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Football
Spring Game More Notable For What It Wasn't Than for What It Was
By John Porentas

A little over 22,000 shivering fans huddled in Ohio Stadium on Saturday to see the culmination of spring drills, the spring game.

The Gray, led by 60 yards rushing by Antonio Pittman and 58 more by Brandon Schnittker, posted a 19-6 win to take home bragging rights. The Gray also got 59 more yards in the passing game as Troy Smith and Todd Boeckman combined to throw for 59 yards on 6-of-16 passing for two touchdowns and one interception. Place kicker Jonathan Skeete added field goals of 43 and 22 yards, but missed a PAT in the game.

The game was remarkable not so much for what it was, but for it wasn't. That list tells most the story.

The spring game wasn't: A nice day at the stadium. Part of the appeal of the spring game annually is the allure of enjoying a sunny spring day in Ohio Stadium while taking in a little football. This year the spring game was anything but that. Wind, rain, and fall-like temperatures prompted almost a third of those who had bought tickets to stay home. OSU sold 33,418 tickets to the game, but just 22,649 passed through the gates. That, however, did not prevent OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel from finding a silver lining in the unusual spring weather.

"Today was a good test of playing in some inclement weather," said Tressel.

"We haven't done a whole lot of that quite honestly.

"We thought it was wonderful for us to come out here in less-than wonderful conditions. I think it's especially good for your kicking game people," Tressel said.

"It was a little uncomfortable day, but a little discomfort is not bad for anyone.

"When you look at the schedule, there's a good chance you're going to have a day like this."

The spring game wasn't: A showcase of next season's football team. The game was kept so vanilla by special rules and a limited playbook that even the most astute observer could not have picked up the tiniest of hint as to how the Buckeye defense and offense will play next season. Todd Quarterback Boeckman, who played a quarter for each team, said not much of the OSU playbook was in effect for the game.

"Maybe 10%," said Boeckman.

"We've got a lot of things we put in in the spring that we didn't run today. We just kept it base.

"We didn't want to show everybody what we had today. I think we only ran four or five running plays. We kept the passing game pretty simple," Boeckman said.

Fellow quarterback Justin Zwick confirmed what Boeckman said.

"It's decimals. A very small number," said Zwick.

The limited play book led to a sluggish offensive day. It also made things very easy for the defense.

"The defense knew what we were running all day today," said Zwick.

Defensively, it was much the same story. Defensive end Jay Richardson actually laughed out loud when asked how much of the defensive package the Buckeyes used on Saturday.

"Maybe three per cent. We really didn't show too much," Richardson said after he caught his breath.

The lack of tactical sophistication made it a day of simply finding out who was better mano a mano on the field. Unfortunately for the offense, the weather conditions tilted that contest toward the defense. Linebacker Curtis Terry said that despite the lack of scoring, the offense held its own, all things considered.

"I think they did an excellent job because of the weather conditions. It favored the defense today," said Terry.

The spring game wasn't: A compelling contest.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Gray put 13 points on the board in the second quarter to take a 13-0 halftime lead, all as a result of Scarlet miscues.

Skeete opened the scoring with a 43 yard field goal that followed a 20 yard punt by Scarlet punter Tyson Gentry. The Scarlet took over on the Gray 46-yard line and behind effective running by Tony Pittman drove to the 26 before stalling. Skeete then came on to put the first points on the board.

A miscue in the punting game led to a touchdown for the Scarlet on their next possession. This time the snap from center went over Gentry's head and was recovered by Kyle Ruhl at the five-yard line. After a one yard loss by Pittman, Boeckman eluded a rush and found Anthony Gonzales in the back of the endzone for a TD. Skeete added the PAT to make the score 10-0.

Skeete added one more field goal before the half ended. Gray quarterback Justin Zwick completed a pass to wide receiver Albert Dukes, but Dukes coughed up the ball when Donte Whitner lowered the boom on him and Curtis Terry recovered for the Gray at the four-yard line. The Gray could not move the ball, however, and Skeete kicked a 22 yard field goal on fourth and five.

The Scarlet tried to make a game of it on their first possession of the second half, driving from their own eight-yard line to the Gray 48, but failed to convert on a fourth-and-one to turn the ball back over to the Gray at midfield.

"The Scarlet got it going a little bit and they're out at midfield, and on third and two-and-a-half, it looked like we had two-and-a-half yards of space, and we didn't, then got stopped on fourth," said Tressel.

"That one sticks in my mind, that once they didn't go down and score early, that made it a little more difficult on them," said Tressel.

The Gray took over and drive 48 yards for a touchdown, the last 12 yards coming on a pass from Troy Smith to tight end Marcel Frost. Safety Curt Lukens tipped the pass, and the ball hit Frost's face mask, but it popped straight up and Frost nabbed it for the score. Skeete missed the extra point.

The 19-0 lead stood until 6:48 of the fourth quarter. Erik Haw finally got the Scarlet on the board when he raced 10 yards to the endzone to camp an 8-play, 68 yard drive. Haw rushed for 40 yards on the drive, but the big play was a 28 yard completion from Justin Zwick to Albert Dukes.

The spring game wasn't: A complete waste of time and effort.

The Buckeyes didn't get a chance to work on their offensive and defensive schemes, but they were out there playing football, and some younger Buckeyes were able to show that they can play a little

Defensively, linebackers Marcus Freeman, Curtis Terry and Chad Hoobler all showed they can play, as did safety Ryan Lukens.

For the Gray, Freeman led all tacklers with six solos and three assists that included two tackles for loss. Terry registered five solos and recovered a fumble. For the Scarlet, Lukens had for solos and six assists. His day included a sack as well. Hoobler had three solos and six assists. All four played with attitude and did not shy from contact.

Offensively, Eric Haw started slowly, but had a good second half for the Scarlet. He ended up leading all rushers with 89 yards on 16 carries with a long run of 14 yards. A good number of Haw's yard came against down-the-line defensive players in the second half, but Haw showed good speed and nice patience, on several occasions waiting for a play to develop before bursting through a hole for a gain. On his fourth quarter touchdown, he sprinted around left end and outran the defense to the corner of the endzone.

Antonio Pittman played just a half, but led the Gray with 60 yards on 14 carries. Pittman showed good vision and quickness throughout his half of play. His long run of the day was 10 yards.

In a surprise move, the coaching staff got the ball to senior Brandon Schnittker for 10 carries. Schnittker filled in for Pittman in the second half, and averaged a game-high 5.8 yards per carry with a long run of 17 yards.

"We were hoping to get each of them over 10 carries. That was our goal, and I think it turned out that way," said Tressel.

"I thought Antonio Pittman looked sharp and he has all spring. I'm really encouraged by the way he is playing.

"Eric Haw I thought as the game progressed (got better). It was one of the first times he was thrust out in front of everyone, and may have been a little tentative early and I thought he improved as he went. That was good to see.

"The other guy that we wanted to get 10 carries from a power or big back standpoint was Brandon Schnittker. He's a good receiver as well. You've got to have a lot of guys at that position. I was pleased for all three of those guys today," said Tressel.

Schnittker was pleased to have his number called so often.

"That was pretty exciting," he said.

"Coach Tress said something about trying to get some extra carries.

"Coach Bolles (Bollman) had said that Pitt (Pittman) wasn't going to be in the game in the second half, so the burden was going to be on me to carry the football. It was a good opportunity for me to show what I could do. I was pretty excited about it," Schnittker said.

Schnittker did not have the flash and dash of Pittman or Haw, but consistently moved the pile after getting hit. He's hoping he can fill the role of OSU's big back this season.

"Kind of like we did with Brandon (Joe) last year" said Schnittker.

"It gives us a little different element in the backfield, more of a power attack as opposed to a perimeter attack which is what Tony and Eric do really well. Hopefully we can utilize all weapons in the backfield and make us more versatile," Schnittker said.

The spring game wasn't: A showcase for explosive plays by Ted Ginn.

Ginn's plays were limited, and the Gray did a good job of limiting his impact on the game. He did have the first carry of the game on a reverse, a play that picked up 13 yards. That was, however, his only rush of the day. He had one reception for eight yards, and one punt return for six yards. Gray opted to kick away from him in the punting game, and Ginn did not return kickoffs. The surprise of the day, however, was his presence on the field as a defensive back for a few snaps.

"We even slipped Teddy in there at corner a little in red zone, playing a little bit of man, which is something I think we have the capability of doing," said Tressel.

Ginn enjoyed the role, but his comments did not lead to the conclusion that at least for now, his role on defense would be large.

"Defense is where I started. Just as long as I get over there every once in a while, it's cool," said Ginn.

More later on the spring game.

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