The media got its first glimpse at the 2008 edition of the Buckeye football team this week and the key focus was special teams, injuries and Terrelle Pryor's role.
Coach Tressel immediately addressed last season's shortcomings by dedicating the first practice of the camp exclusively to special teams.
"It's a little bit different, but it's an emphasis that we feel as if we need and we want to make sure we get deep into our special teams from a concept standpoint so they understand how important they are," said Tressel.
The team had four field goal attempts blocked last season, but the real reason for the focus on special teams was last season's pedestrian kick return efforts. Ohio State ranked 116th nationally in kick returns last season with an average of 17.7 yards a return.
The spring practices gave the coaching staff a chance to re-evaluate the talent in the return game.
"The guys that really caught my eye in the spring in the kick-off returns were Brandon Saine and Boom Herron," Tressel said. "Those two guys did a great job bringing it up."
The punt returners look to be the same as last season with returning contributors Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline. Hartline returned a punt return 90 yards for a touchdown last season against Kent State.
Monday also marked the first time top recruit Terrelle Pryor threw passes under the supervision of Coach Tressel. Addressing the media before practice Tressel jokingly asked which hand Pryor was using to throw passes.
"I'm anticipating that he's going to be a guy with a passion to learn and that's the only thing that holds out people is can you learn what we are doing," Tressel said. "So I wouldn't be surprised if he helps us."
At this point it remains unclear how much Pryor will contribute on offense but the coaching staff is hopeful that his willingness to learn work will merit him some greatly anticipated snaps.
"He's a great kid and he's trained hard and he's nervous like any other freshman and I'm sure he didn't sleep last night," Tressel said.
An area of concentration during the summer sessions will be keeping star running back Chris Wells healthy after a season of playing on a gimpy ankle and having undergone off-season wrist surgery. Wells sprinted onto the field appearing very eager to start padded practices.
"He's ready to go, he had wrist surgery which was the major issue but he's ready to go," said Tressel about his Heisman candidate.
"Now are we gonna tackle him 600 times this summer? No, probably because we can't because it wouldn't be smart."
While the health of the overall team appears to be in good shape, there are certain players who are recovering from minor injuries and sat out the first practice. Freshman lineman Mike Adams was working in a lighter fashion than his teammates and freshman wide receiver Jake Stoneburner was relegated to riding a stationary bike while he recovers from a minor leg injury.
Defensive tackle Doug Worthington's status for the opening game of the season is still unclear but he was practicing with the team on Monday.
"He's going through some things right now and he's got to go through some hurdles, but Doug is a good kid," said Tressel.
Freshman defensive tackle Shawntel Rowell's academic issues were clarified as he will not be eligible for the 2008 season and will return to the team in December.
Tressel reiterated this team's appeal before heading out to coach the first practice of camp.
"I like this football team," he said. "They have the good things you need to handle all the adversity and distraction along the way. I'm excited to watch them come together as a team."
Bob Strickley can be reached at strickley.3@osu.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!