Fall Practice 2006 - Page 21

osugrad21 · #**301** (**permalink**) 08-21-2006, 01:57 PM

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Buckeyes Primed for Title Run Behind Offensive Stars

Fellow Heisman candidates Smith, Ginn look to lift Buckeyes to title run

Aug. 21, 2006

By Brian Hardy

CSTV.com

<script **********"**********" src="http://www.cstv.com/library/analysts/js/checkoptval.js" type="text/**********"></script> <script **********"**********" src="http://www.cstv.com/library/analysts/js/jump-menu.js" type="text/**********"></script> Coming off a season that ended with a 10-2 record, and a convincing Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame, Ohio State steps into 2006 as the favorite by many to win the Big Ten for the second straight year and has also been given the No. 1 ranking in the preseason AP poll. Why are so many people looking so favorably upon the Buckeyes in 2006? It's their two stars on offense: senior quarterback Troy Smith and junior wideout Ted Ginn, Jr.

Both step into the season as Heisman candidates and integral parts of the Buckeyes' title hopes in 2006.

After having a rough start in 2005 which included a suspension against Miami (Ohio) for accepting gifts and part-time duty in the loss to Texas, Smith took over as the starter in the San Diego State game and never looked back, seemingly improving as each game went by to become the Big Ten's passing efficiency leader, posting an efficiency rating of 162.7 while completing over 62 percent of his passes. Smith finished last season throwing for 2,282 yards and 16 touchdowns and became the first Buckeyes quarterback in school history to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for more than 500.

The Fiesta Bowl victory saw a tremendous performance from Smith, who racked up 408 yards on the Irish in the Buckeyes 34-20 victory. That same game saw Ginn shine bright as well. Ginn caught eight passes for 67 yards and a touchdown in that game and rushed twice for 73 yards and another score.

In total last season, Ginn was second only to Santonio Holmes in receptions, hauling in 51 catches for 803 yards and four touchdowns. With Holmes playing on Sundays this season, that opens the door for Ginn as the No. 1 receiver, which should allow him to put up huge numbers.

"He's [Ginn] has fabulous hands," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "He catches the ball with his hands unlike some excellent receivers who just kind of catch it. Route running, I think that's something he's gotten better and better at and I think you would have to characterize him as an excellent route runner if you studied the film and so forth."

Meanwhile, Smith has been topping many people's Heisman Trophy charts heading into the 2006 season and it's for good reason: this guy can run and he can pass. And other teams in the Big Ten have taken notice.

"I think he's a great athlete," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "I think they're [Ohio State] an awfully good football team and I think their quarterback is an outstanding player."

Penn State got to play the Buckeyes near the midpoint of the season and Smith actually struggled in that game, before going on a tear the rest of the season. The two teams hook up again the fourth week of the season in Columbus and the senior quarterback will be looking to put together a stronger performance.

"What I did through the course of the summer with film study is I watched every game three times," Smith said. "And in every game, I watched it from beginning to end. When I watched the Penn State game, it was youthful mistakes that I made, things that I took for granted. All of those things, when we play them again this year, hopefully I won't do them."

Between Ginn and Smith, Ohio State's offense looks like quite a force and is clearly the reason for the high expectations in 2006.

However, what the Buckeyes have in returning starters on offense, they lack in defense, as nine starters are gone from last year's squad.

"This will be a great challenge for us," Tressel said. "I think the positive thing is where there is some experience is up front. When you're solid up front, that certainly helps with the growth of the people in the linebacker corps and in the back end. We hate to lose nine on either side of the ball, but that's college football and we're excited for all nine of those guys who are in NFL camps right now. And hopefully, they'll make teams and make us proud. In the meantime, we've got a lot of work to do to replace them."

But if Tressel and his staff can get the defense rolling, and with the offense in good hands, then this team may just be primed for a title run.

Asked if he was going to try to emulate Vince Young in his style of play this year, Smith said, " I'll try to emulate him in two ways: he led his team and he won a national championship. But other than that, I'm going to write my own story."

Smith, Ginn and the rest of the Buckeyes hope that story ends just like Young's did last year: with a national title in hand.

osugrad21 · #**302** (**permalink**) 08-22-2006, 06:18 AM

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Ohio State football
Buckeyes are prepared to walk the walk
With preseason expectations soaring, especially for the offense, OSU knows it has proving to do
By Rusty Miller
Associated Press

 COLUMBUS - In a brief respite from another scorching August workout, Jim Tressel hesitated when asked to look back on his first five years as Ohio State's coach.
``I have a hard time reflecting on anything that's history right now, other than what play we should have called against Texas,'' Tressel said.
A year later, the Longhorns are still on the minds of the top-ranked Buckeyes.
Last year's 25-22 loss to Texas on a late touchdown in the second game of the season put a serious dent in Ohio State's hopes of playing for the its second national title in four years. The Longhorns went on to beat Southern California in the Rose Bowl and finish No. 1 for the first time since 1969.
The teams will meet again on Sept. 9, this time in Austin. Vince Young won't be there for the third-ranked Longhorns. Neither will many of the stalwarts from Ohio State's staunch defense last season, including linebacker A.J. Hawk and two other first-round draft picks.
``You can't help but acknowledge it,'' Tressel said of the high expectations. ``It helps you appreciate people's respect for Ohio State. It also reminds you that we haven't done anything in 2006 and there's a good bit expected, so we'd better get to work.''
The Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll for the sixth time. They have never ended a season in the top spot after starting there. As a matter of fact, half the time they've been No. 1 before the season started, they didn't finish in the top seven teams in the country.
``It's a good start to be in the national championship hunt, but we want to be there at the end, too,'' center Doug Datish said.
The Buckeyes head into the 2006 season led by an offense that features quarterback Troy Smith, wideout Ted Ginn Jr. and tailback Anthony Pittman.
Smith posted huge numbers last fall, accounting for 27 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes with a 16-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He played his best in the final two games of the season -- a last-minute 25-21 victory over Michigan and a dominating 34-20 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.
His average during those two games: 23-of-33 passing for 321 yards. It wasn't so long ago that people referred to him as ``the running quarterback'' and backup Justin Zwick as ``the passing quarterback.''
``I don't laugh at it,'' Smith said. ``But I remember. I don't forget any of that. And that's what makes me work as hard as I do because I never want that to come up again.''
Ginn, perhaps the fastest Ohio State player ever, must cross the threshold to being the Buckeyes' No. 1 receiver after Santonio Holmes departed early for the NFL. Ginn has made his name as a volatile kick returner who tossed in an occasional big play as a receiver or runner. Much more is expected of him this year.
``You've just got to concentrate, work hard and have fun,'' he said.
All Pittman did a year ago was rush for 1,331 yards in a breakout season.
``When people defense us, they have to be a little bit nervous about where those guys are,'' offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said.
Three starters and several others with lots of experience are back on the line, along with wideout Anthony Gonzalez -- who made the acrobatic catch which helped set up the winning score against rival Michigan.
``People say how great our offense is,'' Smith said. ``Within our unit, within our core group of people, coaches and everything, I know that the standards are going to be high for our offense. And we have to live up to them.''
The only two starters back on defense are linemen Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson.
``I'm not discouraged at all with our defense,'' said Tressel, 50-13 overall and 30-10 in the Big Ten during his tenure in Columbus. ``We have good staff, we have good leaders, you always want to be good up front. Now we need experience in the back seven.''
John Kerr, with very little playing time since leading Indiana in tackles four years ago, will likely fill one linebacker spot. Marcus Freeman and James Laurinaitis -- son of ``The Animal'' of professional wrestling fame -- are penciled in for the other two spots.
The secondary is a mishmash of promising youth and upperclassmen who have been role players.
Another hole that needs to be addressed is kicker, where Josh Huston made the most of an NCAA-granted sixth season by converting 22 of 28 field goals and all but one of his 45 extra-point attempts. Ryan Pretorious, a 27-year-old walk-on from South Africa, will likely take over.
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No. 1 Buckeyes have questions on defense

<table class="byln" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="428"> <tbody><tr valign="bottom"> <td class="byln" width="328">8/22/2006, 12:57 a.m. ETBy RUSTY MILLER
The Associated Press</td><td width="3">
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</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — In a brief respite from another scorching August workout, Jim Tressel hesitated when asked to look back on his first five years as Ohio State's coach.
"I have a hard time reflecting on anything that's history right now, other than what play we should have called against Texas," Tressel said.
A year later, the Longhorns are still on the minds of the top-ranked Buckeyes.

Last year's 25-22 loss to Texas on a late touchdown in the second game of the season put a serious dent in Ohio State's hopes of playing for the its second national title in four years. The Longhorns went on to beat Southern California in the Rose Bowl and finish No. 1 for the first time since 1969.
The teams will meet again on Sept. 9, this time in Austin. Vince Young won't be there for the third-ranked Longhorns. Neither will many of the stalwarts from Ohio State's staunch defense last season, including linebacker A.J. Hawk and two other first-round draft picks.
"You can't help but acknowledge it," Tressel said of the high expectations. "It helps you appreciate people's respect for Ohio State. It also reminds you that we haven't done anything in 2006 and there's a good bit expected, so we'd better get to work."
The Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll for the sixth time. They have never ended up a season in the top spot after starting that way. As a matter of fact, half the time they've been No. 1 before the season started, they didn't finish in the top seven teams in the country.
"It's a good start to be in the national championship hunt, but we want to be there at the end, too," center Doug Datish said.
The Buckeyes head into the 2006 season led by an offense that features quarterback Troy Smith, wideout Ted Ginn Jr. and tailback Anthony Pittman.
Smith posted huge numbers last fall, accounting for 27 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes with a 16-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He played his best in the final two games of the season — a last-minute 25-21 victory over Michigan and a dominating 34-20 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

His average over those two games: 23-of-33 passing for 321 yards. It wasn't so long ago that people referred to him as "the running quarterback" and backup Justin Zwick as "the passing quarterback."
"I don't laugh at it," Smith said. "But I remember. I don't forget any of that. And that's what makes me work as hard as I do because I never want that to come up again."
Ginn, perhaps the fastest Ohio State player ever, must cross the threshold to being the Buckeyes' No. 1 receiver after Santonio Holmes departed early for the NFL. Ginn has made his name as a volatile kick returner, who tossed in an occasional big play as a receiver or runner. Much more is expected of him this year.

"You've just got to concentrate, work hard and have fun," he said.
All Pittman did a year ago was rush for 1,331 yards in a breakout season.
"When people defense us, they have to be a little bit nervous about where those guys are," offensive coordinator Jim Bollman said.
Three starters and several others with lots of experience are back on the line, along with wideout Anthony Gonzalez — who made the acrobatic catch which helped set up the winning score against rival Michigan.
"People say how great our offense is," Smith said. "Within our unit, within our core group of people, coaches and everything, I know that the standards are going to be high for our offense. And we have to live up to them."
The only two starters back on defense are linemen Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson.
"I'm not discouraged at all with our defense," said Tressel, 50-13 overall and 30-10 in the Big Ten during his tenure in Columbus. "We have good staff, we have good leaders, you always want to be good up front. Now we need experience in the back seven."
John Kerr, with very little playing time since leading Indiana in tackles four years ago, will likely fill one linebacker spot. Marcus Freeman and James Laurinaitis — son of "The Animal" of professional wrestling fame — are penciled in for the other two spots.
The secondary is a mishmash of promising youth and upperclassmen who have been role players.
Another hole that needs to be addressed is kicker, where Josh Huston made the most of an NCAA-granted sixth season by converting 22 of 28 field goals and all but one of his 45 extra-point attempts. Ryan Pretorious, a 27-year-old walk-on originally from South Africa, will likely take over.

OSUBasketballJunkie · #**303** (**permalink**) 08-22-2006, 07:28 AM

Dispatch

8/22/06

Quote:

OSU NOTEBOOK

Zwick plays despite recent shoulder injury
Backup QB job still up for grabs

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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In the midst of the hitting, football practice can also be a game of illusion, as approximately 28,000 fans at Ohio State’s open workout in Ohio Stadium last night could attest.
There was senior quarterback Justin Zwick taking snaps and throwing passes, just three days after leaving a rain-soaked scrimmage with a left-shoulder injury. Meanwhile, sophomore quarterback Todd Boeckman was on the sideline most of last night, unable to throw because of an unspecified injury suffered in that same scrimmage.
"He didn’t even know it until the day after," coach Jim Tressel said. "Our (medical) people are being conservative, but he’ll be fine."
It was a no-contact night for the quarterbacks, and Zwick was favoring his left shoulder. But the fact he was out there showed he shouldn’t be counted out of the competition to back up Troy Smith. Boeckman and redshirt-freshman Rob Schoenhoft are also in the mix.
"I think Justin has had two real good practices today," Tressel said. "And he’s got good game experience and so forth. But I like a lot of things I see in both Todd and Robbie. It’s a good little battle."
He’s still No . 1

Freshman running back Chris "Beanie" Wells has looked strong in the few public glimpses since he enrolled for spring quarter, but Tressel left no doubt who his No. 1 tailback is.
"Antonio Pittman will start at tailback," Tressel said of the junior, who is coming off a 1,331-yard season. "That’s probably as solid as anything. … But (sophomore) Mo Wells, Chris Wells and Antonio Pittman will all carry the ball."
He keeps flashing

Freshman cornerback Kurt Coleman has made a memorable play every time he’s been seen, too, and last night was no exception. He picked off Zwick late in practice and returned it about 50 yards to the end zone.
"Kurt has got a lot of work fundamentally to do, but I think he can make plays," Tressel said. "When you can make plays, now you just need to work at it and get some experience."
Not exactly Austin

Last night’s practice was an attempt to simulate some of the conditions the Buckeyes might face in their two scheduled night games early in the season. But one thing Tressel could not control was the temperature. While it was 72 degrees near the end of OSU’s practice, it was 95 in Austin, Texas, where the Buckeyes will play the Longhorns under the lights Sept. 9.
Going elsewhere

Junior defensive end Chad Hoobler is in the process of transferring to Ashland University.
"Chad has left the team for personal reasons," Tressel said.
Over the summer the Buckeyes saw running back Erik Haw transfer to Jackson (Miss.) State. He was joined last week by tight end Marcel Frost, who had been suspended for the season by OSU for breaking team rules.
tmay@dispatch.com

BB73 · #**304** (**permalink**) 08-23-2006, 11:43 AM

ozone.fallcamp

Buckeyes Stepping Up in Fall Camp
By John Porentas

For Buckeye fans fall camp is a lot like December 24 for little kids. They know the presents are under the tree and pretty soon they will be able to open them, but the wait until the next morning to open them can be just excruciating

It's the same way for Buckeye fans and fall camp. They know the players are in camp, but they just can't wait to find out who is making a move, who is standing out, which young players are making an impression, who will be on the field for the opener, who is likely to be the big play maker in the upcoming season.

Fall camp reports are rife with "insider" tidbits about who made a play at this practice or scrimmage or who had a bad day, but drawing conclusions based on one play or one practice is an iffy exercise at best. The people who really know who is standing out are the coaches and players who are
there every day, are actually on the field, and are watching film daily.
Recently two players, Malcolm Jenkins and Anthony Gonzalez and one coach, Joe Daniels, offered some opinions on who is standing out this fall.

"In the spring I would say it was Anderson Russell, and in camp now its Curt Coleman and Donald Washington who have stood out to me," said Jenkins of some of his fellow youthful DBs who have caught his eye recently.

"Donald missed a couple of days in the beginning, he had some health issues, but he came back and really caught on quick and is doing a real good job. Curt has been making a lot of plays in camp. He just needs to work on his fundamentals, because he makes plays. I just think he needs to work on the fundamental things to polish off the product," said Jenkins.
Jenkins remains impressed with Russell as well.

"In high school he didn't play safety at all, he was strictly a running back," Jenkins said.

"Coming to play the secondary for the first time at the college level, it was kind of confusing for him, but he dedicated himself to learning the defense and learning everything there is to learn as a DB and he's really excelled being an all-around football player. We call him 100% because everything he does is full speed. He never takes a break. He's always going full go, no matter what it is, special teams or one-on-ones, he's always going full power. Even if he's making a mistake, at least he's going 100%.

Gonzalez also had a few favorites over in the defensive secondary. One of them is senior safety Brandon Mitchell.

"He's the one who has impressed me the most I think. A lot of that has to do with that fact that as a slot guy you go against safeties more often. Brandon Mitchell has shown me a lot," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is impressed with Mitchell both on and off the field.

"Brandon is one of my favorite guys on the team, he really is, because he in my opinion has lived the student-athlete experience as best as you could possibly live it. He took care of his academics and he took care of his athletics, and on top of that he's still a very good person.

"It's encouraging to younger guys I think. I know it's encouraging to me. He's one of those people that when I think back about players that I played with, I'm sure he's one of the guys I'll say 'He was one of my favorite guys to play with.'"

Gonzalez is also impressed with a young linebacker.

"Now when you talk about the defense as a whole, the young guy who has stood out to me more than anybody is Tyler Moeller," Gonzalez said.

"Every time I look up he's hitting somebody, and he's hitting them a lot harder than a guy his size should be hitting them. He's the type of kid that you have a feeling that if you threw him on the field he would find a way to make ten tackles a game or something like that. He's always around the ball, he's very physical and a very tough kid. I really like him. He's quiet and he's nice, it's all good stuff."

With the large number of returners on the offensive side of the ball there is very little in the way of surprise names popping up. What is surprising is who people are pointing at as improved.

"Ted (Ginn) since the spring has really come on as a top-flight receiver," said Gonzalez.

"He's done so much from a physical standpoint in terms of getting more explosive and getting faster and getting stronger which is scary to think about but it's true. On top of that his knowledge of the game has really taken off in the last eight months," Gonzalez said.

If you think its odd to think of a Heisman candidate as a player who has shown recent improvement, think again. Here's what OSU quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Joe Daniels says about another
Heisman candidate, Troy Smith.

"I think he continues to improve," said Daniels.

"One of the biggest assets that Troy has and what he brings to the table is his ability to make plays. That's what he's been doing. He really has the ability to make things happen.

"I think the key was him learning that he could use his athletic ability to buy time to throw the football. I think he had a lot more confidence in his legs. He would go back and make that first read, and if it wasn't there, he knew what he could do with his legs. Sometimes it worked out well and sometimes it didn't but he had confidence in it.

"What he now understands is that he has some weapons, so now lets get the ball to the weapons, the playmakers, now he's one of them and we have to keep that in mind, but he now understands that process a whole lot more," Daniels said.

While there aren't likely to be many surprise names in the starting lineup on offense, there is a rather surprising development at quarterback where Daniels sees not just one, but several quarterbacks who have made great strides this fall.

"I've been really happy with the other quarterbacks," he said.

"I think Justin is really working hard. He has a great attitude and he's working hard. The two young quarterbacks, Robbie Schoenhoft and Todd Boeckman, they've come a million miles, which is what you want to see in young quarterbacks.

"What I like right now is Justin's attitude and his approach to everything. I think that's a very big thing. You can't forget that he's had lot of experience. He's been under fire and been in front of the 105,000 and that's a big plus for him. Those two young kids, Todd and Robby, are really showing progress.

"Todd (Boeckman) to be honest is probably a little bit further ahead (of Schoenhoft) because he's been around (a longer time). I think this is his eighth year here," Daniels laughed, "so he has a little bit better grasp on the offense than Robby does. They have been battling and doing a great job. I've really been happy with their progress. They're pressing Justin."

Though he probably doesn't figure to see playing time this season, Daniels also likes what he sees in incoming freshman quarterback Antonio Henton.

"Antonio Henton is another guy who we've really been happy with," he said.
"We've got to spoon-feed him a little bit simply because he's a freshman.

He's just walked in and we're way ahead, but I'll give him credit, he's really a sharp kid. He really has a great idea what's going on. When we're in a quarterback meeting and we quiz him about some things, he's right on, so he's been impressive," Daniels said.