Football
Spring Football Notes
By John Porentas

OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel met with media members for about an hour today to discuss topics ranging from status of the renovation of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to the upcoming spring practice drills.

Woody Hayes Renovation: Tressel said the renovation is nearly complete. OSU is already using the team meeting room, locker room and training room facilities, racquetball courts, basketball courts, weight room and coaches offices, and the finishing touches (furniture, etc.) are being made on the position meeting rooms which should be done this week. He also reported that the main public lobby and media suites are scheduled to be complete by April 2, though they will not be fully decorated with graphics until the end of April.

Spring Practice: The fan-focus this spring and undoubtedly through the fall will be on the quarterback position. Tressel said today the Todd Boeckman is currently the front-runner to replace Troy Smith followed by Robbie Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton. According to Tressel, Boeckman has a leg up on the other two if no other reason than he has run the offense. Boeckman got snaps in practices last season while Schoenhoft and Henton worked primarily with the OSU scout team.

Boeckman is big and has a strong arm, but is not a plodder. According to Tressel, Boeckman had the best 40 time of all the quarterbacks two winters ago, a group that included Troy Smith.

Other items of note include:

* Former strength and conditioning assistant Joe Rudolph has left Ohio State to take a position at Nebraska. Rudolph has been replaced on the OSU staff by former Buckeye and NFL offensive lineman Jeff Uhlenhake.

* Safety Anderson Russell, who was injured in the Texas game last season, is ahead of schedule in his rehab. Russell will not take part in contact drills this spring, but will do non-contact activity.

* Former linebacker Tyler Moeller has been moved to safety.

* Center Tyler Waley will play both center and fullback this spring. Tressel quipped that Waley will probably not be looked upon as a receiving threat.

* Defensive end Robert Rose is up to 285 pounds, but will most likely stay at defensive end and will not be looked at seriously as an inside player.

* Defensive tackle Nader Abdallah has gotten his weight down to about 290, which Tressel said was a positive development, and that Abdallah's lateral movement is much-improved as a result of his weight loss.

* Jim Cordle is listed as the starting center on OSU's two-deep, but could be used as OSU's "third" tackle leaving a spot at center open for someone like Jon Skinner.

* Tressel spoke extremely highly of offensive lineman Ben Person who is penciled in at right guard. According to Tressel, Person was pushing last year's starter, T. J. Downing, by season's end.

* The Buckeyes will practice in shorts on March 29 and 30, then will put on the pads for the first time on March 31. Practice dates are April 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 21. As of now, practices are closed to the public and the media.

* Quips from Tressel:

On the first day in pads: "They're more interested in running into one another than technique, so we let them do that, then watch the film and explain to them why the technique is important."

On what he is looking for in his quarterback: "The ability to let loose and just play. That's what Troy Smith did. He let loose and just played, but was careful with the football. "

On What his reaction was when reviewing tape of the BCS National championship game: " What do you want me to say, depression?" Tressel said drawing a laugh, then added seriously, "We didn't finish and reach our potential. We didn't play to our potential in that last game."

Spring Depth Chart

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