Dispatch
Bob Hunter commentary: For
OSU, overlooking Henton could be a mistake
Sunday, April 13, 2008 3:32 AM
By
Bob Hunter
Dispatch File Photo
What if Antonio Henton, the spring shadow-dweller, is another Troy Smith?
The calendar lied. It was late November in Ohio Stadium yesterday morning. The skies were as gray as an old mule and the wind was so stiff and cold it almost dared you to stay outside. It was a miserable time for a scrimmage, a perfect day for an Ohio State-Michigan game, and the quarterback that nobody is talking about was doing a good impression of an early-day Troy Smith.
Antonio Henton dodged two would-be tacklers and scrambled for a 9-yard gain before being horse-collared by Thaddeus Gibson on a play that earned Gibson a penalty. Later, Henton sidestepped a couple of sack-seekers, floated around like a butterfly caught in a crosswind for what seemed like an eternity, and finally dodged linebacker Mark Johnson and a 10-yard loss by dumping a pass to running back Marcus Williams for a 2-yard gain. The result didn't seem like much until contrasted with the disaster it might have been.
When the scrimmage ended, the third-year sophomore didn't have much to bang the drums about -- a 12-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Crawford and seven completions in 16 attempts, mostly dump-offs, for 26 yards. But his sack-free performance when starter
Todd Boeckman and third-stringer Joe Bauserman were sacked eight times quietly raised a question for those not overcome by Terrelle-steria.
Cont...