By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland.com) —
Columbus- In 2006, Beanie Wells was ready to start for Ohio State as a freshman. He had the legs, the shoulders and the stiffarm, but the Buckeyes didn’t have the need. Junior Antonio Pittman started and Wells averaged eight carries and 44 yards per game behind him.
“Physically I was ready,” Wells, who was the No. 3 recruit in the nation that year, said Tuesday. “And with playing behind him a few games, my mental aspect picked up more and more.”

That Wells did not start illustrates just how unusual the situation is for Ohio State this season.

With quarterback Terrelle Pryor (the No. 1 recruit by Rivals.com) and center Mike Brewster (No. 12) preparing for their fourth starts heading into Saturday’s game with Purdue, Ohio State is one of only three teams in the top 25 starting two true freshmen at the moment. Among those top 25 teams, only 12 true freshmen are starting; in the Big Ten, eight true freshman are starting. Among the top 10 players from the Rivals.com rankings for this class, Alabama’s Julio Jones and Georgia’s A.J. Green are both starting at receiver, probably the easiest position for freshmen, for top 25 teams.

But only one other team in the top 25 or in the conference is starting a freshmen center and none is starting a true freshmen quarterback. Teams can go young - 2-3 Baylor is starting freshman Robert Griffin at quarterback and Michigan is starting three freshmen on its 109th ranked offense - but it’s harder to win young.

“I look at him as a sophomore, how many games he’s played and started, he knows his thing,” senior left tackle Alex Boone said of Pryor on Tuesday.

Yet the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin on the road Saturday despite what Pryor himself deemed “young” plays. Some mistakes will be made, but the Buckeyes are happy to make the tradeoff, and coach Jim Tressel said Pryor doesn’t play as young as he claims.

“I think that a young thing is a thing that you haven’t slowed the game down and just made a crisp decision, the right decision,” Tressel said. “The thing about Terrelle, he is going to analyze every single thing that he didn’t do perfectly . . . and he is going to really focus on what he didn’t do, where the rest of us sometimes focus on what he does do. And maybe that’s why he gets good.”

While senior fullback Brandon Smith said he was coached as a freshman to not let his mind paralyze his feet, that doesn’t translate as well to quarterback. Pryor needs his feet and his mind. Tressel was stunned when Pryor recognized a Wisconsin blitz on Saturday the Badgers had never used against that offensive formation and completed a first-down pass against it.

“He never did that once in his life,” Tressel said. “I mean, we didn’t rehearse that.”
Most top 25 coaches aren’t being amazed by their freshmen - because they don’t have to be.
Wells foot:

Wells said his injured right foot was very sore Tuesday, but said there was no chance he would miss Saturday’s game.

“I think it’s pretty much at the point where it’s going to hurt and it’s not going to get any worse,” Wells said. “Pretty much it’s going to be the same pain week in and week out. I’ve just got to play.”

Herron hit:

As a matter of course, Ohio State, and all teams, sends in several plays each week to be reviewed by Big Ten supervisor of officials Dave Parry. This week, the Buckeyes included the helmet-to-helmet hit away from the play that left running back Dan Herron with a concussion and out of Saturday’s game against Purdue. There was no penalty on the play. According to a conference spokesman, all that comes from such reviews is a downgrade for officials working the game if a call was missed. At least one Buckeye didn’t like the play.

“I like to think it was a cheap shot,” Wells said.

“I guess it wasn’t dirty,” Smith said. “Was it necessary? Probably not. But it comes along with playing football.”

Rehring break:

Tressel said offensive lineman Steve Rehring would have played about half the game at right tackle on Saturday if he hadn’t missed two long drives while going to the bathroom. Rehring, back from injury and having seen Brewster move to center and former center Jim Cordle take his old spot at left guard, wound up playing only about 12 snaps.

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