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Spring Practice Tidbits

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I love that OL!!!!!!!!

LT Adams
LG Boren
C Brewster
RG Browning
RT Cordle

It's very misleading when you read about losing all that "experience" on the O line. There are 4 guys there with at least a whole season of starting experience each.
 
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NightmaresDad;1447914; said:
Sorry for my ignorance, but, Jackson at LB? Huh?
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Tony Jackson, a walk-on(redshirt frosh, I believe).

08-08-07-FB-0037.jpg
 
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Other Buckeyes notes:

Wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher will miss the next few practices with a sprained ankle but should be fine by next week.

Tressel likes what he has seen from the Buckeyes' defensive line, which becomes the most experienced part of the defense after losses at linebacker and cornerback.

Tressel singled out Jermale Hines, Travis Howard, Andre Amos and freshman Garrett Goebel as defenders who have performed well this spring. Linebacker Brian Rolle also has impressed in place of returning starter Ross Homan, who has a hamstring injury.

Offensive standouts have included wide receiver Jake Stoneburner and and wideout Lamaar Thomas, who Tressel said has "made significant improvement" during the first seven spring practices.
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Buckeyes' Pryor fine after overworking arm - Big Ten - ESPN
 
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Good indoor action
Buckeyes practiced in full pads today on their indoor field as rain fell steadily for the second straight day in central Ohio.

Some thoughts:

-- First off, Terrelle Pryor looked fine. As we blogged earlier, his arm apparently was just weary late last week. He was back in today and did not appear to be in any discomfort. Made it through the whole practice.

-- Sitting out with various injuries: Keith Wells, Rob Rose, Lawrence Wilson (though he had full pads on for the first time we've seen), Zach Boren, Aaron Gant, J.B. Shugarts, Dane Sanzenbacher, Nathan Williams, and Andrew Sweat (who participated in some drills, but not full contact)

Afterward, safeties coach Paul Haynes said Gant had a knee injury and was headed for arthroscopic surgery in the next few days. Obviously, that ends his spring, but may not be a big deal, three-plus months before fall camp starts. He is a second-string player.

Also, Williams' injury looks a bit more serious. He was walking around with ice on his left knee and limping pretty noticeably. Considering it has been more than a week since he got hurt (we don't know exactly when, he's been sitting out since practices have been open April 5), to still look like that is not a great sign.

-- A couple drills I enjoyed watching:

One where the receivers worked on catching over-the-shoulder downfield passes one-handed, first with the left, then back the other way with the right. I'm sure this is simulating a defender having one hand pinned (or held!).

The other drill that was fun to see was a running back taking a pitchout near the 10-yard line and trying to beat a linebacker to the corner for a touchdown. It forced the RBs to work on their cuts, and LBs to work on their break-down techniques. It's hard to say who looked good, as they did not finish plays with a tackle.

-- Former Buckeyes on hand to watch for part of the day: Beanie Wells, James Laurinaitis, Ben Person, Nick Patterson, Donald Washington. (Laurinaitis lingered the longest).

-- First-team offensive line: Adams-Boren-Brewster-Browning-Cordle. We have been seeing more and more of this alignment as practices have progressed. This appears to be jelling.

-- In general, the team was in more "base" formations and defenses today than we have seen to date. The normal alignments earlier in practice were three-receiver sets, faced by nickel defenses. But today, there was much more of a two-back, two-receiver look, or one back with two tight ends and two receivers.
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Good indoor action (Blogging the Buckeyes)
 
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April 15, 2009
Tressel impressions halfway through spring

?As I look in the back end of the defense I think Jermale Hines is a guy who continues to show why he is going to play a lot,? Tressel said. ?I think Devon Torrence, Travis Howard and Andre Amos (cornerbacks battling for the open starting job) have shown they are going to be guys who are going to be fighting like crazy for time there at the corner.
?Brian Rolle has gotten to play a lot because Ross Homan has had a little bit of a hamstring (pull) and he has taken advantage of that opportunity. He has showed up a lot in our scrimmage situations and in our special teams scrimmage.
?(Linebackers Etiene) Sabino and (Austin) Spitler have looked solid there at (middle linebacker in the fight to replace James Laurinaitis). A young guy, (DT) Garrett Goebel, has shown everyone he is going to be an excellent contributor. (DE) Solomon Thomas has stepped up a little bit.?
Flipping over to the offense:
?I?ve been pleased with what I?ve seen of the offensive linemen going up against a good defensive front, learning, having their ups and downs. You can see there is a little bit of growth there with some of those young guys.
?Jake Stoneburner I think is going to be a guy who adds a little bit to our offensive look (after converting from WR to tight end). I think Lamaar Thomas is getting better every day. He is a guy who, from practice one to seven, has made significant improvement.
?And I guess another guy who jumps out at me who you didn?t know would show up as soon as he has is (fullback) Adam Homan. I think Adam is going to be a good player.?
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Tressel impressions halfway through spring (Blogging the Buckeyes)
 
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Some other notes from my conversation with Tressel (who wore a pullover fleece, not a sweater vest), Heacock and several Buckeyes players.

There has been a lot of buzz about Ohio State overhauling the offense in Year 2 of the Terrelle Pryor era, but Tressel downplays the changes. Though a player like Pryor challenges the coaches to be more flexible, the Buckeyes won't look like a completely different offense in 2009. Running back Dan "Boom" Herron smiled and shook his head when I brought up the Wildcat offense, but he admitted the team continues to run some plays out of the pistol formation, which Ohio State used last fall.

"With Terrelle, you're tempted to say, 'Hey, I wonder if we can do this or that,'" Tressel said. "But you reign it back in and say, 'OK, let's look at the whole group. What are the things the whole group can be best at.' What is it that [Dane] Sanzenbacher does best? What it is that [DeVier] Posey does best? But we haven't gotten crazy."

Senior tackle Jim Cordle said the offensive line is ahead of where he thought it would be at this point after a "disappointing" 2008 performance. Cordle, a former center and left guard, is working at both tackle spots this spring but likely will line up on the right side. Former right tackle Bryant Browning moves to right guard, and Michigan transfer Justin Boren has all but locked up the left guard spot. Despite sophomore starting center in Mike Brewster and sophomore Mike Adams working at left tackle, the group is playing with more of an edge.

"Fights will break out and those types of things, but that's just how we compete now," Cordle said.

Heacock said Andre Amos is the frontrunner in the competition for the starting cornerback spot opposite Chimdi Chekwa, but Devon Torrence also has had a good spring. Safety Anderson Russell singled out redshirt freshman cornerback Travis Howard and safety Orhian Johnson for their performances this spring.

Ohio State has been relatively injury-free this spring. Pryor is fine after overworking his throwing arm, and safety Kurt Coleman returned to practice Tuesday after an ankle problem. Sanzenbacher has a high ankle sprain.

Before our interview Heacock was watching film of NFL defenses scoring touchdowns and planned to make a highlight tape for his players. He also has a sign in his office that reads: "No Ohio State team has defeated Michigan 5 times in a row," with the 5 crossed out and replaced by a 6. Interesting.
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Tressel guarding against entitlement with OSU - Big Ten - ESPN
 
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RLC65;1444147; said:
[Scratching head, scratching head...] What in the world sounds predatory about a group called the Frontliners (to the Big Ten, see StoicPaisano post above) The Committee sounds less so? LOL. :tongue2: But then, it was 1974. Who knew back then ?!

Go Bucks!
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Here is the full article that the quote is taken from. Should shed light on the subject.
 
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April 16, 2009
Practice, and a TP appearance
This is going to be super-quick tonight, as I'm way behind, but here are some observations from practice, followed by a few highlights of Terrelle Pryor's press conference:

PRACTICE:

-- OSU has been rotating at both these positions, so neither of these are shocking, but today saw Andrew Miller at left tackle in place of Mike Adams, and Devon Torrence repping with the starters at cornerback in place of Andre Amos. As I said, that has been the case before some days, although recently, Adams had been with the starters more often.

-- James Jackson was back working with the receivers. The freshman switched over from WR to CB last week, but today he's back in his original spot.

-- Andrew Sweat rejoined full contact drills today, coming off an undisclosed injury. He worked mostly with the second team.

-- In one-on-one pass-rush drills, guess who stood out among the offensive linemen? If you've paid attention at all so far this spring, you would have said Justin Boren. The man is just plain nasty.

-- As has been the case much of spring, the Buckeyes are working a lot on their short-passing game, featuring screens and quick outs to receivers and running backs.

-- Dane Sanzenbacher continues to sit out with what now is being called a high-ankle sprain. I would suspect that might mean we won't see him in the April 25 spring game. In the three-wide sets today, Ray Small, DeVier Posey and Lamaar Thomas were in there.

-- Safety Orhian Johnson sat out today, but it's not a big deal -- just a rest day, I was told, so he makes it to the spring game in one piece.

-- What Florida speed? When Pryor fumbled a shotgun snap today, Immokalee, Fla., native Brian Rolle picked it up and scooted for the end zone. Catching him from behind for the tackle -- after making up at least a 5-yard headstart for Rolle -- was Brandon Saine, pride of Piqua, Ohio.
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http://blog.dispatch.com/buckeyesblog/2009/04/practice_and_a_tp_appearance.shtml

Onto the practice observations:

The first-team offense: Quarterback Terrelle Pryor (who's he?), running backs Brandon Saine and Dan "Boom" Herron (rotated), wide receiver Ray Small, wide receiver DeVier Posey, wide receiver Lamaar Thomas, tight end Jake Ballard, left tackle Andrew Miller, left guard Justin Boren, center Mike Brewster, right guard Bryant Browning, right tackle Jim Cordle.

The first-team defense: Safety Anderson Russell, safety Kurt Coleman, cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, cornerback Devon Torrence, linebacker Etienne Sabino, linebacker Brian Rolle, linebacker Austin Spitler, defensive end Thaddeus Gibson, defensive end Cameron Heyward, defensive tackle Doug Worthington, defensive tackle Dexter Larimore. Ross Homan, a projected starter at linebacker, is out with a hamstring injury.
Several of Boren's teammates talked about the nastiness he brings to the offensive line. The Michigan transfer showcased his strength during 1-on-1 drills, manhandling Larimore and Garrett Goebel.
Thomas worked as first-team wide receiver because of a high ankle sprain sustained by Dane Sanzenbacher. He made several catches on short passes (quick outs, middle screens) and seems to bring explosiveness to the offense.

Sophomore tackle Mike Adams is freakishly huge, one of the bigger linemen I've seen this spring. But his toughness has been questioned and challenged a bit this spring, and he worked exclusively with the second-team offense Thursday. He has been rotating at first-team left tackle with Miller, a converted tight end.
Pryor looked decent on short passes, but he underthrew Posey on a deep post and Torrence batted down the pass. He also overthrew Small but hit Thomas, Saine and Ballard on some nice throws. With only three quarterbacks on the roster this spring, Pryor took snaps with both the first- and second-team offenses.
Head coach Jim Tressel has repeatedly praised the spring progress of backup tight end Jake Stoneburner, a converted wide receiver. The 6-5, 230-pound redshirt freshman certainly passes the eye test and made a nice grab on a hitch route.
Backup quarterback Joe Bauserman, who played three seasons in minor league baseball, showed off a strong throwing arm during individual drills.

Saine will be a critical component on the offense this year, and the junior showed some explosiveness at practice. He had a big run up the middle during team drills and caught several screen passes. Health is always the issue for Saine, but he looked good Thursday.
Defensive back Rocco Pentello had an impressive practice. He forced a Herron fumble that cornerback Donnie Evege recovered, and after a bad snap on a field-goal attempt, he returned the ball all the way for a touchdown.
Spitler and reserve 'backer Andrew Sweat both delivered huge hits during team drills. Small was able to hang onto a pass despite getting rocked by Spitler.
One of the day's more exciting plays came on a bad snap to Pryor, as Rolle scooped up the ball and raced down field, only to be caught from behind by Saine. I guess a running back should track down a linebacker, but it was impressive on both ends.
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http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigten/0-3-256/Observations-from-Ohio-State-s-practice.html
 
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