RUSTY MILLER
Associated Press
August 19, 2008 02:06 am
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COLUMBUS — A full 21⁄2 hours before the Ohio State Buckeyes showed up for their annual open-to-the-public workout — a practice, mind you — there were already a couple dozen fans standing in line in the withering heat waiting to get into Ohio Stadium.
Those losses in the last two national championship games were already forgotten by the faithful. A new season of hope brought an estimated 12,000 out to watch the Buckeyes, ranked No. 2 in the preseason, go through an otherwise meaningless series of drills and plays.
With a little less than two weeks to go before the season-opener on Aug. 30 against Youngstown State, a Football Championship Subdivision program he used to coach, head coach Jim Tressel said he wasn’t concerned about what opposing scouts might find out about his team.
He joked that offensive coordinator Jim Bollman had made 4,000 revisions to the plays he would show to the public.
“He was wondering, ’Oh, am I doing too much?’ and I said, ’Hey, if they can figure it out that’ll be just fine (because) they have to figure out WHEN you’re going to do it.”’
Few of the elite programs in the nation unveil their plays and players in an open practice. Ohio State’s coaches know that there is a line between the need for the public to know and for opponents to find out too much.
“We had a supposedly closed scrimmage on Saturday and some of our people brought in little blog sites (that said) ’We saw this’ and ’We saw that,”’ Tressel said before the session while circled by cameras and reporters in the south end zone. “Our coaches work hard on what we’re trying to prepare and would rather not have their thoughts and ideas and game plans out there kicked around until they get to showcase them.”
Still, the Buckeyes might not have disclosed any secrets but did run a portion of their playbook for almost 2 full hours.
Most of those watching the practice — illuminated by two banks of temporary lights raised on the perimeter of the stadium — got a good look at the Buckeyes’ prized rookie, Terrelle Pryor.
Pryor, considered the top quarterback recruit in the nation, showed his footwork in some drills, flashed his arm strength on short out-cuts and longer post patterns and ran some plays with the second-team offense. Returning starter Todd Boeckman, of course, worked with the first unit.
Pryor dazzled some fans when he took snaps midway through the practice, faked to the fullback up the middle and then deftly flipped option tosses to the tailback slanting off left end — against a skeleton defense that offered almost no resistance.
He also threw a pass or two up for grabs that could easily have been intercepted.
Ohio State’s marching band even made an appearance, filing into the stadium to watch the practice while playing a few tunes from the stands.
This is the third year in a row that Ohio State opened its doors for a practice. Two years ago, 28,000 came out to watch Heisman Trophy-winner-to-be Troy Smith and the then-No. 1 Buckeyes go through their paces. A year ago, the Buckeyes were ranked No. 11 in the preseason when they had a storm-wracked workout before 5,500 hardy souls.
Players such as All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis were available for autographs after each of those two previous open sessions. Not this year.
“Some who come abuse the situation. Some people come and all of a sudden it becomes an eBay thing and the people who are here with their youngster who would just love to have a James Laurinaitis signature kind of get nudged out of the way by the folks that are trying to use James’ signature for their own gain,” said Tressel, who admitted later he’d never been on eBay. “When things get a little bit abused and out of control, you have to control them.”
Those in attendance included many young families who took advantage of the opportunity to see the Buckeyes and Ohio Stadium for free, without having to pay the $62 face value for a ticket during the regular season.
“Anytime that we have a chance to provide an opportunity for our fans to come in with no cost, it’s as good a deal as it can possibly be,” Tressel said. “We hope that some folks who don’t necessarily get here all the time — because we know how hard it is to get tickets — have a chance to come.
“It’s a thank you to the fans, but it’s also the fans’ thank you to us.”
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