Tressel Pre-Spring Practice
In 70 minutes with Jim Tressel, you learn a little about a lot. He’s never going to go into dramatic or brutally honest detail. But you can get a basic idea of what’s happening with players… and let’s just say he has a bunch to look after this spring. He lost 31 players (28 freshmen, 3 juniors) from last season, so jobs are wide open. Here’s a Cliffs Notes version of what we learned.
-Only 2 QB’s will play this spring, Terrelle Pryor and Joe Bauserman
-Several players will sit out or not participate fully due to injury or surgery: JB Shugarts, Aram Olsen, Keith Wells and freshman Zach Boren. Defensive End Lawrence Wilson will workout but not in full contact.
-The good injury news, Mike Adams will finally get healthy work in practice after struggling his entire freshman year with injury problems. Same goes for cornerback Andre Amos, whose knee is ready for full contact.
-Jon Thoma will likely get the first look at AJ Trapasso’s replacement at punter (It’s the most important play in football, btw).
-Tight End depth will make for a spring experiment. Dublin Coffman grad Jake Stoneburner will add weight and give the position a shot, with some help from Defensive tackle Todd Denlinger.
-OSU coaches visited schools across the country this winter to learn about scheme ideas. Among their stops were Florida, Texas, UNC, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
-Tressel says assistant coach Joe Daniels is feeling better as he continues to fight cancer.
