Big news in Buckeyeland as the team held its senior-led draft ahead of Saturday's spring game. It wasn't a surprise to hear Pryor's name called first, but the rest of the afternoon left us hurt, confused and dazed after seeing Mike Adams and Etienne Sabino slide, slide, slide. But they were our next-gen alpha-dog city-eaters. How could this be?! To the rosters:
| Scarlet | Gray | |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Joe Bauserman, Justin Siems | Terrelle Pryor, Justin Siems |
| RB | Boom Herron, Joe Gantz, K.C. Christian*, Bo DeLande | Brandon Saine, Marcus Williams |
| FB | Jermil Martin*, James Georgiades | Adam Homan |
| OL | Jim Cordle, Bryant Browning, Andrew Miller, Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts*, Connor Smith, Evan Blankenship | Justin Boren, Mike Brewster, Andrew Moses, Jack Mewhort, Josh Kerr, Scott Sika |
| TE | Nic DiLillo, Spencer Smith | Jake Ballard, Jake Stoneburner |
| WR | DeVier Posey, Dane Sanzenbacher*, Lamaar Thomas, James Jackson, Ryan Schuck, Ricky Crawford | Ray Small, Taurian Washington, Grant Schwartz, Garrett Hummel |
| DL | Doug Worthington, Dexter Larimore, Willie Mobley | Todd Denlinger, Garrett Goebel, Tom Ingham |
| DE | Thaddeus Gibson, Lawrence Wilson | Cameron Heyward, Rob Rose*, Nathan Williams*, Solomon Thomas, Keith Wells* |
| LB | Tyler Moeller, Austin Spitler, Andrew Sweat, Tony Jackson | Brian Rolle, Ross Homan, Etienne Sabino, Storm Klein, Zach Boren* |
| CB | Chimdi Chekwa, Andre Amos, C.J. Barnett, Donnie Evege | Devon Torrence, Travis Howard, Jamie Wood, Taylor Rice |
| S | Anderson Russell, Orhian Johnson, Nate Oliver*, Rocco Pentello | Kurt Coleman, Jermale Hines, Aaron Gant, Zach Dominocone |
| P | Jon Thoma, Ben Buchanan | Derek Erwin, Greg Eisenhardt |
| K | Ben Buchanan | Aaron Pettrey |
| * Injured; Full Scarlet Roster, Full Gray Roster | ||
First, let's just to get this out of the way: Gray -1.5.
The game will feature four 12 minute quarters and as an added bonus, Pryor and Bauserman will both be live for two of the three quarters they play. This could be quite a show as Pryor is Pryor and Joe can sling the ball a little (and upgrades from Washington to Posey this year). After playing the first quarter in black jerseys, the two quarterbacks will be live for the rest of the scrimmage, though walk-on Justin Siems will fill-in for Bauserman in the second and Pryor in the third. All of this sets up what should be a lively fourth quarter pitting the gunslinger (and Boom!) against Vince Young++.
On paper -- to us at least -- it looks like Scarlet has the talent advantage. But Gray has solid interior offensive lineman, the supposedly resurgent Saine, a big edge at tight end, and solid receivers, defensive ends and safeties. And Gray will have the best player on the field, hence the slight edge in our eyes.
Look, it's Tressel in a Hawaiian shirt!!But back to Sabino and Adams slipping. Rolle, Moeller and somewhat surprisingly Sweat were all taken before Sabino heard his name called. Sabino had seen some time with the ones earlier in camp, but the fact that three other backers went ahead of him, including one less heralded from his own class, might be cause for concern. Kickoff against Navy is still four and a half months away, meaning he has plenty of time to make a move, but he appears to be struggling with the mental side of things right now.
Ditto for Adams. He came to Ohio State as perhaps the most hyped line recruit since Orlando Pace only to get dinged-up and see little action his freshman season. The table was seemingly set for him to step into Boone's vacant left tackle role and the coaches have given him every opportunity to do so this spring, but he hasn't been able to beat out converted tight end Andrew Miller for that spot. There were some whispers about his toughness, and those may have been confirmed when Miller was taken two picks ahead of him in the draft.
We're trying not to read into this too much as there was a certain amount of gamesmanship involved with line selection (see Browning going ahead of Boren), but again, some cause for concern.
What about you? Are you worried at all about Sabino and Adams going later than expected? Also, which squad do you like in this matchup?
Comments
Looks like Tressel is trying to one up Carroll in the hip department with the shirt. He might be tweeting on Twitter before you know it.
Gray should win on Saturday. Drafting players is a popularity contest so there are no worries about Adams and Sabino. Sabino will be the next,great LB OSU will send to the NFL.
Scarlet looks to be the better. I have them winning the position draft 7-4. Which can be a very good thing. Make LIC work for this and become a leader. We will need him going against our best untill our matchup with Hollywood. Can't wait to rub their d*cks in the dirt. Disapointing about Sabino, would love to see him taking heads off....Any chance for a replay of the spring game? I will be in BFE with no internet...wishfull thinking but Fall is to far away.
Maybe I need to lay off the chiba, but where is Jaamal Berry?
Yea, i do need to lay off the chiba, he, like most freshmen who enroll at the normal time, will not be there until the fall.
Im going to rehab tomorrow.
I wouldnt read to much into it, players are probably selecting guys with playing experience over the young guys, maybe Adams is still nursing a little?
The BTN is showing an hour long condensed version of the game on Thursday, April 30th @ 7pm. Your Welcome.
Nobody likes a quitter iball, you will be no better than Lydell Ross up the gut. LOL
I'm guessing it's somewhat misleading that Brewster went 4th to the Gray considering Cordle will probably be lining up at Center for the Scarlet. Regardless, with so much emphasis on the O-Line, I wonder where Cordle would have been drafted?
1. Bryant Browning (Scarlet)
2. Justin Boren (Gray)
3. Andy Miller (Scarlet)
4. Michael Brewster (Gray)
5. Mike Adams (Scarlet)
Thoughts?
p.s. From Rivals, "Coleman pointed out that Gibson missed two sacks against Pryor in the jersey scrimmage when he was live with the red jersey."
His Elusiveness... *bow*
Justin Siems is everywhere and nowhere at the same time
He should grow a mustache and buy a Ferrari and we can call him Coach Magnum PI. I would make Bollman dress like Higgins since he doesn't seem to contribute anything else.
Haha! Good stuff, Kyle. You nearly provided a Coca-Cola through the Nose Moment.
I love how whenever Tressel is being interviewed, he asks a question, and then immediatley answers it himself. Classic.
darn! that "Hawaiian shirt" link under the JT pic got me all excited thinking you were pointing us to where we could buy one.
Did you guys read that Tressel interview with Adam Rittenberg at espn.com? In the first two questions he brings up placekicking and punting, like, six times. Without being specifically asked about either! He's morphing into self-parody before our eyes.
Good point about LiC having to work against Gibson and probably a more talented Scarlet squad. I really think we could see a fantastic finish between Bauserman and Pryor.
This is obviously set-up so percieved leaders(Pryor and Boren) have to work with scrub (no disrespect) offensive players. Let me guess JT is coaching Pryors team.
Spring is used to light fires under guys a**es, get them ready to go in the fall.
Methinks Adams isnt showing enough drive, that explains why he is no.2 on the DC and wasnt drafted higher. You gotta earn your spot, love to hear it.
Thank you. Great news. Can't wait to get back to civilization and hear what all you wonderfull scholars have to say about the game.
Nik, I got one of those shirts at the Buckeye Corner about a year ago.
i agree, but i don't read anything into it. they probably picked their friends first...
Figures. ;)
That's how I roll.
Scarlet has Thaddeus AND Wilson?!?! Well, they certainly have the advantage at the edge if Saine can't find daylight up the middle, and if Pryor idles too long in the pocket. Bauserman can surely bomb it, and he's got 3 very, very good receivers (maybe 2 of the top 3) in Posey, Sanzenbacher, and Thomas. Plus, he's got the starting RB with Boom. Chekwa and Russell can cover guys. Looks like Scarlet has the advantage in experience in the defensive front (plus Chekwa's got a lot of gametime), while Gray has a the advantage at safety. Something a lot of people might not take much notice in is that the Buckeyes really only have one fullback, and Pryor has him - meaning they could do option with Saine or I-formation, while Scarlet is going to be running more single-back. That gives Gray a little more diversity in what they can do, and that could help Pryor.
I don't know...I think Scarlet has maybe a 5-point advantage over Gray, if Bauserman stays cool. I'm usually wrong, but that's how I see it.
By the way...here's to Pryor staying healthy during live-play.