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Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas

Rules Limits: The spring game was somewhat of a choppy affair offensively with neither team able to put together much in the way of scoring threats throughout most of the first half. Some of that can be attributed to the split squads, but the rules of the game also inhibited the offense.

Brandon Saine

"The rules of the game were kind of weird. We could only run on certain downs. In the second quarter we couldn't run at all," said OSU tailback Brandon Saine.

That meant that the defenses know most of the time whether the play was run or pass, and that made it particularly tough for the offenses. Additionally, the quarterbacks for both teams wore black, no-contact jerseys in the first quarter taking away the running quarterback aspect of the game. That was a particular impediment to the Gray with Terrelle Pryor.

You may have noticed there was a period of the game in which Saine was suddenly very effective running the football. That was the third quarter, and Saine said there was a reason for that.

"In the third quarter it was open for us to run," he said.

With the quarterback a threat to run and pass in that quarter and the offense able to call running plays at will the Gray was able to chew up some yards on the ground. It was probably the only time during the game that there was any real glimpse of what the OSU offense is capable of next fall. Saine was very effective in that period, not only making cuts in the hole to get free but finishing runs with authority, often bowling over tacklers.

"I feel like it's better for me to hit them than for them to hit me," Saine said of his physical play.

First Appearance: True freshman layers like Jack Mewhort, C. J. Barnett,. Storm Klein, Jamie Wood, Zach Boren, Adam Homan and James Jackson all enrolled early at OSU and made their first appearance in Ohio Stadium with a crowd in the seats during the spring game. They were greeted by over 95,000 fans, a national record for a spring game. Mewhort was impressed.

"It was a amazing," said Mewhort.

"When I came out I was nervous but once we got warming up and everything I just sort of zoned in and played football."

Kurt Coleman

Back Again: It was not OSU safety Kurt Coleman's first appearance in Ohio Stadium Saturday. Coleman is one of the more veteran Buckeyes and has seen plenty of action in front of OSU fans. Some thought that Coleman might declare for the NFL draft this year, but he decided for a number of reasons to come back. Coleman explained.

"I wanted to get my degree and I wanted to finish this year on top," Coleman said.

"I wanted to win the national championship and be on top. I wanted to win the national championship. I wanted to be on top this year."

National champions? A lofty goal, but Coleman likes the direction he sees the team moving this spring.

"That's our goal as a team and I think everybody is believing in that and we're starting to become that," Coleman said.

Schizo: Todd Denlinger had a weird day in the spring game. Denlinger played both offense and defense for both teams. At times he would go into the huddle on offense, line up at tight end, play the play, then move over to defense and play on the defensive line for the other team on the next play. Denlinger said it was sometimes bewildering, but when the game ended and he looked at the scoreboard, he knew which team he would claim as the one he was actually playing for.

Todd Denlinger

"I was a gray all the way," he said with a laugh, putting himself on the winning side.

The arrangement came as a complete surprise to Denlinger.

"I was informed this morning that I was going to be flip flopping so it was kind of surprising to me. I just do what coach tells me to and be the best football player I can be."

Marcus Williams

Tyler Moeller

Heavy Breathing: OSU running back Marcus Williams made the biggest offensive play of the day with a 75-yard run from scrimmage. Williams, however, did not score when he was run down from behind by linebacker Tyler Moeller.

"We told Marcus he would have scored before he was married, but ever since he's been married, he hasn't had that second gear," quipped OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel of the fact that Williams was caught from behind.

Williams endured the good-natured kidding and admitted that as a newlywed, the home cooking may have slowed him down. At the end of the play, Williams and Moeller appeared to exchange some words, but Williams said it wasn't so.

"I was just breathing hard," he said.

"Tyler was breathing hard too. There was just a whole lot of heavy breathing going on," he said.

Coming tomorrow: The-Ozone spring practice wrapup and analysis.

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