[Buckskin86]

Jim Tressel: Battery killer
The man held court with the assembled media horde for 67 minutes today....wow! I was concerned my digital tape recorder would give out before he would, but I'm happy to report I caught the whole thing.

In fact, I'm sending the audio right now to our tech people. Look for it at the end of this post.

Tim May and I are both writing stories for tomorrow, and you'll see a lot of the material parceled out in feature stories over the next few weeks.

But just off the top of my head, here are some notes and observations:

-- Tress demeanor report: Relaxed, calm. Sporting an OSU polo shirt that the coaches wore at the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, so he doesn't have any ill will toward that game, apparently.

-- OSU has just two quarterbacks working in spring ball, so they will be careful not to over-work them -- Terrelle Pryor and Joe Bauserman. Ross Oltorik, a walk-on freshman last season, is playing baseball full-time this spring. They have another brand-new walk on, Justin Siems, who is so new Tressel said he just learned how to pronounce the kid's name today (it's SEEMS).

-- Justin Boren will start at guard and be very good. No, Tressel didn't say it in so many words. But mark it down. It's a done deal.

-- He said the Buckeyes will have to get a bit more creative without Beanie Wells in the backfield, but didn't specify how. Look for less I-formation, but other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

-- Players who will not participate fully in spring drills due to injury: Zach Boren, Lawrence Wilson (still recovering), J.B. Shugarts and Keith Wells. That's it, a pretty short list.

Jim Tressel: Battery killer (Blogging the Buckeyes)