Spring Practice Tidbits

[Best Buckeye]

Buckeyes check spring in the South
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

COLUMBUS - Before the Ohio State coaching staff sat down and mapped out its game plan for the Buckeyes' spring football workouts, it was time for a field trip.

There was an opportunity for research, and most of the Buckeyes coaches visited programs in the South, where the weather allows spring ball to commence at an earlier date.

"Our coaches have had a chance to go out and visit some spring practices, and now we have a chance to come back together and work this spring," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

 

[Buckskin86]

Fine day for football
Another day, another open practice. Jim Tressel for emperor (oh wait, he already has absolute power....)

Observations from a sunny spring day, with the team in shells (helmets, shoulder pads and shorts), which makes it tough to evaluate line play:

-- First thing I noticed is that the defense is bearing the brunt on the spring injury front. Nine of the 10 guys sitting out practice are on that side of the ball -- Nathan Williams, Zach Boren, Ross Homan, Aaron Gant, Keith Wells, Rob Rose, Lawrence Wilson, Andrew Sweat and Kurt Coleman. The lone offensive player sitting out is J.B. Shugarts.

It did not appear to be a major injury to Rose, who went down clutching his left knee in Tuesday's practice. He had a wrap on the knee, but was walking around on it OK.

-- Safeties coach Paul Haynes was putting his charges through a drill in which the backpedaled, broke left or right, then Haynes fired a ball near them to make them reach for an interception.

After several balls zipped past players, Haynes yelled, "Come on, I'm not throwing it AT you. You act like we're doing receiver drills!"

-- Watched the QBs and RBs work a lot on the timing of the running game. As I noted the other day, it certainly looks like the Buckeyes will be doing a lot of creative stuff in this area -- misdirections, options, QBs faking or keeping, etc. Not your usual I-formation stuff.

-- In one drill, the QBs were dropping back, faking a handoff left, then rolling right and throwing. Terrelle Pryor sort of "went through the motions" as the saying goes, and coach Nick Siciliano woke him up on the next rep by charging in on Pryor as he pivoted to roll out, simulating a defender.

"You've got to have a plan for that (defensive) end," he hollered. "Eyes up, come out busting it!"

By the way, QBs coach Joe Daniels was out there intently watching everything, but Siciliano was the guy running around and doing all the yelling.

-- Noticed Pryor rubbing his throwing arm more than once between plays, once bending over as is he was in some pain. He was specifically focusing on the "inside of the elbow" for lack of a better term....maybe tendinitis or a muscle strain? He did not miss any reps to speak of, though, and his passes were not obviously affected.

Fine day for football (Blogging the Buckeyes)

notes from ozone...

Back from practice.

By Mr. Ed on 19:29:44 04/09/09

Today's practice was not in pads (helmets, shoulder pads and shorts) so there was no heavy hitting.

Notes:

Rob Rose was dressed but did not participate in drills. He was limping noticibly when he walked.

The "mix and match" theme continued today with a lot of shuffling of players from unit to unit and a lot of mixing of units i.e. third team DBs on the field with second team linebackers, etc. It's almost impossible to determine any kind of depth chart. That being said, today's offensive line groups looked like this.

Ones = Andrew Miller LT, Connor Smith LG, Cordle C, Mike Brewster RG and Bryant Browning RT

Twos = Mike Adams, Andrew Moses, Evan Blankenship, Justin
Boren and Josh Kerr.

There was a fair amount of 7 on 7 and 11 on 11 while we were there, though there was no actual tackling. Most of that was focused on the passing game. One of the more interesting drills was one in which the offense went no-huddle for several series of downs. Not sure if that was done for the benefit of the defense (to practice against it) or if it is part of the offensive game plan.

It seems like Tyler Moeller is everywhere when he is on the field and always makes plays. He made a very nice strip for a fumble of Taurian Washington after Washington made a catch.

Keeping in mind the mix and match them (which means don't read too much into this, but it is interesting) the recieving combination of Dane Sanzenbacher, DeVier Posey and Jake Stoneburner seemed to be on the field together a lot. Sanzenbacher did sustain what appeared to be a minor leg injury late in practice, but left the field under his own power.

James Jackson was getting a look at defensive back.

http://forums.the-ozone.net/messages/286532.html

 

[Buckskin86]

Ohio State football: Thursday's practice notes
by Doug Lesmerises
Friday April 10, 2009

Made it to my first practice of the spring Thursday now that basketball season is behind us, with the promise not to read too much into anything the Buckeyes are doing on the field.

Not looking at "what" nearly as much as "who."

And running backs coach Dick Tressel made an interesting point today. He said the spring is not to find out who is best at a position, but to find as many people as possible who are capable at a position. The idea is to figure out what your depth is and where it is before you starting zeroing in during the fall on the guys who are going to take the majority of snaps.

And let's remember this list of guys, all of whom were either out completely or not taking part in contact.

* Starting strong safety Kurt Coleman

* Starting linebacker Ross Homan

* Second-team defensive end Nathan Williams, who should play a good amount

* Tackle J.B. Shugarts, who should be fighting for the starting right tackle job, or maybe even the left tackle job, come the fall

* Second-team senior safety Aaron Gant

* Senior defensive lineman Rob Rose, certainly in the main rotation, who twisted his knee Tuesday and was limping a bit and out of contact but otherwise seemed fine

* Senior defensive end Lawrence Wilson, another member of the line rotation, who won't have contact until the fall during his ACL recovery

* Sophomore linebacker Andrew Sweat, who should fight for a spot on the two-deep

* Also, freshman linebacker Zach Boren and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Keith Wells.

Ohio State football: Thursday's practice notes - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball Blog (OSU) - cleveland.com

Football
Practice Notebook
By John Porentas

Spring practice continued for the Buckeyes yesterday though the day's practice was not in full pads but rather in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts.

Practice Notes:

http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2009/SpringBall/090409practicenotes.htm

Quick hitters
Dane Sanzenbacher, the only returning receiver with substantial playing time last season, suffered what appeared to be a lower body injury after catching a Terrelle Pryor pass in the end zone. Sanzenbacher left the field on his own but received attention from the training staff. No doubt redshirt freshman defensive lineman Willie Mobley knows who left guard Justin Boren is. On a rollout play to the right, Boren drove Mobley 12 yards down the field to the left. One theme of the offensive line this spring is to play to the whistle and finish blocks. The kick scrimmage in Ohio Stadium today could be interesting. During field goal tries yesterday, redshirt freshman Ben Buchanan had the most impressive boot. Aaron Pettrey's kick barely cleared the bar and Devin Barclay missed, but Buchanan's sailed high, straight and true.

[email protected]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/conten...es10.ART_ART_04-10-09_C7_JQDGUNO.html?sid=101

 

[gbjbruin]

Way too many injuries

 

[Merih]

Way too many injuries

I think that's pretty normal as guys get used to their bodies again after the layoff. We hear of a number of injuries in the spring usually.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Way too many injuries

Thanks...

 

[ysubuck]

Thanks...

 

[FrancisSoyer]

"Boren drove Mobley 12 yards down the field to the left."

Boren sounds like he's going to be a beast but from what I've seen of Mobley around campus he looks pretty small (for a d-tackle). Hopefully he can add a few pounds over Summer and keep his quickness.

 

[Buckskin86]

Doc's orders
Talking to running backs coach Dick "Doc" Tressel is always entertaining and enlightening. Yesterday was no different. (BTW, his nickname derives from his earning a doctorate in 1996).

OMG, I just used BTW, an Internet-era abbreviation...am I hip now? Don't answer that.

OK, onto Doc's gems:

-- I'm not sure I buy some of this talk about the I-formation use this season. Jim Tressel last week pretty much said OSU would be in the I less this season than the past few. He also made a point of saying that even in 2002, when they were run-heavy with Maurice Clarett, it was not often out of the traditional I, but in a two-tight end, one-back look. He said the 02 team was in that look more than 50 percent of the time, and the I only about 15 percent of the time.

I expect the same this year. When they want to run, they might have Terrelle Pryor in the shotgun with two backs split to either side, then hand off or Pryor fakes the handoff and keeps it....or just plain one back behind Pryor under center.

Or, one play they ran yesterday that intrigued me: Pryor under center with one back directly behind him, and a FB and TB split out on the line of scrimmage to the same side...at the snap, Pryor fakes the dive handoff up the middle while the two backs come around, and Pryor hands off to the TB sweeping wide behind the FB blocking. I liked the look of that one.

-- However, I laughed at this answer by Doc, about how different the formations might look this year:

"It will look very similar if we're ahead 21-7," he said. "You're going to see the fullback out there and we're going to run the ball."

Doc's orders (Blogging the Buckeyes)

Pryor's bad wing

I can already hear the alarm bells going off in households around Ohio....

Terrelle Pryor definitely has something wrong with his throwing arm -- at best, it's sore.

At yesterday's practice, I noticed he was grabbing his right arm around the elbow and rubbing it.

Today at the kick scrimmage, the teams scrimmaged 11-on-11 for 20 minutes or so. Pryor participated in part of it, but then went to the sideline, where he had a bag of ice plastic-wrapped to his elbow and did not go back in.

He did not seem to be in any severe discomfort, and it may be relatively minor -- no official word is expected -- but anything that limits Pryor's practice time this spring hampers his development at a crucial time for him.

Not to mention the fact that if he has to sit out practice, the reps now are split by Joe Bauserman and off-the-street walk-on freshman Justin Siems. This is probably more action than Siems could have dreamed for!

Pryor's bad wing (Blogging the Buckeyes)

 

[ysubuck]

Could he be getting used to his new throwing style and his arm is just sore because he's throwing in a way that he never has before? You know, because the coaches have been working on his mechanics?

 

[sparcboxbuck]

Could he be getting used to his new throwing style and his arm is just sore because he's throwing in a way that he never has before? You know, because the coaches have been working on his mechanics?

Let's hope you're right. When I rebuilt my golf swing I was on alternating loading doses of naproxin and ibuprofen for a couple of weeks.

 

[OSU_D/]

Doc's orders (Blogging the Buckeyes)

-- However, I laughed at this answer by Doc, about how different the formations might look this year:

"It will look very similar if we're ahead 21-7," he said. "You're going to see the fullback out there and we're going to run the ball."

I can remember hearing Krenzel talking about Buckeyes getting ahead and JT going to this type of game-clock chewing strategy. Then the other team would score to make it a game - so to speak. JT would expect the offense to just roll out there and get a TD but after disrupting the offensive rhythm it wouldn't happen.

This is the type of situation where I wish Tressel would get a little Justin Boren attitude in him (instead of only bringing it out for NU or UM) and try to demoralize the opposition by continuing what works to go up 21-7. 21-7 isn't that big of a lead and is one play away from being a close game again.

 

[ginn421]

Let's hope you're right. When I rebuilt my golf swing I was on alternating loading doses of naproxin and ibuprofen for a couple of weeks.

Yep. Sounds like Pryor has medial epicondylitis (golfer's elbow) to me...overuse of the same repetitive flexing motion of wrist and elbow during his throwing motion. Nothing serious...rest, ice, rinse and repeat.

 

[MaxBuck]

This is the type of situation where I wish Tressel would get a little Justin Boren attitude in him (instead of only bringing it out for NU or UM) and try to demoralize the opposition by continuing what works to go up 21-7.

Yeah. Cause, like, Tressel has a really crappy record when he's playing with a lead.

 

[Buckskin86]

Scrimmage notes: Ray Small, DeVier Posey, Devon Torrence and early-enrolled freshman James Jackson were the punt returners Friday, while Small, Torrence, Jackson and Lamaar Thomas were deep on kicks. Posey set up Pettrey's winning 34-yard field goal in the scrimmage with a nice 27-yard punt return, and Small and Torrence each had a kick return to near midfield. . . . Cameron Heyward, Orhian Johnson, Anderson Russell and Brian Rolle blocked field goals. And Rolle was the special teams star, making several big hits, including one on Small

OSU Football Insider: Buckeyes armed with good kickers - Ohio State Buckeyes Football & Basketball News - cleveland.com

Get your kicks
Quick observations from today's open practice and kick scrimmage, leaving out the Terrelle Pryor news we posted earlier:

REGULAR PRACTICE NOTES:

-- Your daily offensive line update: First team (Adams LT, Boren LG, Brewster C, Browning RG, Cordle RT).

Second team: (Miller LT, Smith LG, Moses C, Blankenship RG, Kerr RT)

-- Dane Sanzenbacher was out with a wrap on his left leg (he went down in practice yesterday), so the first-team receivers were Ray Small and DeVier Posey, along with Taurian Washington when they went three-wide. The second-team WRs (so, your No. 5 and 6, with Dane healthy) were Lamaar Thomas and Grant Schwartz.

-- Zach Domicone leveled Boom Herron on a run up the middle.

-- C. J. Barnett broke up a long, underthrown pass from Pryor to Posey.

-- Joe Bauserman hit Small with a beautifully thrown long bomb -- just laid it in perfectly to Small in stride, as he had a step (but only a step) on Donnie Evege.

-- Your first-team defense today:

DL: Gibson-Denlinger-Larimore-Heyward
LB: Rolle-Spitler
DBs: Chekwa, Hines-Johnson-Russell-Amos

-- Second-team defense:

DL: Mobley-Goebel-Thomas (not sure who the second DT was, or where Doug Worthington was, come to think of it. Didn't look for him)
LB: Jackson-Sabino
DBs: Torrence-Johnson-Pentello-Moeller-Evege

Get your kicks (Blogging the Buckeyes)

Special Teams Look Solid in Kick Scrimmage
By John Porentas

The graduation of punter A. J. Trapasso and place kicker Ryan Pretorious made the kick scrimmage held in Ohio Stadium on Saturday an event of interest. It turns out those who were worried about OSU's kicking game probably worried for nothing.

http://www.the-ozone.net/football/2009/SpringBall/kickscrimmage.htm