Fall Practice 2006 - Page 6

osugrad21 · #76 (**permalink**) 08-08-2006, 06:22 AM

DDN

8/8

Late start to academic year an advantage for Buckeyes?

OSU players have an extra month just to focus on football.

By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

COLUMBUS | Being on a quarter system academically means Ohio State typically starts fall classes later than everyone else in the Big Ten, and head coach Jim Tressel has had to find constructive ways to fill his players' free time.


  He's staged seminars on how to handle finances, take notes and do research at the library. And he once sent them on a scavenger hunt through OSU's massive campus to get them better acquainted with their surroundings, although that idea backfired.
"We were supposed to have a clue in the gift shop of the Wexner Center, but the manager went to the restroom (and didn't leave it out)," Tressel said, breaking into a grin. "They were ransacking the place, and people were screaming that there was a robbery going on. The manager came out and said, 'No, no, no. I forgot to put out the clue.' "
Immersed in football
That glitch aside, there generally are few negatives for teams on quarter systems. The Buckeyes don't begin classes this year until Sept. 20, meaning they can immerse themselves in football through the first three games — long after their competition has started cracking the books.
Northwestern is the only other Big Ten team on quarters and begins classes Sept. 18. School is in session at Purdue on Aug. 21, at Iowa on Aug. 22 and everywhere else in the conference by Sept. 5.
"As far as football goes, we have an advantage over a lot of teams because we have almost like a pro schedule through the end of September," OSU senior fullback Stan White Jr. said. "From that standpoint, it's great."
NCAA rules allow only 20 hours of practices and meetings per week once the season starts. But players can spend as much time as they want dissecting film, lifting weights and even huddling with their coaches after the first game as long as it's optional. Most turn their sport into a full-time job while school is out.
Asked if being on quarters is an advantage, Minnesota head coach Glen Mason said: "Sure it is. They don't have — and I shouldn't use this word — 'distractions' that come with the academic year and the added pressure. Let's face it, a lot of kids are under pressure to perform in the classroom. And at 2 p.m., they've got to go to practice and perform there.
"Before school starts, all they have to do is worry about football. Everything else is taken care of. It's like being in the (military) service. You have an unlimited amount of time to work with your team."
For semester schools, getting a jump on the academic year means ending earlier. But Indiana head coach Terry Hoeppner sees little value in that.
"We get out in May, and my guys are gone," he said, "and the quarter schools are still working with their guys every day."
'Mix it up a little'
Tressel actually prefers a later dismissal because the players get to become a regular part of the student body with no football obligations.
"In the month of May, the school is buzzing — it's in normal session, and our kids get to be kids," he said. "When you're in semesters, spring practice ends, the place is empty, and you're back (about one month later) for summer training — like you're in boot camp."
But while his teams have gone 18-2 in August and September during his tenure, Tressel said one downside to a prolonged fall camp is that coaches, like parents, get few breaks until the kids march off to school.
That's why some of his peers on semesters might be hesitant to trade places.
"From my days in the quarter system, that long summer practice gets old pretty quick," Minnesota's Mason said. "You've got to mix it up a little bit. Even as a coach, you look forward to school starting so you can get back to a routine."

Canton Rep

OSU begins workouts with key spots available
Tuesday, August 8, 2006 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

COLUMBUS - Ohio State officially opened practice — or was it a job fair? — Monday on the broiling artificial turf outside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
With only two starters back from last year’s stout defense, the practices leading up to the Sept. 2 opener against Northern Illinois will serve as a way to determine who deserves playing time and starting positions.
“Both offensively and defensively we have good competition,” Coach Jim Tressel said moments before his players came rumbling onto the practice field in a lengthy cordon. “I think that’s going to be one of the best things we have going for us — there aren’t too many guys with guaranteed spots.”
That’s for sure. Tackles David Patterson and Quinn Pitcock are the only two front-line players back on defense from last year’s team that went 10-2, shared the Big Ten title with Penn State at 7-1 and ended up No. 4 in the final rankings.
The Buckeyes are led by 19 seniors, including 16 who are in their fifth year as Buckeyes. That class has been an integral part of three BCS bowl wins.
With vacancies to fill at two offensive line spots, tight end, split end and place-kicker, there are plenty of opportunities for players to step out of the shadows.
“Guys might be here for two or three years watching others lead,” said Tressel, who is 50-13 in his five years in Columbus. “Maybe sitting in their seats (in meetings) they’re saying, well, when I become a senior I’m going to do this or that. It’s fun watching them gain a foothold and say, ‘Hey, now I’m the elder statesman. I’m the guy sitting in the front row at the team meeting, and I’m getting called on to give my thoughts on things.’ It is fun to watch them grow.”
Over the next few weeks, the Buckeyes’ 18 incoming freshmen will be integrated into the action. A few may take that step with few problems. For most, however, it will be a major transition.
“It’s real hard for them, but what we do at the end of all meetings at the end of each day, we’ll keep the true freshmen a little bit afterwards,” Tressel said. “You’ll go back over the scripts and the practice film. They’ve got to understand they’re not going to grasp it all, they’re going to be way behind.”
The Buckeyes reported Sunday, then had a day and night of meetings and orientation. They went through conditioning drills earlier Monday.
With no classes to attend until the fall semester begins, the players spend much of their time during summer camp together. Besides rooming at a nearby university-owned hotel, they also eat, study film, practice, lift weights and go through conditioning together.
Tressel said the preseason workouts are a valuable time.
“This is the first time we’re together and building the team,” he said. “A lot of preseason is about building the team and preparing yourself to handle everything along the way, handle the hype, handle the adversity, handle the successes, handle the opponents.”

CPD

OSU FOOTBALL

Buckeyes draft plan on O-line

Tuesday, August 08, 2006 Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Ohio State offensive line coach Jim Bollman, wearing a straw hat and looking fit after starting a hard-core workout program following heart bypass surgery two months ago, stood behind his line on the first day of practice Monday afternoon and listened to the "whap, whap, whap," of hands striking blocking pads.
It was a familiar sound coming from familiar hands. Though coach Jim Tressel went out of his way to remind everyone at the Big Ten preseason meetings last week of the three missing starters on this experienced offense, including NFL picks Nick Mangold and Rob Sims on the line, the Buckeyes coaches clearly like the big guys who are back. The players do, too.
"Last year, those guys were good, and it was proven on draft day," said senior right guard T.J. Downing. "But I think we have the talent to be better."
<script src="http://ads.cleveland.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/www.cleveland.com/xml/story/s2/s2osf/@StoryAd" **********"**********1.1"></script>
<script **********"**********"> </script> <noscript> http://ads.cleveland.com/RealMedia/a...osf/@StoryAd?x </noscript> Tressel didn't disagree with that outlook, comforted by both the sure things filling four spots on the line and the depth fighting for the one open spot at left guard.
"We are experienced, and I think we're going to be a little deeper," Tressel said. "Will we play better than when we had Nick and Robbie? We'll see."
At left tackle is 6-8 sophomore Alex Boone, who started five games as a freshman and is much slimmer at about 315 pounds. He was complimented by Tressel on the speed he showed during Monday morning's conditioning test.
At center is 6-5, 295-pound fifth-year senior Doug Datish, a likely pick as a captain, who has played center, tackle and guard among his 22 starts for the Buckeyes. Shifting to center after playing tackle last year, he's even growing his hair out, a la Mangold.
At right guard is fifth-year senior Downing, a 6-4, 305-pounder who has 15 career starts and no plans for hair growth.
"Not me," he said. "I think I'll shave my head after picture day."
At right tackle is Barton, a 6-6, 310-pound junior who missed three starts with a knee injury last season but has started 16 games in his career. Barton, Datish and Downing all become starters in 2004, when spotty line play dogged the Buckeyes early before those then-young players helped things settle in.
The only open position is left guard, where 6-5, 290-pound fifth-year senior Tim Schafer worked with the first team Monday. Tressel said 6-8, 329-pound junior Steve Rehring would work with the first team today, though he's also backing up at a tackle spot, and that rotation should continue for now. Tressel also mentioned Jon Skinner (6-5, 300-pound sophomore), Kyle Mitchum (6-5, 295-pound sophomore) and Ben Person (6-4, 315-pound sophomore) as contenders to start.
"Fortunately we have some young guys who aren't so young anymore and who can get out there and plug in," Datish said. "I played next to Rob [two] years in a row, and we knew what each other [was] doing. I have to find out where T.J. is doing and whatever the left guard is doing. That's what camp is for.
"The line will have a little different persona than we did last year, but hopefully we can be as successful as we were late in the year."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

CleveBucks · #77 (**permalink**) 08-08-2006, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Advance screening:
The Buckeyes are planning to offer a rare sneak peak to the public with an open night practice later in the month. Neither the date nor place has been finalized, but it likely will be on Aug. 21, and Tressel sounds enthused.

"We'll fill up some stands and just get a little buzz going, get a little nervousness maybe, get some balls up in the lights and do everything we can to make it gamelike," Tressel said.
The Buckeyes play two night games in the first month of the season, Sept. 9 at Texas and Sept. 30 at Iowa.

They better find a big stadium for this one...

OSUBasketballJunkie · #78 (**permalink**) 08-08-2006, 07:18 AM

Dispatch

8/8/06

Quote:

OSU FOOTBALL

It’s time to find out who else will lead

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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While talking about Troy Smith’s, um, interpersonal communication skills, Ohio State coach Jim Tressel chuckled and shook his head.
"Troy cuts to the chase," Tressel said of his fifth-year senior quarterback. "When (players) are done with things, he tells them sometimes the way us coaches would like to tell them, but we’re maybe a little more sensitive.
"It’s kind of neat to watch the way he’s grabbed hold of this football team, and he’s been doing it for some time."
But as forceful and dedicated a leader as Smith may be, Tressel knows he can’t do it alone.
It’s why, as the Buckeyes started practicing yesterday, the sixth-year coach is focusing not only on X’s and O’s but also on C’s and L’s: chemistry and leadership.
The three-week training camp is when college football teams, reconstituted because of graduation, have to quickly come together as a unit.
Last year, Tressel welcomed back a veteran team. He knew what he had. But since then, he has lost 12 starters, including nine on defense. How this new team’s personality will develop is a mystery.
"This is the first time we’re together and building the team," Tressel said. "A lot of preseason is about building the team and preparing yourselves to handle everything along the way: handle the hype, handle the adversity, handle the successes, handle the opponents.
"So this is so important, what we do during this preseason. It’s the foundation to give us a chance to succeed."
It’s why Tressel reminded his players that even though they are ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches’ poll, "We haven’t done anything in 2006."
And it’s why Tressel’s offseason reading assignment was the book The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence From Anywhere in the Organization.
The gist of the book is that every group has one leader at the top (in this case, Smith), but there is plenty of room for others to lead from the middle.
It certainly sounds like linebacker John Kerr completed his summer reading.
"Just like in an organization, as you get ready for your game and whatever it may be, people rise up and they stand out," Kerr said.
The team endured hours of meetings Sunday when they reported. Tressel went over rules, expectations and mundane stuff.
Yesterday, they had a conditioning test in the morning and then hit the field in late afternoon in helmets and shorts.
Tressel doesn’t seem so concerned with the offensive leadership. But he is particularly keen on discovering who will be the Troy Smith of the new, inexperienced defense.
"You want the guy in the front of your defensive huddle to make sure that no one’s talking but him and everyone wants to hear what he has to say," Tressel said. "And it’s fun to watch those guys emerge. It’s a whole new linebacker group, and we’re going to see who can take charge of that huddle."
Kerr mentioned James Laurinaitis seemed ready to step up. Offensive lineman T.J. Downing mentioned Kerr as a good candidate.
Whoever it is, Kerr at least is aware that success in 2006 will depend as much on the team’s personality as its playbook.
"We’ve got a lot of young guys who need to come together as a unit," Kerr said. "We need to form a team out there, so this is a very important next three weeks."
kgordon@dispatch.com

Dispatch

8/8/06

Quote:

OHIO STATE NOTEBOOK

No rules violations hanging over Buckeyes

But it will take time for program to repair image, Tressel says

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>With no NCAA issues to explain, coach Jim Tressel finds meeting with the media easier this year. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

For teams such as Oklahoma, Southern California and Auburn, the start of preseason practice this week was done under clouds whipped up by recent revelations of NCAA rules violations by key players or, in Auburn’s case, a New York Times report questioning its academic integrity.
Ohio State has been there, done that and moved on. When the Buckeyes took the field yesterday, for the first time in three years there was no player either on suspension or being investigated for improprieties.
Yet in some reports about the problems at Oklahoma, where quarterback Rhett Bomar was released, or about the situation with USC, where receiver Dwayne Jarrett was suspended for getting a good deal on housing from quarterback Matt Leinart’s father, or about Auburn, an occasional reference has been made to OSU’s past problems with Maurice Clarett, current quarterback Troy Smith and so on.
That’s to be expected, OSU coach Jim Tressel said.
"Any time things occur, people don’t discount them for quite some time," Tressel said.
An example he used was the recent charge of alleged domestic abuse against former OSU receiver Santonio Holmes, a first-round draft pick this year of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"Just like we were talking to the Pittsburgh media, the only thing Santonio is going to be able to do is, over time . . . prove for years that he is the kind of guy we believe he is," Tressel said.
"That’s what you have to do as a program. When the issues come up and things happen, you’re going to have to prove for years you are who you want to be. People have to fill their space when they write."
D’Andrea good to go

Maybe the knee will never be totally healed, but OSU senior linebacker Mike D’Andrea has been cleared to do some practicing the next few weeks after having to sit out spring drills.
"We were told today he is going to be able to practice at least once a day, which is all any of us are allowed to practice the first five days," Tressel said. "So we’re anxious to see.
"He and (new strength and conditioning director) Eric Lichter did a good job this summer keeping the pounding off of his knee and making sure we didn’t have the swelling and so forth and have any of those setbacks."
Listed as John Kerr’s backup in the middle, D’Andrea also might be used as an edge man on the defensive line if his knee holds up, Tressel said.
Not good to go

Incoming freshman linebacker Mark Johnson was the only player Tressel mentioned as having serious limitations. The Los Angeles native had shoulder surgery a few weeks ago and will be held out of practice for a while, Tressel indicated.
Redshirt freshmen Doug Worthington and Ryan Williams, defensive ends who had surgery during the offseason, have been cleared to practice, he said.
More meetings

These days, a major-college preseason camp is as much like being in school as it is playing football. Teams are allowed just one practice a day the first five days. And when two-a-days start this weekend, they can be held only every other day.
"The No. 1 thing you have to do is set everything around having proper rest, because you have to have three hours between any (physical) activity," Tressel said. "And I think you have to do a good job of scripting that time when you’re not on the field according to what you’re allowed to do."
That means more meetings.
"I’ve noticed that (the new schedule) is easier on coaches, because it gives you a little bit more preparation time, a little more meeting time and so forth, and a few less scripts to write for practice, which take hours and hours," Tressel said.
"But I think it’s harder on players, because I think players find meetings grueling. They would rather be out there running around."
As for Tressel, "I’m real comfortable with it. It has not been a bad thing at all."
tmay@dispatch.com

osugrad21 · #79 (**permalink**) 08-08-2006, 07:31 AM

OZone

New Gallery

Folanator · #80 (**permalink**) 08-08-2006, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CleveBucks

They better find a big stadium for this one...

I want to thank JT for doing that on my birthday. What a great guy!