Almost 65,000 fans turn out for the game on a bright and sunny afternoon. Scarlet won over the Gray 12-2. Troy Smith only played in the first possession, which resulted in the only TD all day long. Teams were selected by a mock draft and most of the younger players got a lot of reps. Smith and Zwick wore black no contact jerseys. We are deep at QB and TB, more so than I cam remember for a long time. Two freshmaen look real big in Chris Wells TB and Homan at LB. Both will contribute this fall. Punting was good with a 46.3 average by Trepasso. We also have a soccer type kicker from a community college, who nailed a 59 yarder in the kick scrimmage a day before. The defense, which will be rebuilt, has a lot of depth and great speed. I do not think we need to worry this fall. Don
Wells was probably the top HS TB in the country last year, he should be a great one for you guys from day 1. It's amazing to me how big spring games have become, 65k!! That's more than Neb.
Don, by all accounts the game gave reason for Buckeye fans to be optimistic about this upcoming season. Many are suggesting that fears about the departures on defense have been overstated and that indeed, the young kids that will need to step up are more battle tested than many realize and if anything, I've heard some suggest that this defense may even bring more speed and athleticsism than last years version....that would be impressive! With the exception of the loss of Mangold - who will be one of the first OL taken in the draft, the Offensive worries are few and far between and the depth at TB is unlike any we've had in years...... 8) The prospects are so bright, I'm wearin' my Shades in the Shoe! 8) However, they still have to play......! Terry
65K. Nice crowd. Amazing that the team is doing so well. I counted 5 or 6 Buckeyes projected in the first round of the current NFL draft. That's an incredible load of talent to lose and proceed without missing a beat. After reading about the ND Spring Game and the comments here it sounds like OSU is the real contender for the NC not Herbstreits prediction of ND. While OSU was booming punts ND's kicker was shanking them. While OSU's FG kicker was nailing them ND's kicker was wide left (1-3) on chip shots. While the OSU's rookie RB Wells was verifying he'll contirbute ND's rookie RB Aldridge didn't play. While Homan looked good at LB for OSU, ND's didn't seem to find an upperclassmen at LB with a comparable report. And while ND may have finally found a #2 QB he's not the calibre of Zwick. Sounds like OSU, despite the huge loss of talent to the NFL, is a lot further along from last year than ND at this time. Perhaps Herbie picked ND just to motivate the homies.
Jack, I saw where a good turn out was present for the Blue & Gold game as well. As Buckeye Terry pointed out, we still have to play the game, but we have far more depth at some critical areas. Looks like 7 linebackers will be in the hunt for top line replacements. Tressel has been recruiting speed and he has it all, even more on the defensive side of the ball. Hopefully the Buckeyes and Doomers can both have excellent seasons this fall. Don
I see only 1 team in the way of Ohio State, a team with most of its offense and most of it's defense comming back, a team loaded with depth at every position. A team that is missing only a proven starter at qb, no small issue to be sure! A team that athletically can match Ohio State for speed. I think you guys know who they are and they don't reside in Ann Arbor!! :lol: Early Game of the Year in Austin! Bring your Gatorade and work on your heat tolerance!! Terry
TOK, you're kidding right? Perhaps the burnt orange faithful find it comforting to chant mantra like, but you can't convince me that the better part of your offense didn't just jump to the NFL. Without VY, there is no NC trophy in Austin....see you there! Terry
Don, you exaggerated. Our local paper said it was only 63,000+. :wink: :wink: Pretty darned impressive.
:wink: to buckeye T : I thought the national championship was theFiesta Bowl in Az ,, .... At least thats where JOCO said we will be playing in January .......
Indeed it is Mrs. JOCO...indeed it is. There are few places we Buckeyes love to be more than the Fiesta in Phoenix in January. It's sort of a home away from home. We refer to it affectionately as the "Horseshoe West". Perhaps I should say, goodbye Austin, Hello Phoenix?! See ya there.... Terry
Gee, Terry... If you are going to Austin, how are Terry OK, Whobe, and myself going to hook up with you if we couldn't even find you at the Hiney Gate? :roll: stu
Stu, I'll be the guy in the Buckeye hat, wearing a Buckeye #7 jersey with a beer in my hand! In all seriousness, this year we'll need a back-up plan to avoid last years cell phone overload.... TOK, we Buckeyes always bring our "big boy pads." They're the only ones we have! :wink: Terry
lol...I'd never heard of "big boy pads" till last years back and forth before the Texas/Ohio State game. I guess we don't have them in Texas! 8)
Re: "Big Boy Pads" Back in the day, it was an absolute staple of pre-game/early game "smack" talking back and forth across the field and line of scrimmage in central Ohio where I grew up. As a 5'10", 160 soakin' wet RB/DB, I needed all the big boy pads I could find! Terry