By Mike Perry (News-Herald.com) -

Duron Carter came to camp with high expectations. The freshman receiver from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., is the son of former Buckeye great Cris Carter, who ranks No. 2 on Ohio State’s all-time career receptions list with 168.

The younger Carter made an impressive grab over the middle on Tuesday, giving Tressel flashbacks of his father, whom Tressel had when he was the receivers coach with the Buckeyes.

“Cris’ first practice here at Ohio State, I was the receivers coach and he was terrible,” Tressel said. “He couldn’t run a route, he tripped and fell and he hadn’t had many experiences. Duron has been to 7-on-7 camps, been trained by his father and done so many more things. So he didn’t trip and fall around here like his dad did that first day.

“Now he has a long day to go to be as good as his dad was Day 2 on. One of those balls he caught over the middle, he got those long arms out there, and I thought that looks a little like a guy I had the privilege of working with.”

Berry turning heads

Freshman tailback Jaamal Berry seemed to have a second gear during the 12-on-12 jersey scrimmage at the end of practice on Tuesday. Tressel noticed, but wants to see how his blue-chip freshman will do once the hitting starts Saturday.

“Man, he looks quick to me,” Tressel said. “That’s what the guys were saying from the summer, they said, ‘Wait until you see No. 4, he’s got some burst.’ But we all know the key to being a running back is how tough are you and can you do it day after day after day? Can you pass protect, and can you take those whacks that you take?

“Based on shorts, I’d give him a thumbs up. That’s for sure.”

Pryor improvement

Starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor looked sharp during the first two days of practice. In fact, Tressel thinks the sophomore is a far different player than the one who went through his first collegiate training camp last August.

“It was like watching two different people,” he said. “Yesterday, he got 40 or 50 percent of the reps. A year ago, he got maybe 12 percent of the reps and didn’t know anything to start with. It was amazing to watch his presence Tuesday, and today he was very solid.

“He’s now a sophomore, and an experienced sophomore, which is pretty neat.”

Herron the starter

Heading into camp, sophomore Daniel “Boom” Herron and junior Brandon Saine were supposed to battle it out for the starting tailback position. In camp, Herron has taken virtually all the snaps with the No. 1 offense. Tressel expects big things from Herron as he tries to replace the productivity of departed 1,000-yard rusher Chris “Beanie” Wells.

“Boom is the kind of guy that can be a good football player, and people love to follow people who produce, who play the game tough and who play the game with the intensity and class that he does,” Tressel said.

“Obviously, I’d like to say that he’d be a 1,000-yard back, but there is a lot that goes into that. We gotta block somebody, we gotta stay healthy and we gotta throw the ball well. You need all those things if you’re going to have a back be a 1,000-yard guy, but I think he’s very capable of that.”

O-line lineup

The starters on the Buckeyes’ offensive line seem to be……

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