Ohio State Spring Game: Because Too Much Playoff Basketball is Unhealthy

Written by David Regimbal

With Ohio State's roster split in two, the football team took the field at Ohio Stadium for the annual Spring Game this past Saturday. Around 65,000 Buckeye fans braved the wet weather to get a look at a team that has high hopes for a National Title run in 2010. Many folks were eager to find the answers to some questions surrounding this team: Has Pryor developed and grown from his MVP performance in the Rose Bowl? Will the defense be able to replace leaders lost like Kurt Coleman, Doug Worthington and Thaddeus Gibson? Will Tressel become more aggressive with the offensive play-calling with nine starters back on that side of the ball?

Most people will tell you that you won't get definitive answers to questions like these from a spring game, which is true. But we can certainly take some things away from the game that will show us the direction the team is heading going into 2010. With that said, let's get started.

First things first, how did number 2 look?

Despite what might be the worst section name ever, it's obvious that most of the hype surrounding this team is directed toward junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Stemming from his phenomenal outing against Oregon in the Rose Bowl where he completed a career high 23 passes for 266 yards; Buckeye fans everywhere have envisioned a 'Vince Young' type of talent developing in Columbus.

Reports coming from spring practice indicate the Pryor is throwing the ball with a lot more zip, is checking down to his running backs and tight ends when the primary targets are covered, and is showing a general comfort and confidence operating in the offense.

In limited play this past Saturday, Pryor made the most of the time given to him by completing 8/12 passes for 108 yards and one touchdown. One of his incompletion's brought back memories of last season when he threw the ball recklessly into coverage trying to connect with Jake Stoneburner, but outside of that, Pryor was fantastic.

During the best drive of the game, Pryor started it off by completing a 23 yard pass to Stoneburner. The pass sailed beautifully in between 3 defenders in one of the tightest windows I've ever seen Pryor overcome. The second play of the drive was a perfectly executed play-action pass to Dane Sanzenbacher that gained 33 yards. The next play was a quick pass to Sanzenbacher on the perimeter (if you can't picture this in your mind, just think back to Ohio State's favorite play during the Rose Bowl). Dane broke a tackle and pushed forward for another 10 yards. The fourth and final play of the drive was another connection between Pryor and Sanzenbacher, a 12 yard pass to the corner of the end-zone that tied the game for the Scarlet team, 7-7.

In all, the drive was four plays, 78 yards, 1 minute and 37 seconds of pure awesome.

And the best part -- all of this was done despite the fact that Pryor was handcuffed to the line of scrimmage. By Tresselian orders, Pryor wasn't allowed to scramble or advance the ball with his legs. That means the defense knew he wasn't going to run, and were still unable to do anything to stop this drive. What is this offense going to look like when defenses have to account for both Pryor's (improved) arm and legs? Label me excited.

Pass rushers? Check.

Losing seniors like Doug Worthington, Laurence Wilson, Rob Rose and a super athletic junior in Thaddeus Gibson will hurt any team up front defensively. The depth of Ohio State's defensive line isn't what it was last year, but that doesn't mean the Buckeyes are short on pass rushers. Cameron Heyward continued to be his "unblockable" self during the spring game. Nathan Williams is showing he's ready to step up and replace Gibson at the other end spot. Case in point, on the first play of the game, Williams beat the right tackle, badly, and would have gotten a clean hit on Pryor if that kind of thing were allowed during spring games.

John Simon has a bright future as well, and will most likely have a breakout season this year as a sophomore. Nobody seems to be able to stay in front of this guy when he's lining up at defensive tackle. His reputation as a workout warrior translates well to his strong play on the field. When you throw in guys like Solomon Thomas and Keith Wells, the Buckeyes should have plenty of muscle up front come September 2.

An unlikely star...

If you're not familiar with how the two teams are split for the spring game, let me inform you. The coaches separate the seniors on the team into two groups, and a team caption from each side picks the remaining players (with the help of the other seniors) in a draft format. Unlike the NFL draft, each team has to select by position. With the first pick, the Scarlet team took Terrelle Pryor, and with the next pick, the Gray team had to select a quarterback. Instead of taking Joe Bauserman, the second string quarterback on the spring depth chart, the Gray team picked redshirt freshman Kenny Guiton.

Guiton, who may be closing the gap between himself and Bauserman for the backup quarterback spot, was the star of the spring game. Guiton finished the game completing 11/21 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns (both to Taurian Washington). Yes, he's still young and showed his youth at times throughout the game, but overall, he outplayed The Bowzer. He displayed good touch on some deep balls and showed a lot of heart at the end of the game.

With his team trailing 14-10 and just over three minutes on the clock, Guiton led the Gray team down the field for an 88 yard touchdown drive. He pushed through some high pressure situations, completing a pass on fourth and two to Zach Boren for a first down, as well as a long 17 yard pass to Joe Cech on third and 16. Three plays later, Guiton connected with Taurian Washington for a 45 yard touchdown pass. The score put the Gray team up for good as they came from behind for the 17-14 victory over the Scarlet Team.

Random tidbits:

-- Etienne Sabino seems to be settling in nicely for the third (and final) linebacker spot. While struggling to grasp the mental aspects of the defense during his freshman and sophomore years, he's coming on strong this spring and registered 7 tackles and a forced fumble during the spring game.

-- Taurian Washington continued his trend of absolutely shredding the defense in the spring game, hauling in three catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns. Over the last three spring games, Washington has accumulated these gaudy stats: 11 catches, 246 yards, four touchdowns. If Taurian can find a way to translate this kind of effort to the field when it counts (this fall), look out.

-- Stop me if you've heard this before, but it looks like Ohio State will be utilizing the tight end more in the passing game this year. I was going to elaborate, but everyone reading this article stopped me because they have read this before, so I can't go on.

-- I think it's an unforgivable sin that I haven't mentioned the running backs yet. Ohio State has lots of good running backs.

-- We're only 129 days away from opening night against Marshall. Stay tuned to TheClevelandFan as Dan Wismar, Jesse Lamovsky and I breakdown the season, position battles and the other power conferences during the slow summer months.

Posted by David Regimbal Apr 26, 2010 1:00 PM Last Updated: Apr 26, 2010

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Ohio State Spring Game: Because Too Much Playoff Basketball is Unhealthy

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