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Saturday’s spring game held the answer to at least one important question: Who can replace graduating right tackle Kirk Barton? The answer – six-foot-four, 312 pound sophomore Bryant Browning.
Browning started at right tackle for the gray team and looked good against the scarlet’s loaded defensive line all afternoon.
OSU’s void at right tackle has become the most heated battle on the squad this spring but Browning has moved head-and-shoulders above the crowd.
“I think if we had a game tomorrow, it would be Bryant,” coach Jim Tressel said. “He’s very dependable, he has power and he does some things we think are going to be very, very special.”
Browning is the latest product from Cleveland’s Glenville High School to make waves in the scarlet and gray.
In an environment like the spring game where few questions are answered, the Buckeyes were lucky to find a temporary one in Browning.
“He definitely did some good things against Cameron Heyward out there today,” quarterback Todd Boeckman said. “He’s big, he’s powerful and I think he’s got some great feet.”
More than meets the eyeWith a gluttony of high-caliber linebackers and a need for speed rushers from the defensive end spot, it was only natural for Thaddeus Gibson to make the transformation.
The scarlet squad chose to make him their top pick in the annual spring draft and Gibson wasted no time showing exactly why.
In the first quarter Gibson put a move on right tackle Bryant Browning, faking outside and blowing by his high school teammate on the inside.
“It’s incredible how hard he comes off the ball and how hard he plays,” defensive tackle Doug Worthington said. “The sky’s the limit for that kid. Five more minutes per game and he’s going to be one of the best players on our team.”
Gibson will likely see time in the fall as the third defensive end in rotation behind starters Lawrence Wilson and Cameron Heyward.
Injuries aplentySeveral Buckeyes sat out Saturday to recover from injuries. Left guard Steve Rehring and right guard Ben Person both sat out this spring to recover from injuries carrying over from last season.
Running back Chris Wells is still recovering from offseason wrist surgery and rehabilitating a nagging ankle injury.
Incoming freshman Michael Brewster and Mike Adams both sat out due to shoulder injuries. Brewster is recovering from an offseason surgical procedure and was inactive for all of spring practice. Adams made strides in a short time this spring before seriously aggravating a recurring shoulder problem requiring surgery.
The only in-game injury to speak of was to Jermale Hines who was seen being carted off favoring his left knee in the first half.
Hines’ injury is undisclosed but is not expected to be serious.
All are expected to return at full strength in the fall.
In memoriamOhio State players wore stickers on their helmets Saturday in honor of Dianna Sharp, a crossing guard at Scioto-Darby Elementary School who lost her life pushing a child from the path of an oncoming dumptruck Thursday.
“Anytime you see one of those heroic acts within your community, it touches all of us,” Tressel said. “You think about the number of people in your own life who have stepped in and made a difference… It was a way for us to demonstrate to the world – our little world – the appreciation we had for her heroic act.”
Zack Timmons can be reached at [email protected].
