OSU Jersey Scrimmage this morning

[danwismar]

David Regimbal and I went down to take in the jersey scrimmage at the Horseshoe this morning, so here are a few notes off the top of my head. I'll ask David to get in here later and add his own thoughts:

In general I'd say the offense is of great concern to me. There were some big plays, and four TD passes thrown, but there was no effective rushing of the football, and I'd guess at least twice as many poorly thrown or dropped passes as there were completions.

You have to wonder how much the effectiveness (or lack of it) on offense is a function of the Buckeyes damn good defense, but that can't be all of it.

It looks pretty clear now that Bauserman and Miller have reduced the QB derby to a 2-man race. I would guess that Bauserman starts against Akron, but that we'll see Miller early and often in that game as well...and in every game. Fickell and Bollman both stopped just short of saying so in so many words afterward, but it's clear that only those two are getting any reps at all with the first team offense...and they are alternating series with the 1's.

Miller is unbelievably elusive under the pass rush, and keeps plays alive with his feet impressively. He is still a bit indecisive and inconsistent throwing the ball...although he did have several very nice throws today, including TD passes to Evan Spencer and Chris Fields.

Bauserman also had several nice throws, including a 55 yard completion to Devin Smith, who got behind Doran Grant and got dragged down just short of the goal line.

D. Smith and Evan Spencer, the 2 freshman WR's both looked very good, as did Philly Brown and Chris Fields. Fields had a 58-yd TD reception, where he came back to get the ball after being well-covered by Christian Bryant, and then broke a tackle and went the last 30 yards or so for the score. Brown has benefitted from Stan Drayton's coaching, and is catching the ball much better...and is just blazing fast.

T.Y. Williams, on the other hand, didn't have a catch that I recall, and dropped one perfectly thrown ball from BMiller that should have been about a 25-yard completion. Not sure if this kid will ever make it with hands like he has shown this spring and summer.

Spencer also had a nice reception on a crossing route...then broke a tackle and got around the end for about a 30-yard score.

Freshman TE Jeff Heuermann looked very good, with 5 for 45 yds and a short TD catch.

Running game was very vanilla, with Carlos Hyde and Jordan Hall alternating with the 1's, and Rod Smith playing mostly with the 2's. Jaamal Berry sat it out with a hamstring that has been bothering him for a few days. Only Boom Herron...running behind 2nd and 3rd team O-Lines, looked really good. Hyde is strong and finishes every carry with power and drive. There just weren't many good holes for him today.

Starting LB's looked very good today. Sweat (9 tackles, 4 TFL) and Klein were all over the place, hitting people hard. Sabino...not too many highlights, but nothing negative on him. I think Sweat is going to have a huge season. Tyler Moeller DNP, Travis Howard looked great at corner, including one end zone pick of JoeB. Bradley Roby is starting at the corner opposite Howard. Dominic Clarke and Doran Grant played with the 2's all day at CB. Dionte Allen is 3rd string, along with PeeWee Gambrell.

Hankins, Simon, Bellamy all looked especially good on the D-Line. Nate Williams played, but not too much. He has missed a couple of practices this week with some undisclosed injury. CJ Barnett and O Johnson were the safeties, and didn't get tested much today. Corey Brown and Christian Bryant were the safeties with the 2's. Bryant was the Star in the nickel with Moeller out. Nate Oliver has been moved to OLB, and blitzed very effectively of the edge.

Freshman DL's Hale and Bennett both played with the 2's, and both looked good. J.T. Moore played a lot and continues to have a strong camp showing. He will be in the rotation. At LB, Ryan Shazier is very impressive...fast and instinctive, and right now is well ahead of Curtis Grant for playing time. Grant is running with the 3rd team...at MLB (behind Jordan Whiting and Klein), while Shazier is with the 2's, mostly at Sam backer.

Only 3 seniors on this defense (Moeller, Sweat, Williams) They will be good for years into the future

Place-kicking was very good as Basil was 5-6, and the one he missed looked like more of a complete blocking/timing breakdown by the unit. No punting or kicking off today.

I'll try to answer questions if anyone's got any.

[bucknutz94]

How'd the OLine look? They gotta be getting better going up against that DLine. Did they go with- Norwell/Hall/Brewster/Mewhort/Shugart?

[danwismar]

I'll tell you this...the 1st team offense will be glad to be playing somebody else soon. The O-line starters are fine...pray they stay healthy, but they had a rough time trying to run the ball against Hankins, Bellamy, Simon, Williams, Sweat, Sabino and Klein.

They didn't really make a legit attempt to run the ball today...really working on other things. Lots of QB rollouts by JoeB and Braxton, with short routes and outlets to backs and TE's. Plus they always rotated out for the 2's after a series, so there's no real flow to it.

Backup O-Line is scary not ready...except for Mike Adams, who looks great.

Yes, left to right...Norwell, Mewhort, Brewster, Hall and Shugarts. Second team was Adams, Linsley, Bobek, Blackman, Underwood, I believe

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Dan, how do you see the RB depth chart panning out?

[furls]

I heard Michael Bennett has been ridiculously good in camp this year. He may be the breakout true freshman this year from the reviews I am reading.

I rewatched the spring game several days ago, and I tend to think that the D-Line has a lot to do with the Bucks inability to run the ball. Obviously I did not see the scrimmage today, but during the spring game there were no holes and John Simon was absolutely devastating. He single handedly ruined the first 2 series.

The only position on the D-Line that scares me is WDE. I just don't think that Nate Williams is the kind of playmaker that you want at WDE. He is out of position A LOT and always seems to be one second late to the QB. I really don't like the depth at WDE either, was not really high on JT Moore as a recruit. Hopefully he is a legit #2 on the depth chart and isn't just holding the spot until Steve Miller or someone else is ready.

[bucknutz94]

I actually think Williams is going to blow up this season. Agree a bit about the depth at that position. Would like to see someone like Shazier grow into the position.

[danwismar]

The comparison of Michael Bennett to Cam Heyward is a legit one, I think. Versatile, smart, plays low, fast and strong. He has a chance to be big time.

The nicest surprises of fall camp on the D-Line have been the play of Bennett and also J.T. Moore....and to a slightly lesser extent, Joel Hale. And from what I've seen, Adam Bellamy just keeps getting better and better. He's the top backup at every spot but Leo, and will be at SSDE whenever Simon goes inside

Steve Miller is 3rd team Leo right now behind Moore. Moore is so quick off the snap, and high motor all the time.

At the RB's, I really think all four guys will play...but right now it would probably be a Jordan Hall-Carlos Hyde combo to start the game. Rod Smith and Jaamal Berry will get plenty of chances to change that.

BTW, you guys are going to love what you see of the young Buckeye WR's...and I count Philly Brown and Verlon Reed and Chris Fields in there with the two freshmen, Evan Spencer and Devin Smith. Posey Schmosey...these guys can get it done if the offensive scheme and the green QB's can get them the ball. I'm pretty much writing off T.Y. Williams for now. Stone hands.

I knew D. Smith was the real thing, but got my first look at Spencer yesterday. Football player.

We saw him play well in the spring, but if I had to pick one guy who impressed me a ton who I didn't necessarily have high 2011 expectations for, it's Ryan Shazier. He's the kind of fast, aggressive OLB we haven't seen much of at OSU in recent years...and he's not just a pass-rusher. He's a badass against the run, and a strong tackler. Really really impressed and excited about him. Everyone expected Curtis Grant to be the freshman LB to play early. Best laid plans...

Also...Sweat and Klein (and also other non-LB's like O.Johnson) can't say enough about how much they love working with Vrabel, and how much he has helped them already with technique...hands...shedding blockers, etc.

[noles1]

Seems like the Rod Smith luster has worn off from the Spring time. Reading on here and from anyone around the team this guy was suppose to be the second coming of Eddie George and if he's buried behind Hyde and Hall color me confused.

Hell, I even took heat on here for saying I'd like to see the kid actually play in a meaningful game first and some posters actually took offense.

That said, it will be very interesting to see how this offense performs during the early part of the year. That Miami game is going to be chock full of storylines.

[furls]

Agree on Rod Smith. Something is up. I did not love him in the spring game, but I heard he did well in spring practice and the reviews during practice last year during the season were very promising. He now appears to be about 4-5 on the depth chart.

Carlos Hyde's stock has been rising in fall camp, but again I was thoroughly unimpressed with him in the spring game. Definitely some questions with this year's stable of RBs. I just hope the Bucks find the right one and give him the ball as opposed to splitting carries 4-5 ways while never really developing a chemistry with any particular back.

Maybe I am just dumb, but the guy I have been the most impressed with has been Berry. He has great high end speed and awesome accleration. He is not a guy that is going to break a lot of tackles, but he is strong enough. Hall (and this is where I differ from most) strikes me as a poor man's J-Berry. Everyone else seems to love Hall, but aside from KR I haven't really seen anything about him that made me excited.

[JCoz]

Seems like the Rod Smith luster has worn off from the Spring time. Reading on here and from anyone around the team this guy was suppose to be the second coming of Eddie George and if he's buried behind Hyde and Hall color me confused.

Hell, I even took heat on here for saying I'd like to see the kid actually play in a meaningful game first and some posters actually took offense.

That said, it will be very interesting to see how this offense performs during the early part of the year. That Miami game is going to be chock full of storylines.

I dont know that I took offense, but I was certianly one who was giving you some heat.

I dont get it. Seemed like the kid was getting great reports from several sources up until about 10 days ago. All of a sudden he doesn't look good and is about to be buried for this season? Color me shocked on this 180.

[noles1]

Seems like the Rod Smith luster has worn off from the Spring time. Reading on here and from anyone around the team this guy was suppose to be the second coming of Eddie George and if he's buried behind Hyde and Hall color me confused.

Hell, I even took heat on here for saying I'd like to see the kid actually play in a meaningful game first and some posters actually took offense.

That said, it will be very interesting to see how this offense performs during the early part of the year. That Miami game is going to be chock full of storylines.

I dont know that I took offense, but I was certianly one who was giving you some heat.

I dont get it. Seemed like the kid was getting great reports from several sources up until about 10 days ago. All of a sudden he doesn't look good and is about to be buried for this season? Color me shocked on this 180.

Fair enough, appreciate the "man up", although I didn't take any offense, hell didn't even know who the posters were. Just hearing the lack of glowing report really spurred my memory. Shame too because if there was a year we needed to rely on a big power RB this would have been it. Boom will be able to help after Game 5 but we got to get there first and I think it could be a little too close for comfort and some very sloppy offensive play those first 5 games.

Offensively, my biggest concern this point isn't so much the youth, albeit, that's not a good thing. It's that I don't know we will have any offensive vision/leadership. Losing Tress and replacing with a defensive guy and bringing in Vrabel left that side with continuity but what about on offense?

I think there is SERIOUS reasons for concerns there. No on-field leadership and significant offensive upheaval does not lend itself to smooth sailing.

[danwismar]

Offensively, my biggest concern this point isn't so much the youth, albeit, that's not a good thing. It's that I don't know we will have any offensive vision/leadership. Losing Tress and replacing with a defensive guy and bringing in Vrabel left that side with continuity but what about on offense?

I think there is SERIOUS reasons for concerns there. No on-field leadership and significant offensive upheaval does not lend itself to smooth sailing.

Agree completely with the concern about scheme/strategy/execution from a coaching standpoint. I was shocked when they didn't bring in an offensive "mind" to the coaching staff when both guys who had been calling plays for the last few years (JT and Darrell Hazell) left the program.

It was understandable...since JT resigned on Memorial Day...it's a little late to go out and find a good person...and the staff opted for continuity over change in so many other ways as well....thinking the major lightning bolt changes they had already gone through were sufficiently traumatic....understandable. Still, it's a huge concern.

I have no doubt the offense will struggle.

Sorry I can't provide any explanation for the Rod Smith questions. I really don't think it's anything he did wrong or badly. All four guys are talented in their own ways. I do agree you can't have a 4-man rotation and be effective long term.

What you can do is take a good look at a lot of different guys when you're up 4 TD's against Akron. Let's hope that happens in the first half.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

What the fuck ever happened to Melvin Fellows?

[furls]

Injury bug. Just isn't as explosive coming off surgery. He will never contribute at OSU. He has been passed by pretty much everyone on the depth chart.

[danwismar]

That new avatar is going to take some getting used to, CDT.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Yeah I gotta shrink it down. I also have Bob Ross painting "Fuck Michigan".