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By John Porentas

First Day Fireworks: The Buckeyes were out there practicing on Thursday and Friday, but it really wasn't until Saturday that things really got going, because that was the first day in pads. The first day of hitting usually brings out all the pent-up aggression on the football team, and the OSU coaching staff does what it can to relieve that buildup by running the infamous Hoot 'n Holler drill on the first day of hitting.

"It's always a fun thing to do to start practice. We do it twice a year. We do it today and we'll do it the first day in pads in August. The guys have a lot of fun with it," said OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.

"It went well. It was fun getting back into pads and do our hoot-and-holler drill and things like that," said offensive lineman Kirk Barton.

"This is a fun day. Guys that are all-stars in shorts kind of step aside and when you put the pads on the men come out and play. It makes it fun, because it separates the men from the boys. It's boring when you just have jerseys on because you hit those dumb pads. We're not a big fan of that. We'd rather run into people," Barton said.

In the Hoot 'n Holler a ball carrier and on blocker have to score against three defenders. They have three tries to go about 10 yards. The drill is infamous for creating massive collisions.

Doug Datish

"It was very spirited," said Doug Datish.

"We've got a lot of young guys on the team that want to show their toughness, there's always that element of toughness on days like today. There wasn't anything major today in the way of fights. Just a little pushing and shoving," Datish said with a wry smile that led us to believe that maybe he was understating that a little. Kirk Barton was a bit more open.

"There's always some scraps, guys get a little heated if a guys push back and it's like World War III breaks out in the middle of the field, but it was pretty fun. It's just competition. You don't want to get pushed back. You get pushed back and you're going to push him. It's a lot of fun. I like watching that stuff and I like being in it. It's a fun drill to see," Barton said.

One of the more impressive performers in this spring's Hoot 'n Holler was incoming freshman running back Chris Wells who simply scored on his first carry, running over a defender at the goal line to get in to the endzone.

"He got the ball and he scored. It didn't take him three plays, he got the ball and he scored in one (play)," said offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. "He knows what to do with it when he gets his hands on the ball and which direction to head."

"Guys like Chris Wells stepped in there and ran hard, hit people hard, pushed people back when blocking and pushing people back when blocking. He ran well and had nice burst out of the backfield. He lowers his shoulders well," said offensive lineman Kirk Barton.

"He lowered the shoulder on some guy and he knocked him into next week's practice," Barton added.

"It was pretty neat to see. You always wonder about freshmen, are they going to be a little nervous, a little bit afraid, and he pretty much proved that he's ready to play."

What, Me Worry? The OSU defense is looking for nine new starters for next fall, but there is an odd sense of calm among the few returners on that defense. You almost get the sense that replacing nine starters is no big thing to those players.

Jay Richardson

"That's not even a problem. The silver bullets just reload," said returning defensive end Jay Richardson.

"We have guys that have been here forever that are good," added returning defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock.

"They just haven't had the time on the field. You'll be surprised how many great players we have on the back end that can really play."

According to Richardson, there is plenty of talent, and the competition for positions and playing time will just make that talent all the better. Richardson says that he, for one, is enjoying watching the process.

"It's been very, very competitive. This is the first time since I've been here that that many spots have been open. I know all the guys here are excited about that. Some threes may have come out and maybe they have A. J. Hawk in front of them, but now they come out and there's no one in front of them. It's theirs for the taking. Whoever wants it the most can come up and snatch it."

"When we run in the summer time or we test 40s, I see Andre Amos go out there and run a 4.2-something," said Richardson.

"I can't wait to see what he can do out there on the field or get a pick and who's going to catch him? Last year at the beginning of camp you could see a little of what they could do, but as the season gets on and we get ready for the season, we don't get to see them as much. It's really exciting to see those guys. I love when the threes go in and I watch them, and they're all battling and scrapping, it's great," said Richardson.

According to Kirk Barton, who is going up the "new" OSU defense in practice drills, things are not as glum as some people would believe.

"Speed is definitely the thing that stands out," said Barton.

"Our defenses are always fast, and the fact that with all the guys we're losing to the NFL, and we're going to have pretty close to the same amount of speed on the field. It's not as big a drop off as everybody thinks," Barton said.

"Jamario (O'Neal) struck me as pretty quick, and Lawrence Wilson is really quick off the edge. Marcus Freeman can fly around. We have a lot of speed in a lot of areas."

Don't Forget the Other Wells!: There is considerable excitement over incoming freshman running back Chris Wells, but there is another Wells at running back as well, returning sophomore Maurice Wells.

Maurice Wells

M. Wells had a freshman year that was kind of reminiscent of the freshman year that Antonio Pittman had. There were flashes, but there were also some rather forgettable moments. We think that Wells is fully capable of making the kind of improvement that Pittman made between his first two seasons, and according to many of the Buckeyes we talked to, Maurice is showing that he may do just that.

"I think he's playing very well right now. He's playing very quick and he's being very assertive, I think he knows what he's doing and he's doing a good job," said offensive coordinator Jim Bollman.

"Maurice Wells looks like he's a little bigger and I think he's also a little faster," said offensive lineman T. J. Downing.

"The kid has some wheels on him. You saw it last year. He got into the endzone a couple of times and I think the way he's running now he's looking to run away from guys and get in there even more next year," Downing said.

Ah, Football!: Plenty of Buckeye fans have had football withdrawal since the end of last season. That goes for most the members of the team as well.

Kirk Barton

"It was great to be back to be honest with you," said offensive lineman Kirk Barton.

"You have winter conditioning and 6:00 AMs, you're running around and running through cones, doing stuff like that, but it's not really football. You get in the field and it's like you finally get to play football, and that's what I really enjoy. The drills are great for mental toughness and getting your wind up, but it's not football. This is like the gift at the end of the tunnel," said Barton.

Barton doesn't just like football, he is developing into a person who plays football extremely well.

"The games I started (last season) I had a winning percentage in every game," said Barton.

"The last four games I played I was over 90 per cent, so that's where I kind of where I want to keep going this season. Against Northwestern I was 96 per cent. That's no MAs (missed assignments) and maybe a couple of poor techniques and I got my man on every play. That's what you want to shoot for for every single game."

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