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Neither kicker gets a leg up
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
09/03/2006
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COLUMBUS -- Under the circumstances, those handicapping the kicker race between Aaron Pettrey and Ryan Pretorius would have to call it a draw.
Pettrey boomed three of his four kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, but he pushed a 44-yard attempt wide right. Pretorius was a little shorter on his two kickoffs and he was short on a 51-yard attempt in the second quarter. But the rain and slick field hurt the kickers as much as anyone.
''It wasn't the ideal game for a guy being the first time out there under the gun, because kicking is all about your plant foot and there was a little slippage in your plant foot,'' coach Jim Tressel said. ''You couldn't really attack the ball maybe like you normally do and especially if you're a rookie.''
Ultimately, Pettrey entered with a slight advantage. After one game, it's probably still that way.
Nice debut
Freshman phenom Chris Wells made his debut yesterday, carrying 10 times for 52 yards and a touchdown. But he also fumbled once when he ran into Stan White.
He was also on the field when Justin Zwick fumbled while trying to hand off, but that one wasn't Wells' fault. He never even received the ball from Zwick.
''I thought Chris did a good job running hard,'' offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said. ''But a couple of times we put the ball on the ground. One of the times it wasn't his fault and maybe neither time was. But whether it's his fault or not, we can't put the ball on the ground.''
In the running back distribution, Antonio Pittman carried 19 times, Wells got his 10 and Maurice Wells carried five times for 16 yards.
Tressel was hoping to give the backs a few more carries, but new NCAA rules put into effect this year to shorten the games is working -- Ohio State and Northern Illinois combined to run 126 plays yesterday, down 15 from last year's average college football game.
''It was a shorter game,'' Tressel said, ''so we didn't have as many carries as we would've liked.''
Quarterback shuffle
Tressel picked an odd time to insert Zwick yesterday. While Northern Illinois had possession early in the fourth quarter, Zwick was on the sideline practicing the exchange with center Doug Datish and appearing ready to enter the game.
But the Huskies scored on the drive to make it 35-12 and the Buckeyes took over on their own 20, so Troy Smith came back out with the offense. After completing a 56-yard pass to Ted Ginn that moved the ball into the red zone, Zwick rushed onto the field after one more play to take over at quarterback.
On his first play, Zwick got his feet tangled after taking the snap, tripped and fumbled. Northern Illinois recovered.
''We wanted to get Justin some snaps,'' Bollman said. ''We were backed up a little bit in our own end, so once we moved the ball out of there, we wanted to get Justin in the game.''
Quick start
Redshirt freshman receiver Brian Hartline wound up in the starting lineup yesterday because of Roy Hall's ankle sprain. It didn't take Smith long to work him into the offense.
Ohio State's first offensive play went to Hartline, lined up in the slot, for 32 yards.
''That was great to get it all out of the way on one play,'' Hartline said. ''First start, first catch, all of it. Then I could relax and just play the game.''
It was Hartline's only catch of the game. He and fellow freshman Brian Robiskie were two of the pleasant surprises of camp. Robiskie had three catches for 32 yards.
Extra points
Smith moved into 11th place on Ohio State's total offense list with 4,438 yards. Yesterday he passed former quarterback Rex Kern's total of 4,158 ... Antonio Pittman's 111 yards gives him nine games over 100. He has scored at least one touchdown in six straight games ... Ohio State's defensive line accounted for 3 1/2 sacks ... Safety Brandon Mitchell led the defense with nine tackles.
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Neither kicker gets a leg up
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
09/03/2006
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendlyCOLUMBUS -- Under the circumstances, those handicapping the kicker race between Aaron Pettrey and Ryan Pretorius would have to call it a draw.
Pettrey boomed three of his four kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks, but he pushed a 44-yard attempt wide right. Pretorius was a little shorter on his two kickoffs and he was short on a 51-yard attempt in the second quarter. But the rain and slick field hurt the kickers as much as anyone.
''It wasn't the ideal game for a guy being the first time out there under the gun, because kicking is all about your plant foot and there was a little slippage in your plant foot,'' coach Jim Tressel said. ''You couldn't really attack the ball maybe like you normally do and especially if you're a rookie.''
Ultimately, Pettrey entered with a slight advantage. After one game, it's probably still that way.
Nice debut
Freshman phenom Chris Wells made his debut yesterday, carrying 10 times for 52 yards and a touchdown. But he also fumbled once when he ran into Stan White.
He was also on the field when Justin Zwick fumbled while trying to hand off, but that one wasn't Wells' fault. He never even received the ball from Zwick.
''I thought Chris did a good job running hard,'' offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said. ''But a couple of times we put the ball on the ground. One of the times it wasn't his fault and maybe neither time was. But whether it's his fault or not, we can't put the ball on the ground.''
In the running back distribution, Antonio Pittman carried 19 times, Wells got his 10 and Maurice Wells carried five times for 16 yards.
Tressel was hoping to give the backs a few more carries, but new NCAA rules put into effect this year to shorten the games is working -- Ohio State and Northern Illinois combined to run 126 plays yesterday, down 15 from last year's average college football game.
''It was a shorter game,'' Tressel said, ''so we didn't have as many carries as we would've liked.''
Quarterback shuffle
Tressel picked an odd time to insert Zwick yesterday. While Northern Illinois had possession early in the fourth quarter, Zwick was on the sideline practicing the exchange with center Doug Datish and appearing ready to enter the game.
But the Huskies scored on the drive to make it 35-12 and the Buckeyes took over on their own 20, so Troy Smith came back out with the offense. After completing a 56-yard pass to Ted Ginn that moved the ball into the red zone, Zwick rushed onto the field after one more play to take over at quarterback.
On his first play, Zwick got his feet tangled after taking the snap, tripped and fumbled. Northern Illinois recovered.
''We wanted to get Justin some snaps,'' Bollman said. ''We were backed up a little bit in our own end, so once we moved the ball out of there, we wanted to get Justin in the game.''
Quick start
Redshirt freshman receiver Brian Hartline wound up in the starting lineup yesterday because of Roy Hall's ankle sprain. It didn't take Smith long to work him into the offense.
Ohio State's first offensive play went to Hartline, lined up in the slot, for 32 yards.
''That was great to get it all out of the way on one play,'' Hartline said. ''First start, first catch, all of it. Then I could relax and just play the game.''
It was Hartline's only catch of the game. He and fellow freshman Brian Robiskie were two of the pleasant surprises of camp. Robiskie had three catches for 32 yards.
Extra points
Smith moved into 11th place on Ohio State's total offense list with 4,438 yards. Yesterday he passed former quarterback Rex Kern's total of 4,158 ... Antonio Pittman's 111 yards gives him nine games over 100. He has scored at least one touchdown in six straight games ... Ohio State's defensive line accounted for 3 1/2 sacks ... Safety Brandon Mitchell led the defense with nine tackles.
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Aaron Pettrey has made six of his last seven field-goal attempts for Ohio State, including a 51-yarder last week against Indiana.Click to enlarge
