Basketball season may be over unfortunately, but there’s at least one more thing to look forward to before the long, arduous, dry-spell of summer finally takes hold. The annual OSU intrasquad scrimmage known to us fondly as the Spring Game.
While the game has about as much meaning as your fat Uncle Milton’s promise to stop drinking (“Just this one last night and then I’ll quit…”), its arrival supplies just enough moisture to sooth your parched throat – for about a week. Enjoy it while it’s here folks, because I bet this summer will be harder to suffer through than most.
This year’s version of the spring game promises to be one of the most interesting yet. While it’s hard to take anything from a game between squads that have faced off with each other repeatedly over the last few weeks, it’s at least saved by spreading the talent out among two halves. This is the chance for the lesser-known names to shine, and you can bet there will be some serious football about to be played. Urban Meyer desperately wants to see what these kids can do, and it sounds like they’re going to give their all for him.
There are a couple of things I’m most anxious to see this Saturday, in no particular order.
Urban Meyer as the Head Coach
Yea, ok, it’s a bit of a cop-out. Who can honestly tell me they’re not looking forward to seeing him actually set foot in Ohio Stadium as the Head Coach of the Buckeyes? It will be his first game as the head man, even if it’s not actually a real game. It should be fun to see the emotion play on his face as he takes the field in the job he has dreamed about. Of course, he’ll probably be too focused to really enjoy it.
It will be interesting to see if he takes control of one of the teams, or if he does as Tressel used to. I suspect he’ll allow his assistants to take control while he focuses on watching the players perform and execute the plays. It’s much easier to get a feel for who is excelling and who is not when you aren’t as locked in on play calling and strategy as you might otherwise be in a game.
Speed and Intensity
Spring Games have always had a certain fascinating quality to them. Players have often stepped up and played with a high level of intensity, particularly when they aren’t the typical starters. It’s a chance for younger guys, or lesser known guys, to play for the home crowd and have the fans cheering for them when they make a big play.
This year promises to be quite a bit different though. We’ve heard a lot about Urban Meyer’s desire to have players who “finish”. There’s also been a lot of talk about Meyer’s insistence on a high paced practice, and a high level of intensity to match. He’s also turned every single thing into a win-or-lose competition that rewards winning and punishes losing. Expect that to translate onto the field on Saturday. There’s no reason to expect otherwise.
Every single player will be going hard, or not going at all. Every single play will be full speed, full intensity, and full aggression. The guys won’t be out there trying to hurt each other, but they will be out there trying to win and get that bottle of Gatorade. Drinking from a hose after losing the Spring Game would not be fun, and I’m certain the players are well aware of that fact.
Play Calling
With a new group of coaches there are always changes in the respective play calling for the team. That should come as no surprise considering Urban Meyer’s penchant for using the Spread Offense during his career. The new no-huddle offense should be in full effect, even if it’s not at peak efficiency yet, and should be quite a sight to behold. There’s also this new-fangled idea about spreading a defense out to open up space for the playmakers. And what about this idea of throwing to the tight-ends? What’s that about?
The defense seems to have also gone through a few changes. The defensive backs are playing a slighty different strategy, looking to produce more turnovers with their positioning. Coupled with a defensive line that should be a lot faster and more aggressive with the new training regimen, and you’ll have a much better defense than last year.
Keep in mind, again, that there’s only so much we’re going to be able to take from it. Individual performances will mean a lot more than unit performances, and even that should be taken with a grain of salt. So relax, sit back, and enjoy the new offensive strategy. Just think, it won’t involve “Dave Right”, “Dave Left”, “Dave up-the-gut”, “Punt” anymore.
Player Development
Lets just skip over the gnashing about video coordinators coaching Quarterbacks, and instead move to the part of this discussion where we get excited about the future.
Tom Herman, new Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach, has instilled a whole new quarterback training system which seems to have been paying dividends with the players under his tutelage. Braxton Miller is apparently impressing, as is Kenny Guiton who is reported to look like more of a quarterback than he ever has while at OSU. This news has fans buzzing that we might actually see improvement in the passing game.
Of course, that requires the receivers to have improved. I suspect that fixing the receiving issues will be more of a long term issue, but improvement there may be on the way as well. Being able to deliver the ball to the right place is the first step towards your receivers being able to practice effectively.
And then there’s the linebackers. A relatively maligned group last season, they began to step it up towards the end of the year with the discovery of Ryan Shazier. While they likely still lack depth and experience, the sounds coming out of practice have been extremely positive.
The offensive line, comprised of a number of new starters at key positions – Center and Left Tackle to name two – will also be an interesting group to watch. If they’ve picked up the new blocking schemes and the new pace of the offense, they could be an excellent group. Of course, it helps to have someone as mobile as Miller (or even Guiton) in the pocket.
Power Running Backs in Urban’s System
You’ve heard it before, but I’ll repeat it once more. Urban Meyer has never had a power running back in his system before.
Oh wait, yes he did – his name was Tim Tebow, and he was a battering ram.
That aside, Urban has never had a group that included an optimum mobile quarterback in addition to a power running back. That will be the new twist to this system – how Meyer takes advantage of an actual dedicated power running back. We’ve heard that he convinced Bri’onte Dunn to return despite Dunn’s belief that he couldn’t play in Meyer’s system. Clearly Meyer has some ideas up his sleeves for how to take advantage of a slower developing play up the gut, we’re just going to have to wait and see what it is.
Along these lines, keep an eye on how the staff uses Jordan Hall. We heard a lot going into last year about how Hall was going to be split out wide as a receiver, that he was going to be used as a receiver out of the backfield, and on, and on, and on. Unfortunately, we never really saw it develop. Well, this year we’re hearing the same things. If it’s going to come out at all, it will most likely come out now when the season doesn’t depend on it.
Winner of the “Bam Childress Spring Game Star” Award
I’m sure many of you remember the story. WR Bam Childress was always a fan favorite, but only because of his amazing efforts in the Spring Game. He would explode for some ridiculous stats in the Spring Game, and everyone would think that he was finally time for him to step up and shine. Then, once the season had rolled around, Childress would not see the field much. He would struggle to catch passes, and fail to make decent yardage. Despite being Mr. Ohio Football in 1999, he finished his 5-year OSU career with 33 receptions for 392 yards.
Keep in mind, I loved Bam Childress too, but there always seems to be a player that shines in the Spring Game that never quite puts it all together for the actual season. This award was named in his honor, being the most visible player to perform the feat.
While we didn’t really have one of these last year, since it wasn’t a standard spring game due to the lack of depth on the offensive line, we do have a reigning owner of this award returning this year. Kenny Guiton won this award in 2010 for playing an incredible game of football. He scored several long touchdown passes, outran the defense on several occasions, and even took a linebacker to the knee (helmet straight into knee) before bouncing back up and putting together another solid drive. It was a tough, gusty performance from the guy who was slated to be Pryor’s backup.
Unfortunately, that’s what he remained – Pryors (and eventually Miller’s) backup. The only question is – will he do it again this year? Or will someone else shine more brightly than they ever will again?
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