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Football
Fall Camp Insider
Moeller Returns, Pryor Shines on First Day in Pads
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS — The ball snapped and Mike Adams went to engage his man, only he wasn’t there. Defensive end Cameron Heyward had already burst through the line and was in the backfield in time to stuff running back Brandon Saine for a three-yard loss.

With that first play in pads it looked like it might be more of the same at Ohio State this fall, with the defensive line dominating the offense early in camp.

Only it wasn’t.

Two plays later, Saine bounced it outside and into the end zone from 10 yards out. It was the start of a streak in which the offense scored on three straight possessions and five out of six with Saine, Jordan Hall, Carlos Hyde, Jaamal Berry, T.Y. Williams and Bo DeLande all reaching the end zone.

The stars of the day, however, were quarterbacks Terrelle Pryor and Joe Bauserman.

Pryor had one of his best practices ever passing the ball, at least of the ones open to the media. He did throw a pick to safety Jermale Hines during scrimmage with a lot of pressure in his face. Other than that, he was on the money today, throwing a lot more over the top with his delivery. His best play of the day came on a roll out to the right where he floated a ball just over the finger tips of two linebackers and Hines into the open arms of wideout DeVier Posey in the end zone.

Bauserman had his best day passing the ball which we’ve seen, in a long, long time. After allowing Kenny Guiton to make a competition out of the backup spot during spring ball and into the fall, he looked very sharp throwing the ball, had excellent velocity on his passes and put most of them right on the money.

Freshman Taylor Graham throws a great ball. In fact, he might have the best velocity on the team, but he's hesitant. He doesn't know when to put touch on his passes and when to fire a missile. That will come with maturity. Here’s a look at some other important items from Tuesday’s practice.

1.Andrew Norwell and David Durham showing fire. The two freshmen had a pretty intense physical altercation after a play during the "Showtime" portion of practice, which was a time at the end allotted for freshmen and guys lower on the depth chart to show what they can do. Durham had a good day working as a LEO, but Norwell was working him over on that play and it came close to blows. Norwell was congratulated on the sideline after the play by juniors Michael Brewster and Mike Adams.

2. Moeller back in the saddle. Safety Tyler Moeller put a hit on Posey Monday that left Pozey dizzy, but Tuesday was the benchmark day as it marked his first full-go contact practice since he suffered a traumatic head injury last summer. Penciled in as Ohio State’s first-team nickel back (Star), Moeller said it meant everything to be back in contact today. He looked good playing the star and said he feels 100 percent. He showed no hesitation except one time where he was blitzing and thought Jaamal Berry was going to cut block him.

3. A few guys missing from practice today. Still no Rod Smith, Nic DiLillo or Garrett Hummel, and they were joined today by three more players who missed practice. Linebacker Brian Rolle and offensive tackle Marcus Hall missed practice because of class and cornerback Devon Torrence sat out during the scrimmage portion because of a sore hamstring. With Rolle and Torrence out (which may have had something to do with the offensive success), Andrew Sweat and Travis Howard moved up to play with the first team defense. Sweat's spot on the second-team was taken by Tony Jackson, while both Donnie Evege and Corey Brown got reps at corner. Hines said after practice that the players refer to the defensive Corey Brown as “Corey Black” because he is so dark. The other Corey Brown has already earned the nickname “Philly Brown” after his hometown.

4. A little too excited. Maybe it was the excitement of finally getting to hit someone after a few months away from the game, but players seemed a little more anxious today than usual. It lead to a number of false starts, including one by senior Bryant Browning, another by Hyde and one by Norwell where he was three steps into the play before he realized he was the only one moving. Freshman.

5. A little gun-shy too. The first day in pads seemed to have some other guys a little jumpy when going up for the ball, which lead to a number of dropped passes Tuesday. Maybe the first day of hitting has guys hearing footsteps, but everybody seemed to be getting in on the drops, including freshman Verlon Reed, who is still adjusting to his new role as a wide receiver after playing mostly quarterback in high school.

6. Heat taking its toll. After a gorgeous weekend in Columbus, the temperatures started to sore early this week. Tuesday was in the 90s everywhere else in Columbus, but on the field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center it had to be over 100 degrees. Guys were sucking down water, dumping it on their heads and spraying it on each other in an attempt to stay cool. Some guys succeeded more than others. Freshman Johnanthan Hankins is going to be a player, but he really seemed effected by the heat, and at his size that’s not surprising. He has some serious talent and drew the praise of defensive coordinator Jim Heacock all morning. The only problem right now is his stamina. At 6-foot-4 and well over 300 pounds, the hefty defensive tackle can't stay on the field for more than a few plays at a time right now.

7. Finding No. 3 and No. 4. Starting tight end Jake Stoneburner was the fourth receiver when the first team went with four-wides today. Taurian Washington was the No. 3 behind Posey and Dane Sanzenbacher, who caught a nice touchdown from Pryor on a drag route, but we never saw Chris Fields or Grant Schwartz get a rep with the ones.

8. Big-hitting freshman. If you don’t know by now, Christian Bryant can lay the wood. The freshman out of Glenville might already be the hardest hitter on the team pound-for-pound. I’m hesitant to pull out the Antoine Winfield comparison after one week of practice, but that’s definitely who he looks like on the field. Jermale Hines would argue that the hardest hitters on the team are Tyler Moeller and Aaron Gant. He said Gant has held the crown for a few years.

9. Bell being rung. The time may be coming soon for Dorian Bell. With Etienne Sabino and Andrew Sweat competing for the third starting spot in the linebacking corps, it was Bell, a redshirt freshman from Pennsylvania, who made the most noise Tuesday. Playing on the second-team defense along with classmate Storm Klein, Bell seemed to be all over the field. He did a great job timing his blitzes and found himself in the backfield quite often. He also had a near interception on Bauserman on one of his rare bad throws of the day.

10. Quiet Storm Rising. There’s only been one day of hitting so far, which means the Buckeyes are actually healthy all the way through at tailback. Despite not having Rod Smith or Jermil Martin, they still have unprecedented depth, and it was on display Tuesday. Working primarily with the third-team offense, freshman Carlos Hyde provided a spark for the offense. The 6-foot, 230-pound back from Naples, Fla. not only showed good power in his running, but he demonstrated an ability to bounce off tacklers and pick up extra yards. Rarely does he not fall forward at the end of runs and on one occasion he broke 3-4 tackles and nearly turned a 1-yard gain into a 15-yard touchdown.

11. Few other freshmen impressing. The “Showtime” portion of practice allowed us to get our first real look at the new freshmen and there were a number of guys who looked impressive. Along with Bryant, Norwell and Durham, J.T. Moore, Corey Brown (also known as Philly Brown) and Bradley Roby all shined bright. Moore made a nice tackle in the backfield on DeLande while Roby made a leaping play in the end zone to break up a touchdown pass to Verlon Reed at the end of practice.

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