The Ohio State Spring game that took place on Saturday, April 23rd will be the last time Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel will be on the sidelines for any type of meaningful game for a while, and he didn’t even have his signature sweater vest.
Though Tressel wasn’t sporting the sweater vest, he did make a classy move by wearing camoflauge pants and a hat commemorating the Ohio National Guard families and members that attended the game.
On the field, quarterback Terrelle Pryor stood with a headset on and watched the younger guys take reps as he continues to recover from foot surgery he had this offseason, and Ohio State is making no bones about it—this is anyone’s competition to win.
Coach Tressel implemented four new quarterbacks with the first unit, all of whom threw a touchdown pass. The leading candidate to take over Pryor’s spot—at least, the one that we chose—appears to be Braxton Miller, a standout freshman who was a hotly contested high school recruit. Per reports, Miller was the “most impressive” quarterback of the day, completing seven of his 12 pass attempts for 73 yards, a touchdown, and showed off his ability to make plays on the run as well.
Head coach Jim Tressel thought the young Miller looked the most comfortable of the quarterbacks, and didn’t exactly have glowing reviews of the other signal callers:
“I thought Braxton probably played a little more relaxed and had a little bit more fun than he has, in part because we really limited what we were doing today,” Tressel said. “Joe and Kenny showed they’ve been around and are able to manage our offense and know what’s going on. Taylor had a big home-run throw, but he took a couple too many minus-yard plays.”
DeVier Posey is also one of the suspended Buckeyes, but he has no intentions of sulking during his off time. Posey voiced his pride for how the Ohio State receivers performed on Saturday:
“I felt like a proud dad watching them score touchdowns and make plays,” Posey said. “To me, that shows growth. At the beginning of the spring, I didn’t know if they would make those plays. Now I can look forward to the next four months.”
Reports indicate the Buckeyes’ performance was encouraging, but there are major issues with their depth on the offensive line, and it remains to be seen whether or not the crew that people saw on Saturday can translate their game to victories come game day.