With 11 starters returning on offense and six returning on defense for the Ohio State football team, many say there isn’t much the defending national champions need to work on during spring practices.
Just don’t tell that to coach Jim Tressel.
“From a pure number standpoint, people say we didn’t lose much,” Tressel said during yesterday’s spring luncheon, which officially kicked off the spring season. “But, although it may not seem like it, we lost a lot of very productive guys at positions that pushed our guys in practice and really contributed to our team.”
But with an experienced core of players returning from last year’s 14-0 season, the Buckeyes hope to use spring practices as a chance to improve on certain areas, most notably their passing game. Last season, the Buckeyes threw for 2,425 yards, while rushing for 2,678.
“Last year, we became a more efficient passing team,” Tressel said. “But this year, we need to be a more explosive passing team.”
Becoming more explosive through the air should not be that tough, as OSU welcomes back senior quarterback Craig Krenzel and wide receiver Michael Jenkins. Jenkins led the Buckeyes last year with 61 catches for 1,1076 yards.
“We can improve a lot in our passing game,” Jenkins said. “But everyone’s focused on beginning this season, and last year is a thing of the past.”
But forgetting last season may be tough for the majority of the players. Everywhere they turn, the Buckeyes are remind of last year’s dramatic run to the national title. Also, OSU is expecting more attention from the national media as the college football season begins.
“It’s great to know we are defending national champions,” center Alex Stepanovich said. “But last year is last year. We are still hungry and we want to go out on top like last year’s seniors did.”
While OSU has yet to hit the field, the Buckeyes will be without a trio of players for the spring season. Defensive linemen Darrion Scott and Simon Fraser and offensive lineman Shane Olivea will be held out for rehab. The trio had shoulder surgeries during the offseason, but should be ready for the fall practice season. Another offensive lineman, T.J. Downing, might join Olivea on the sidelines – he injured his knee falling on ice during the winter.
“It’s going to be a lot of rehab for those guys this spring,” Tressel said. “They are going to make it a grind and a physical spring.”
Another big injury question going into spring practice is tailback Maurice Clarett. Clarett suffered from a shoulder injury for much of the second half of the 2002 season, and the talented sophomore has yet to completely heal. According to Tressel, Clarett was benching 400 pounds before his injury. During training last quarter, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year dropped down to 340 last quarter.
The Buckeyes will take to the field tomorrow for the first of their allotted 15 spring practices. Because of NCAA regulations, three practices have to be in shorts, while another three can be used predominantly for scrimmages.
The public’s first chance at seeing the Buckeyes will come April 18, when the team holds its kicking game scrimmage at Ohio Stadium.
“That’s really going to be the first opportunity for guys to get evaluated,” Tressel said. “That’s our jersey scrimmage, and we’ll get a good look at a lot of people.”
The spring schedule will conclude with the annual spring scrimmage at the Horseshoe on April 25.
