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Football
Buckeyes Open Spring Ball with Questions to Answer
By John Porentas

Everybody knows the questions. The time has arrived to work out the answers.

The first of 15 spring practices is now in the books, practices that begin the process of answering the key questions about the 2006 football team.

The biggest question overall is about the OSU defense where nine starters will have to be replaced. The good news is that while there aren't many starters back, there is a core of players who have logged significant playing time returning, as-well-as a group of youngsters who started getting some work late last year during bowl practice.

"I think the bowl practice helped those guys a lot," said OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel.

"Not just guys like Laurinaitis or Malcolm Jenkins or Lawrence Wilson who played a lot as true freshmen, but guys like Andre Amos and Donald Washington and Anderson Russell and Austin Spitler, some guys who got a lot of extra practice and run our stuff a little bit in some scrimmages during bowl practices, so I think it was very helpful," said Tressel.

James Laurenaitis

"Curtis Terry and Chad Hoobler have been in a lot of games as special teams guys. Mike D'Andrea, Marcus Freeman and John Kerr have been in games, so we're not totally raw."

Players like Laurinaitis, who was thrown into the fray in the last two games due to Bobby Carpenter's injury, now have a bit of a leg up.

"Being in the game against teams like Michigan, against teams like Notre Dame, and faring pretty well and not making any huge mistakes to bring the level of the defense down, it gives you a sense of confidence, that you can go out there at this level," said Laurinaitis

"It helped a ton. The stuff that we're learning right now is the now easy, so you kind of get to relax and just go play instead of just going out there and wondering what you're doing. You can just relax and play and go back to having fun."

There are a lot of questions to be answered on defense, and a lot of work to be done, but defensive coordinator Jim Heacock is hammering his charges with the idea that while they have a ways to go, this defense can be special.

"Coach Heacock has been preaching and coaching that we're not on that level that we were at last year to start off with, but if anyone doesn't believe that we can get to that level through experience then they should get out of the room," said Laurinaitis

"I believe that, and I believe we can get to that level. We have the pieces, it's just who's going to step up, who's going to get in there and prepare like a starter, who's going to bring that preparation out there to the field."

The OSU spring depth chart shows a lot of new names, as well as a number of surprises. The biggest of those surprises were on the defensive side of the ledger. Nick Sophomore Patterson is currently listed as the number one free safety, ahead of fifth-year senior Brandon Mitchell. Senior John Kerr is currently listed as the number one middle linebacker, and senior Antonio Smith is listed as the top guy at one cornerback position.

Austin Spitler

There are what appear to be a couple of anomalies on the depth chart as well. Linebacker Austin Spitler is listed as an outside linebacker, but Spitler said yesterday that when he lined up on the first day of practice, it was at middle linebacker. Spitler also reported that his weight is up to 245 pounds on a 6-3 frame. Spitler is not just big, but is also an extremely bright athlete. He was one of three Buckeyes who earned a 4.0 this past academic quarter, joining Laurinaitis and Anthony Gonzalez as players who attained that academic achievement.

Over on offense, things are bit more settled, with not many surprises in the depth chart. About the biggest question on offense is who will be the backup quarterback. Troy Smith has established himself as the undisputed number one, but it remains to be seen if senior Justin Zwick gets the reps as the number two guy, or if the Buckeyes will begin grooming one of the younger quarterbacks by giving either Todd Boeckman or Robby Schoenhoft the reps earned by the backup. Tressel said that his philosophy does not include a youth movement simply to have a youth movement.

"Never at the expense of the team," said Tressel.

"So if what's best for the team is for Justin to have the second-most reps, you have to do that, because we've got 18 seniors and this is it for them. They care about 2007, but not like that do 2006, so never at the expense of what's going on in 2006. I think you have to be fair on the reverse side too. You can't just say that Justin is a senior, so we're going to let him have more reps because he's a senior. If the team would be better if Todd had more or Robbie had more, you have to do what's best there," Tressel said.

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