2006 Spring Practice/Game Thread

[Moose]

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.
Well stated BB73, I had to laugh!

 

[Buckin' A]

I can't believe Mike D is still injured. It has been quite a while since he has been active. His knee must have been torn up pretty bad.

I sure hope he is able to get healthy and put together a great final year. He has been patient and deserves to shine.

 

[biobuck]

Football: One carry, a cloud of dust, one laid out defender, and one touchdown.
Chris "Beanie" Wells got to carry the ball for the first time in his Buckeye carrier today in OSU's first practice in pads this spring. The results, according to several players and coaches, were impressive. Wells scored a touchdown the first time he was the given ball, running over a defender near the goal line to get to paydirt.
"He knows what to do when he gets his hands on the ball," said a smiling offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. "I'm glad he's here."
The-Ozone will have further football coverage throughout the day today.
​

 

[underoath437]

Football: One carry, a cloud of dust, one laid out defender, and one touchdown.
Chris "Beanie" Wells got to carry the ball for the first time in his Buckeye carrier today in OSU's first practice in pads this spring. The results, according to several players and coaches, were impressive. Wells scored a touchdown the first time he was the given ball, running over a defender near the goal line to get to paydirt.
"He knows what to do when he gets his hands on the ball," said a smiling offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. "I'm glad he's here."
The-Ozone will have further football coverage throughout the day today.
​

now that is what i like to hear!! i don't see any goal line problems in the near future.

 

[SanAntonioBuck]

One carry, a cloud of dust, one laid out defender, and one touchdown.

I can't wait until we get into the redzone in the future. It time for BeanieBall!

 

[scarletngrey11]

Bucknuts $(Dave Biddle)

4/1

Great article focusing on the offensive lineman.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Rivals.com$

4/2/06

Coverage of Day 3 of spring practice by Adam Jardy.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

4/2/06

OSU FOOTBALL

Scarlet, gray and green

Buckeyes defense has plenty of talent, but unit is short on experience

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Ohio State fans will find out in about nine months whether defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is a master at double-reverse psychology.

He already has shown he can run a reverse. As spring practice concluded last year, he cautioned the veteran players not to believe all of the glowing things written about them. Led by linebacker A.J. Hawk, they went on to top the nation in run defense and lead the Big Ten in total defense and scoring defense.

This year, Heacock has jumped onto the other side of the psychological teeter-totter. He is trying to replace nine starters, including Hawk, with only nine seniors on the 36-man depth chart issued at the start of spring drills last week.

"Yeah, it’s the opposite," Heacock said. "This group right now, I think they’re anxious. They’ve heard everything about losing all those players. I think they are anxious to perform.

"The key with this group is getting them to play together, execute their assignments and play as a team."

Just by numbers, the losses are staggering. The nine starters included all three linebackers, all four defensive backs and two linemen. They represented 206 starts. The players returning have 57 starts among them.

If there’s good news, it’s that the two returning starters are defensive tackles Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson. End Jay Richardson has six starts and tackle Joel Penton has extensive experience, too. Most defenses are built from the foundation up, so it will be with the 2006 Buckeyes, coach Jim Tressel said.

"We’ve got a semi-veteran front that’s got to become very veteran," Tressel said. "We’ve got a young group of linebackers who have to learn every day, and we’ve got an extremely young group in the secondary that every day is going to be an adventure. But that’s college football."

At linebacker, James Laurinaitis took over last season when Bobby Carpenter was injured against Michigan. Laurinaitis played in most of that game and started in the Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame. Marcus Freeman, Chad Hoobler, John Kerr, Mike D’Andrea and Curtis Terry have seen action, and transfer Larry Grant was considered the top junior-college defensive player in the country last season at San Francisco City College.

In the secondary, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins played extensively as a freshman and safety Brandon Mitchell has eight starts. But Jamario O’Neal, Donald Washington, Andre Amos, Nick Patterson, Anderson Russell and Antonio Smith are just some of the players pressing to make a move up during the spring.

Richardson took inventory of the overall defense and said "I see a lot of speed. We have a lot of young, fast guys, and I think we might have more speed than we’ve had in the past. Once we kind of harness that energy and get them all focused in the right direction, I think we can be pretty good."

But as Heacock said, at the moment it’s a defense made up pretty much of no-names seeking to gain a reputation.

Pitcock agreed.

"It’s their turn to show the public who their name is, and I think that’s what a lot of these guys are ready for," Pitcock said.

If they have to lean on the defensive front, Richardson said, then so be it.
"We have a lot of playing experience up there, we have a lot of talent, and I think we’re pretty deep," he said. "I think, really, our defensive line has to be the reason why our defense is good this year."
[email protected]

Sunday, April 02, 2006

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

4/2/06

Boone to start at tackle; Datish will move inside

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Two starters left the Ohio State offensive line from last season, but only one spot remains open.

Offensive coordinator and line coach Jim Bollman said yesterday that sophomore Alex Boone is the starting left tackle. The starter there last year, Doug Datish, is a leading candidate to start at left guard or center.

It boils down to this: If redshirt freshman Jim Cordle or sophomore Tyler Whaley proves best at center, Datish will move to left guard. If Datish is the best center, then a group led by Steve Rehring and Tim Schafer will fight for the left guard job.

Boone’s relative job security means he impressed the coaches enough in his five starts last year as a true freshman, mostly filling in at right tackle when Kirk Barton was injured.

"When Kirk was down, it turned into a blessing to have Alex get five games under his belt, that’s always invaluable to have that kind of experience," Bollman said.

Boone, 6 feet 8, 315 pounds, came to OSU as a USA Today and Parade All-American, rated one of the top three linemen in the nation.

"He’s doing some things to play to his capabilities," Bollman said. "He’s got a chance to be OK."
Beanie can hit



Bollman said freshman running back Chris "Beanie" Wells acquitted himself well during the first day of full-contact practice.

The Buckeyes held a "Hoot and Holler" session, in which a ball carrier lines up behind a blocker and tries to get past a defender into the end zone.

Wells apparently steamrolled somebody at the goal line.

"He was fine, he got the ball and he scored the first try, it didn’t take him three tries," Bollman said. "It was good to see him have a successful opportunity. He has a pretty good idea what to do with the ball. When he gets it, he kind of heads in the right direction."
Still searching



Last spring, defensive end Jay Richardson of Dublin talked about 2005 being the year his production matched his abilities. But on Friday, Richardson said he did not have the season he hoped to have.

He played in all 12 games as a reserve, making 11 tackles, including two sacks.

"The season for me was up and down," he said. "It could be a lot of things. It could be focus, it could be off-the-field things sometimes. Just can’t get it all together."

Now a fifth-year senior, this is his last chance. He is listed as a starter.

[email protected]

 

[scarletngrey11]

Richardson took inventory of the overall defense and said "I see a lot of speed. We have a lot of young, fast guys, and I think we might have more speed than we’ve had in the past. Once we kind of harness that energy and get them all focused in the right direction, I think we can be pretty good."

Wow...

 

[Buckin' A]

From the Ozone.

Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas
First Day Fireworks: The Buckeyes were out there practicing on Thursday and Friday, but it really wasn't until Saturday that things really got going, because that was the first day in pads. The first day of hitting usually brings out all the pent-up aggression on the football team, and the OSU coaching staff does what it can to relieve that buildup by running the infamous Hoot 'n Holler drill on the first day of hitting.
"It's always a fun thing to do to start practice. We do it twice a year. We do it today and we'll do it the first day in pads in August. The guys have a lot of fun with it," said OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.
"It went well. It was fun getting back into pads and do our hoot-and-holler drill and things like that," said offensive lineman Kirk Barton.
"This is a fun day. Guys that are all-stars in shorts kind of step aside and when you put the pads on the men come out and play. It makes it fun, because it separates the men from the boys. It's boring when you just have jerseys on because you hit those dumb pads. We're not a big fan of that. We'd rather run into people," Barton said.
In the Hoot 'n Holler a ball carrier and on blocker have to score against three defenders. They have three tries to go about 10 yards. The drill is infamous for creating massive collisions.​

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"It was very spirited," said Doug Datish.
"We've got a lot of young guys on the team that want to show their toughness, there's always that element of toughness on days like today. There wasn't anything major today in the way of fights. Just a little pushing and shoving," Datish said with a wry smile that led us to believe that maybe he was understating that a little. Kirk Barton was a bit more open.
"There's always some scraps, guys get a little heated if a guys push back and it's like World War III breaks out in the middle of the field, but it was pretty fun. It's just competition. You don't want to get pushed back. You get pushed back and you're going to push him. It's a lot of fun. I like watching that stuff and I like being in it. It's a fun drill to see," Barton said.
One of the more impressive performers in this spring's Hoot 'n Holler was incoming freshman running back Chris Wells who simply scored on his first carry, running over a defender at the goal line to get in to the endzone.
"He got the ball and he scored. It didn't take him three plays, he got the ball and he scored in one (play)," said offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. "He knows what to do with it when he gets his hands on the ball and which direction to head."
"Guys like Chris Wells stepped in there and ran hard, hit people hard, pushed people back when blocking and pushing people back when blocking. He ran well and had nice burst out of the backfield. He lowers his shoulders well," said offensive lineman Kirk Barton.
"He lowered the shoulder on some guy and he knocked him into next week's practice," Barton added.
"It was pretty neat to see. You always wonder about freshmen, are they going to be a little nervous, a little bit afraid, and he pretty much proved that he's ready to play."
What, Me Worry? The OSU defense is looking for nine new starters for next fall, but there is an odd sense of calm among the few returners on that defense. You almost get the sense that replacing nine starters is no big thing to those players.​

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"That's not even a problem. The silver bullets just reload," said returning defensive end Jay Richardson.
"We have guys that have been here forever that are good," added returning defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock.
"They just haven't had the time on the field. You'll be surprised how many great players we have on the back end that can really play."
According to Richardson, there is plenty of talent, and the competition for positions and playing time will just make that talent all the better. Richardson says that he, for one, is enjoying watching the process.
"It's been very, very competitive. This is the first time since I've been here that that many spots have been open. I know all the guys here are excited about that. Some threes may have come out and maybe they have A. J. Hawk in front of them, but now they come out and there's no one in front of them. It's theirs for the taking. Whoever wants it the most can come up and snatch it."
"When we run in the summer time or we test 40s, I see Andre Amos go out there and run a 4.2-something," said Richardson.
"I can't wait to see what he can do out there on the field or get a pick and who's going to catch him? Last year at the beginning of camp you could see a little of what they could do, but as the season gets on and we get ready for the season, we don't get to see them as much. It's really exciting to see those guys. I love when the threes go in and I watch them, and they're all battling and scrapping, it's great," said Richardson.
According to Kirk Barton, who is going up the "new" OSU defense in practice drills, things are not as glum as some people would believe.
"Speed is definitely the thing that stands out," said Barton.
"Our defenses are always fast, and the fact that with all the guys we're losing to the NFL, and we're going to have pretty close to the same amount of speed on the field. It's not as big a drop off as everybody thinks," Barton said.​

"Jamario (O'Neal) struck me as pretty quick, and Lawrence Wilson is really quick off the edge. Marcus Freeman can fly around. We have a lot of speed in a lot of areas."
Don't Forget the Other Wells!: There is considerable excitement over incoming freshman running back Chris Wells, but there is another Wells at running back as well, returning sophomore Maurice Wells.
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M. Wells had a freshman year that was kind of reminiscent of the freshman year that Antonio Pittman had. There were flashes, but there were also some rather forgettable moments. We think that Wells is fully capable of making the kind of improvement that Pittman made between his first two seasons, and according to many of the Buckeyes we talked to, Maurice is showing that he may do just that.
"I think he's playing very well right now. He's playing very quick and he's being very assertive, I think he knows what he's doing and he's doing a good job," said offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.
"Maurice Wells looks like he's a little bigger and I think he's also a little faster," said offensive lineman T. J. Downing.
"The kid has some wheels on him. You saw it last year. He got into the endzone a couple of times and I think the way he's running now he's looking to run away from guys and get in there even more next year," Downing said.
Ah, Football!: Plenty of Buckeye fans have had football withdrawal since the end of last season. That goes for most the members of the team as well.
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"It was great to be back to be honest with you," said offensive lineman Kirk Barton.
"You have winter conditioning and 6:00 AMs, you're running around and running through cones, doing stuff like that, but it's not really football. You get in the field and it's like you finally get to play football, and that's what I really enjoy. The drills are great for mental toughness and getting your wind up, but it's not football. This is like the gift at the end of the tunnel," said Barton.
Barton doesn't just like football, he is developing into a person who plays football extremely well.
"The games I started (last season) I had a winning percentage in every game," said Barton.
"The last four games I played I was over 90 per cent, so that's where I kind of where I want to keep going this season. Against Northwestern I was 96 per cent. That's no MAs (missed assignments) and maybe a couple of poor techniques and I got my man on every play. That's what you want to shoot for for every single game."

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ozone

4/3/06

Offense and Defense in Different Modes This Spring
By John Porentas

The Ohio State offense and the Ohio State defense might be sharing the same field, locker room, trainers and support staff this spring, but there couldn't be a greater difference in the kind of spring camp the two units are having.​

Over on offense almost everybody is back from a unit that became very efficient and productive as the season progressed last year. Gone are Santonio Holmes, Nick Mangold, Rob Sims, Ryan Hamby and Brandon Schnittker, but the number of returners with significant playing time and experience is impressive. The Buckeye offense returns all of its quarterbacks, tailbacks, and fullbacks, as well as a cadre of wide receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen who have been on the playing field. Though they will add a few new faces, such as running back Chris Wells, the offense will spend most of spring looking for two new starters on the offensive line, determining who the backup quarterback will be, and simply working on getting better.​

There will be very little drama in the questions of who will be on the field. Even on the offensive line, where two players are gone, the Buckeyes are really only looking for one new player. Alex Boone is penciled in at left tackle, T.J. Downing at right guard, and Kirk Barton at right tackle. Doug Datish will be on the field, either at center or left guard. Ironically, Datish himself will probably not determine which position he will fill. If somebody steps up at guard, Datish will be at center. If somebody steps up at center, Datish will be at guard. It's really about the only question mark on the offensive side of the ball.​

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"We'll do some (experimenting) as we go," said Offensive Coordinator Jim Bollman.​

"At the left guard and center spots Doug Datish is a candidate for either one of those, and kind of a leading candidate for either one of those.​

"Jim Cordle and Tyler Waley are playing center as well. John Skinner is starting to learn that position as well.​

"Beside Doug at the left guard you have Tm Schafer, Steve Rehring, John Skinner, Ben Person, Kyle Mitchum, all those guys competing and I'm looking for all of them to step up.​

"That won't be determined this spring. This is just the first 15 steps. Three of them are done and there are 12 more to go this spring, then 29 more next August."​

Over on the defense, it's a totally different story. The Buckeyes must replace nine starters from last year's defense, including all three linebackers, three-fourths of the secondary, and both defensive ends. While OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman is trying to fine-tune things this spring OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is simply trying to figure out who can play, who can't, and what his defense might be capable of next fall.​

"It will be extremely difficult," said Heacock of the task of replacing his nine lost starters.

"Those guys were good players as we all know but they were also good leaders, so it will be extremely difficult."

Heacock says the first task, especially at linebacker and in the secondary, is to figure out who will be on the field. He also said that that task is not one that will be completed quickly.

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"We'll probably go through most the spring without have a first team (in the back seven). We're leaving things pretty much open," said Heacock.

"Our front four is a different story. These guys have played a lot of football and we feel like we should make a stride forward. In the back the positions are so wide open right now, I think we're going to have good competition at linebacker for sure. I think we have at least six guys there that it wouldn't surprise me if any one of them ended up a starter. In the back end (defensive backfield)we have a group of guys who are competing and the competition is good. They're anxious and young.

We just have a long way to go before we're ready to play a game."
Finding out who will play is just step one.

"One of the biggest things we have to do as a defense is find out what our strengths are so as we go into next fall we can see what we can do," Heacock said.

"We may have to change some things or do some things differently As we go through this spring we can find out what our strengths are and the players that are going to make plays. Once we identify that we can decide maybe what we can do defensively, how we can have success, how much we can put in, it's all just going to be a growing process."

Heacock doesn't yet know what his defensive schemes will be like, but he does know what traits he would like to see in the finished product and what traits he is looking for in the players he will put on the field.

"I hope it's speed. That's what we want," said Heacock when asked what he hopes to be the hallmark of his defense.

"You hope you have speed so you can get pressure on the quarterback and do the things we like to do.

"The other thing is to see who can make plays. Until we can find out who can make plays then we're kind of up in the air.

"For me I like playmakers, and you can't tell that until we scrimmage. What I like is to have a scrimmage and who goes out there and makes plays. Who makes sacks, who causes fumbles, who gets interceptions, that's what those guys that we lost did. Now we have to find out who these new playmakers are going to be.

"There's a lot of guys who can run a 40 yard dash and all this jumping and everything we've done to this point. Butch Reynolds could do all the things we've asked them to do until we put the pads on and see who is going to hit people and who's going to tackle the ball carrier and get the ball out.

That's what I like."

Heacock said that once he finds out who his playermakers are, he'll adjust his defensive strategies accordingly.

"If you don't have anybody who can make plays up front, then you rush two and drop nine," said in example.

Though Heacock says he won't settle on first and second units at all until after spring ball, he did say that a couple of players have caught his eye in the early going.

"Homan looks awfully good. Curtis Terry looked awfully good yesterday," said Heacock on Saturday. "(Austin) Spitler looks great. Spitler had a great off season. He looks good and he's going to be a good football player for us."

One player that Heacock will not be seeing much of this spring is Mike D'Andrea who continues to deal with the injury problems that have plagued his career.

"From what I understand we would be lucky to have him back this spring. I'm not sure if he's going to be back (this spring). I just don't know. He's just anxious to get healthy where he can compete a little bit better," Heacock said.

 

[Buckeye86]

So how will the oline adjust now that Boone is presumably out of the starting lineup for awhile? I'm thinking Cordle will start at center with Datish and Rehring sliding one position to the left.

 

[Taosman]

Here is the theory I operate under for Tressel coached teams.
We have struggled on offense.
This year we won't!
The defense has always been "good enough".
This year will be no different!
Special teams have been consistently very good.
This year they will be the same. Very good.
11-2 or even 12-1...........
Big Ten Champs.
Rose Bowl Champs.

 

[Buckeyecty4]

So how will the oline adjust now that Boone is presumably out of the starting lineup for awhile? I'm thinking Cordle will start at center with Datish and Rehring sliding one position to the left.

I dont want to come across as somebody who takes DUI lightly, but I dont think we should shift our entire Oline, based on Boone's mistake.... This is only the spring, and your move calls for 3 changes in the Oline... including moving a player with no gametime experience, into the all important center role...

Maybe that's what will happen this spring to "punish" Boone, but by Sept 1st, I fully expect Tressel to play the best line possible, and that is Boone-Rehring-Datish-Downing-Barton..