers and the secondary so I think that the communication between the linebackers and the secondary for the first day was great. People were talking, they weren't being shy, so I think that's a good sign," said Laurinaitis
Over on the offense, OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel said a couple of players stood out on day one.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=80 align=left><CAPTION align=bottom>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Troy Smith [/FONT]</CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD>The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas
Day One a Good One: It was a nice day in Columbus yesterday for OSU's first day of spring drills, and the Buckeyes made the most of it. According to linebacker James Laurinaitis, the day wasn't the only think that looked good, the Buckeyes looked good on the practice field as well.
"I think the offense is always going to look good with all the great guys they have. Our secondary looked good. We had a lot of great communication for everyone being new. A lot of the checks are between the linebackers and the secondary so I think that the communication between the linebackers and the secondary for the first day was great. People were talking, they weren't being shy, so I think that's a good sign," said Laurinaitis
Over on the offense, OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel said a couple of players stood out on day one.
"I though Troy (Smith) was extremely sharp today. For a first day, I was extremely pleased with the way he did," said Tressel.
"We could see in the winter the way he went after the film study and all that that he wants to be good. You can tell that he wants to be focused on being as good as he can."
Tressel was also pleased with the work of wide receiver Roy Hall.
"I thought that Roy Hall had an excellent day today," Tressel said.
Out of Action: For the most part, the Buckeyes were at full strength for the first day of drills, but there were a few players missing who are recovering from post-season surgeries.
"Today the guys getting limited activity were Doug Datish because he had a post season surgery, Quinn Pitcock had limited activity because of a post-season surgery, Mike D'Andrea had limited activity, Albert Dukes probably had just a shade more than limited activity, he also had a post-season surgery. Pittman had limited activity, just some ball work. Lawrence Wilson got about 2/3 of what we do," said Tressel.
"The thing we have to with post-season surgeries is to be conservative. They've had three months to get better and the kids will tell you that they feel wonderful, but they're really not fully ready to go, and you aggravate the injury."
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=80 align=right><CAPTION align=bottom>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Mike D'Andrea [/FONT]</CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD>"We could see in the winter the way he went after the film study and all that that he wants to be good. You can tell that he wants to be focused on being as good as he can."
Tressel was also pleased with the work of wide receiver Roy Hall.
"I thought that Roy Hall had an excellent day today," Tressel said.
Out of Action: For the most part, the Buckeyes were at full strength for the first day of drills, but there were a few players missing who are recovering from post-season surgeries.
"Today the guys getting limited activity were Doug Datish because he had a post season surgery, Quinn Pitcock had limited activity because of a post-season surgery, Mike D'Andrea had limited activity, Albert Dukes probably had just a shade more than limited activity, he also had a post-season surgery. Pittman had limited activity, just some ball work. Lawrence Wilson got about 2/3 of what we do," said Tressel.
"The thing we have to with post-season surgeries is to be conservative. They've had three months to get better and the kids will tell you that they feel wonderful, but they're really not fully ready to go, and you aggravate the injury."
D'Andrea's absence is due to a nagging knee injury that has really hampered his comeback to the lineup. That leaves it up to Marcus Freeman to assume a leadership role in the young linebacker corps as the player with the most experience in that group.
"Hopefully Mike can come back from his knee," said Laurinaitis "He's a great leader and Marcus is a great player. Hopefully those guys will pick it up and lead us."
According to Austin Spitler, D'Andrea did not take part in drills on Tuesday.
"He's trying to recover. He didn't participate in practice today," Spitler said.
Commuters: With the Woody Hayes Athletic Center under construction for remodeling the Buckeyes are using the locker rooms at Ohio Stadium this spring, then busing over to the practice fields at the WHAC, then busing back to Ohio Stadium to shower and change clothes. It's a bit of a chore, but Tressel said it really isn't all that bad.
"I like being in Ohio Stadium a little more," said Tressel.
"It's really not a problem. You do have to add a little time for this or that, for instance we had some guys with 5:30 class today and their clothes are over here and we're over there. It's not like they can jump in the shower, jump into their own car, so there are little things.
"I've said to a couple of coaches more than once, I like being in Ohio Stadium a little more. We have the greatest stadium in America, and we don't get here very much. It's kind of fun being in that locker room, being in meeting rooms here."
There are no meeting rooms in Ohio Stadium, so the OSU recruiting room has been cordoned with drapes to create meeting rooms. The Buckeyes are also using the third-floor media room for that purpose as well. Tressel likes spending time at Ohio Stadium.
"In fact I would like to practice here once or twice, but I have to defer to the grounds keepers on that one," said Tressel.
Wideouts a strength: The Buckeyes will be without a great wide receiver from last year's squad this season, Santonio Holmes. Jim Tressel, however, thinks the Buckeyes will be pretty good at wide receiver despite Holmes' absence. He is especially high on Anthony Gonzalez and wants to give Gonzo every opportunity to be a marquee player in 2006.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=80 align=left><CAPTION align=bottom>[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Anthony Gonzalez [/FONT]</CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD>"Hopefully Mike can come back from his knee," said Laurinaitis "He's a great leader and Marcus is a great player. Hopefully those guys will pick it up and lead us."
According to Austin Spitler, D'Andrea did not take part in drills on Tuesday.
"He's trying to recover. He didn't participate in practice today," Spitler said.
Commuters: With the Woody Hayes Athletic Center under construction for remodeling the Buckeyes are using the locker rooms at Ohio Stadium this spring, then busing over to the practice fields at the WHAC, then busing back to Ohio Stadium to shower and change clothes. It's a bit of a chore, but Tressel said it really isn't all that bad.
"I like being in Ohio Stadium a little more," said Tressel.
"It's really not a problem. You do have to add a little time for this or that, for instance we had some guys with 5:30 class today and their clothes are over here and we're over there. It's not like they can jump in the shower, jump into their own car, so there are little things.
"I've said to a couple of coaches more than once, I like being in Ohio Stadium a little more. We have the greatest stadium in America, and we don't get here very much. It's kind of fun being in that locker room, being in meeting rooms here."
There are no meeting rooms in Ohio Stadium, so the OSU recruiting room has been cordoned with drapes to create meeting rooms. The Buckeyes are also using the third-floor media room for that purpose as well. Tressel likes spending time at Ohio Stadium.
"In fact I would like to practice here once or twice, but I have to defer to the grounds keepers on that one," said Tressel.
Wideouts a strength: The Buckeyes will be without a great wide receiver from last year's squad this season, Santonio Holmes. Jim Tressel, however, thinks the Buckeyes will be pretty good at wide receiver despite Holmes' absence. He is especially high on Anthony Gonzalez and wants to give Gonzo every opportunity to be a marquee player in 2006.
"Obviously Tony Gonzalez wants to be the guy who the coaches are in there penciling him in and coming up with ways to get him the ball in every formation, whether we're in two-wide's, three-wide, four-wide, or even two-tights and one wide, kind of like Santonio was, he was the guy, like Mike Jenkins was," said Tressel.
"Obviously that would be his goal. He's very bright, very explosive. I don't want to go away from the things he did well before, but I do want to give him the opportunity to be the guy that he believes he can be."
Tressel said OSU's receiver strength doesn't end with Gonzalez.
"If we're in two receivers right now Teddy is playing out to the field and Gonzo and Roy and Robiske are playing into the boundary.
"Brian Harline and Albert Dukes are playing out to the field. When we get to three wide we have to thin them out and someone has to play in the middle.
"Gonzo does that so well, he reads everything in there so well, but on the other hand we want to mix up who's where and what they do, but I feel good about that group."
"Obviously that would be his goal. He's very bright, very explosive. I don't want to go away from the things he did well before, but I do want to give him the opportunity to be the guy that he believes he can be."
Tressel said OSU's receiver strength doesn't end with Gonzalez.
"If we're in two receivers right now Teddy is playing out to the field and Gonzo and Roy and Robiske are playing into the boundary.
"Brian Harline and Albert Dukes are playing out to the field. When we get to three wide we have to thin them out and someone has to play in the middle.
"Gonzo does that so well, he reads everything in there so well, but on the other hand we want to mix up who's where and what they do, but I feel good about that group."
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Credit to the Ozone for putting together a good article about the first day of practice. A marked contrast from from Bob Hunter did in his column, which was basically whine about the practices being closed.
Here's another article from the Ozone after day 1:
theozone
Buckeyes Open Spring Ball with Questions to Answer
By John Porentas
Everybody knows the questions. The time has arrived to work out the answers.
The first of 15 spring practices is now in the books, practices that begin the process of answering the key questions about the 2006 football team.
The biggest question overall is about the OSU defense where nine starters will have to be replaced. The good news is that while there aren't many starters back, there is a core of players who have logged significant playing time returning, as-well-as a group of youngsters who started getting some work late last year during bowl practice.
"I think the bowl practice helped those guys a lot," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
"Not just guys like Laurinaitis or Malcolm Jenkins or Lawrence Wilson who played a lot as true freshmen, but guys like Andre Amos and Donald Washington and Anderson Russell and Austin Spitler, some guys who got a lot of extra practice and run our stuff a little bit in some scrimmages during bowl practices, so I think it was very helpful," said Tressel.
"Curtis Terry and Chad Hoobler have been in a lot of games as special teams guys. Mike D'Andrea, Marcus Freeman and John Kerr have been in games, so we're not totally raw."
Players like Laurinaitis, who was thrown into the fray in the last two games due to Bobby Carpenter's injury, now have a bit of a leg up.
"Being in the game against teams like Michigan, against teams like Notre Dame, and faring pretty well and not making any huge mistakes to bring the level of the defense down, it gives you a sense of confidence, that you can go out there at this level," said Laurinaitis.
"It helped a ton. The stuff that we're learning right now is the now easy, so you kind of get to relax and just go play instead of just going out there and wondering what you're doing. You can just relax and play and go back to having fun."
There are a lot of questions to be answered on defense, and a lot of work to be done, but defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is hammering his charges with the idea that while they have a ways to go, this defense can be special.
"Coach Heacock has been preaching and coaching that we're not on that level that we were at last year to start off with, but if anyone doesn't believe that we can get to that level through experience then they should get out of the room," said Laurinaitis.
"I believe that, and I believe we can get to that level. We have the pieces, it's just who's going to step up, who's going to get in there and prepare like a starter, who's going to bring that preparation out there to the field."
The OSU spring depth chart shows a lot of new names, as well as a number of surprises. The biggest of those surprises were on the defensive side of the ledger. Nick Sophomore Patterson is currently listed as the number one free safety, ahead of fifth-year senior Brandon Mitchell. Senior John Kerr is currently listed as the number one middle linebacker, and senior Antonio Smith is listed as the top guy at one cornerback position.
There are what appear to be a couple of anomalies on the depth chart as well. Linebacker Austin Spitler is listed as an outside linebacker, but Spitler said yesterday that when he lined up on the first day of practice, it was at middle linebacker. Spitler also reported that his weight is up to 245 pounds on a 6-3 frame. Spitler is not just big, but is also an extremely bright athlete. He was one of three Buckeyes who earned a 4.0 this past academic quarter, joining Laurinaitis and Anthony Gonzalez as players who attained that academic achievement.
Over on offense, things are bit more settled, with not many surprises in the depth chart. About the biggest question on offense is who will be the backup quarterback. Troy Smith has established himself as the undisputed number one, but it remains to be seen if senior Justin Zwick gets the reps as the number two guy, or if the Buckeyes will begin grooming one of the younger quarterbacks by giving either Todd Boeckman or Robby Schoenhoft the reps earned by the backup. Tressel said that his philosophy does not include a youth movement simply to have a youth movement.
"Never at the expense of the team," said Tressel.
"So if what's best for the team is for Justin to have the second-most reps, you have to do that, because we've got 18 seniors and this is it for them. They care about 2007, but not like that do 2006, so never at the expense of what's going on in 2006. I think you have to be fair on the reverse side too. You can't just say that Justin is a senior, so we're going to let him have more reps because he's a senior. If the team would be better if Todd had more or Robbie had more, you have to do what's best there," Tressel said.
Here's another article from the Ozone after day 1:
theozone
Buckeyes Open Spring Ball with Questions to Answer
By John Porentas
Everybody knows the questions. The time has arrived to work out the answers.
The first of 15 spring practices is now in the books, practices that begin the process of answering the key questions about the 2006 football team.
The biggest question overall is about the OSU defense where nine starters will have to be replaced. The good news is that while there aren't many starters back, there is a core of players who have logged significant playing time returning, as-well-as a group of youngsters who started getting some work late last year during bowl practice.
"I think the bowl practice helped those guys a lot," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.
"Not just guys like Laurinaitis or Malcolm Jenkins or Lawrence Wilson who played a lot as true freshmen, but guys like Andre Amos and Donald Washington and Anderson Russell and Austin Spitler, some guys who got a lot of extra practice and run our stuff a little bit in some scrimmages during bowl practices, so I think it was very helpful," said Tressel.
"Curtis Terry and Chad Hoobler have been in a lot of games as special teams guys. Mike D'Andrea, Marcus Freeman and John Kerr have been in games, so we're not totally raw."
Players like Laurinaitis, who was thrown into the fray in the last two games due to Bobby Carpenter's injury, now have a bit of a leg up.
"Being in the game against teams like Michigan, against teams like Notre Dame, and faring pretty well and not making any huge mistakes to bring the level of the defense down, it gives you a sense of confidence, that you can go out there at this level," said Laurinaitis.
"It helped a ton. The stuff that we're learning right now is the now easy, so you kind of get to relax and just go play instead of just going out there and wondering what you're doing. You can just relax and play and go back to having fun."
There are a lot of questions to be answered on defense, and a lot of work to be done, but defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is hammering his charges with the idea that while they have a ways to go, this defense can be special.
"Coach Heacock has been preaching and coaching that we're not on that level that we were at last year to start off with, but if anyone doesn't believe that we can get to that level through experience then they should get out of the room," said Laurinaitis.
"I believe that, and I believe we can get to that level. We have the pieces, it's just who's going to step up, who's going to get in there and prepare like a starter, who's going to bring that preparation out there to the field."
The OSU spring depth chart shows a lot of new names, as well as a number of surprises. The biggest of those surprises were on the defensive side of the ledger. Nick Sophomore Patterson is currently listed as the number one free safety, ahead of fifth-year senior Brandon Mitchell. Senior John Kerr is currently listed as the number one middle linebacker, and senior Antonio Smith is listed as the top guy at one cornerback position.
There are what appear to be a couple of anomalies on the depth chart as well. Linebacker Austin Spitler is listed as an outside linebacker, but Spitler said yesterday that when he lined up on the first day of practice, it was at middle linebacker. Spitler also reported that his weight is up to 245 pounds on a 6-3 frame. Spitler is not just big, but is also an extremely bright athlete. He was one of three Buckeyes who earned a 4.0 this past academic quarter, joining Laurinaitis and Anthony Gonzalez as players who attained that academic achievement.
Over on offense, things are bit more settled, with not many surprises in the depth chart. About the biggest question on offense is who will be the backup quarterback. Troy Smith has established himself as the undisputed number one, but it remains to be seen if senior Justin Zwick gets the reps as the number two guy, or if the Buckeyes will begin grooming one of the younger quarterbacks by giving either Todd Boeckman or Robby Schoenhoft the reps earned by the backup. Tressel said that his philosophy does not include a youth movement simply to have a youth movement.
"Never at the expense of the team," said Tressel.
"So if what's best for the team is for Justin to have the second-most reps, you have to do that, because we've got 18 seniors and this is it for them. They care about 2007, but not like that do 2006, so never at the expense of what's going on in 2006. I think you have to be fair on the reverse side too. You can't just say that Justin is a senior, so we're going to let him have more reps because he's a senior. If the team would be better if Todd had more or Robbie had more, you have to do what's best there," Tressel said.
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