By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) —
Some quick thoughts on Ohio State and one on the draft:

* Terrelle Pryor has thrown the ball very well the last two practices we saw him. Tuesday he hit some nice deep throws. Thursday, he was zipping passes to the sideline and over the middle. Call it progress.

* Teams get 15 practices in the spring and Ohio State is using its 14th today to host a clinic for about 900 high school coaches. The offense and defense will each be on the field for about an hours, mostly to show the coaches what the Buckeyes prescription pills online run on each side of the ball.
But every time you hit the field, that counts against the limit. The 15th practice will be Saturday’s spring game.

* Ohio State used the spring to simulate situations for opponents in the fall. One day this spring featured a generator-powered horn that was used to pierce the concentration of the offense in the huddle or just before the snap, getting the Buckeyes ready for their trip to Purdue.

Thursday was Navy day, and the OSU defense spent a period working against a scout team featuring the Navy triple option. Defensive back and former high school quarterback Rocco Pentello was the quarterback for the scout team.

I still wonder if the OSU defense has the chance to look confused for a while against that offense.

* After talking with linebackers coach Luke Fickell on Tuesday, my guess for the linebacker lineup in the fall features Etienne Sabino in the middle, with Ross Homan on the weakside and Austin Spitler on the strongside, with Spitler moving to the middle in OSU’s nickel defense. Homan would be the other linebacker to stay on the field.

After watching one more practice, I’m not sure. Brian Rolle, one of the standouts of the spring, was working the middle with the first team in the base defense, with Spitler on the strong side. Maybe my idea is right, but plug Rolle into the Sabino role.

* Brandon Saine still runs strong, but don’t take that to mean Dan Herron doesn’t. He put a stiffarm on Anderson Russell on Thursday that started a little scuffle, with Russell asking aloud if Herron thought he was Beanie Wells, who was a master with the stiffarm. If he does, that’s not a bad thing.

* I watched Brian Orakpo play just one game in the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State. That night, save for forcing one holding penalty and sacking Todd Boeckman once during desperation time for the Buckeyes, I thought OSU left tackle Alex Boone controlled that matchup.

I would not suggest Orakpo for the Browns with the No. 5 pick.

No related posts.