Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John Porentas

Macho, Macho Men: The temperature in San Antonio when the Buckeyes took the practice field was a balmy, tropical 38 degrees. Those temperatures allowed the men on the OSU coaching staff to be separated from the boys. While most people were shivering, Luke Fickell, Jim Bollman and Mark Snyder all elected to wear shorts to practice, as did all the strength and conditioning coaches. The rest of the coaching staff wimped out and went with long pants. Oh, and OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel, he had long pants on too.

Present and Accounted for: According to Tressel, almost all the Buckeyes have arrived in San Antonio, though more than a few had difficulty getting there due to inclement weather.

"I think we're still missing Marcus Green who arrives at about 10:30 this morning," said Tressel today before practice. Other than that, we're settled and ready to go.

Green did not make it for practice, but he has now arrived in San Antonio.

Dome Bound: Ohio State originally had not planned on working out in the actual Alamo Dome prior to the game, but those plans have now changed.

"We're going to work out in there on Monday. It will amount to the kind of practice we would normally have on Thursday of game week."

The Zwick Factor: Justin Zwick will be at the controls for the Buckeyes for the first time since he was injured in the Iowa game. According to Tressel, the change back to Zwick from Troy Smith should not have too much impact of an on the type of plays the Buckeyes put into the game plan for the Alamo Bowl.

"When I look at our ready list (the list of plays made ready for the game), when you're headed into game 12, the ready list is a lot a lot longer than when you're headed into game one. There isn't too much on that ready list you wouldn't do with Justin or Todd or anyone. There will be a few changes, but not many," Tressel said.

Zwick is obviously delighted to have a chance to show his stuff again.

"It's exciting to get back in there and have a little bit more on my shoulders," said Zwick. "I'm just excited about the opportunity. I'm just trying to get better and make this team better," Zwick said.

"I just look at it as a chance to go out there and do what I love to do," said Zwick.

Fox Out for a day: OSU senior cornerback Dustin Fox did not practice with the Buckeyes on their first day of workout in San Antonio. According to an OSU team spokesman, Fox was ill but is expected to take part in drills tomorrow.

A Christmas Gathering: The Buckeyes are scheduled to practice on Christmas Day, but according to Tressel, some allowances will be made to give team members a bit of family time as well.

"We'll practice a little earlier than we do today and tomorrow, and we'll have a little Christmas luncheon for the guys and give them a good bit of the time free. A lot of the guy's families are coming in Christmas Day. I think they could find some great flight packages on Christmas day and those type of things, so a lot of them are coming in on that day. They'll have a chance to spend really the majority of the day with their families if they're here, and if they're not with one another."

Who's Number Three? Justin Zwick will be the starter at quarterback, that's known. It's also known that Todd Boeckman will be the backup despite the fact that the OSU coaching staff would very much like to redshirt Boeckman this year. Who is backing up Boeckman?

"Me," quipped Tressel today when asked who his third quarterback is, drawing a laugh from reporters. "And Woody didn't recruit me," added Tressel with a laugh.

So just who is it really?

"Ben Kacsandi," said Tressel.

Kacsandi is a 6-1, 210 pound true freshman walkon from Wooster, Ohio. Kacsandi ran the scout team offense today. His one pass attempt in a situational scrimmage resulted in an interception. He did throw some nice balls during drills, however.

Tressel did confirm that Boekman is definitely the number two if something were to happen to Zwick.

"Oh yeah," said Tressel, "unless you guys know something I don't know."

Open Door Policy - Sort of: Buckeye practice was open the media today, but will be closed to the media and public for the remainder of bowl preparations. That does not mean there will be no visitors at all. Tressel said that the doors will be open to local high school football coaches and players who might wish to visit the Buckeyes.

"This state of Texas, the state of California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, those are the best. We've invited area high school coaches and teams that if they're off school and if they're free and if they want to stop by today, we'd love for them to stop by today. We look at it (bowl game in Texas) as a great opportunity.

Tressel said that the OSU approach to recruiting Texas is not a scatter gun approach, but more of a sniper approach.

"You do it by position, you do it by people who have some ties. Ashton Youboty was very interested in the Big Ten. He spent a lot of time in Philadelphia as a youngster and had a sister who was in the Big Ten, so that was a natural guy for us to pinpoint (in recruiting). No doubt, position, ties to the midwest, people looking to take on a new opportunity or experience in life, that type of thing."

Dukes in San Antonio: Word surfaced recently that freshman wide receiver Albert Dukes had a scrape with the law last July prior to his enrollment at OSU. The details remain sketchy at this time, but Tressel said today that Dukes is on hand with the team at the present time.

"I just heard about it within the last hour and don't know much about it," said Tressel. "I understand it's something from months or even years ago, but we're doing our homework right now."

Winding It Up at OSU: The graduating OSU seniors who will play in the Alamo Bowl have had quite a gamut of experiences in their tenure at OSU.

"They've seen it all," said Tressel.

They've had every experience that you could have. They came in on the heels of some great years, then had a couple of tough years, then went through a coaching transition, then all of a sudden went somewhere where Ohio State has never been, 14-0. Then trying to keep that crown and getting close to having a chance of doing that. Then banging through some off-field distractions. They've done some great things. They're all going to get their diploma, they've all had a lot of life experiences, that's why it's so important for all of us that we end it right for them," Tressel said.

The Dome Factor: The Buckeyes have not played in a domed stadium in some time. One thing the Buckeyes will not have to worry about is familiarity with the turf. The Alamo Dome field is identical to the OSU indoor practice field, so that shouldn't be an issue. Neither should anything else, really.

"Maybe a little bit of noise," said Tressel enumerating the possible problems a domed stadium might pose.

"We're used to a little bit of noise in the Big Ten, but it will be noisier a little bit than we're used to, but once the game starts and you start focusing in, you don't know if you're in a stadium that seats 10,000, you're indoors, you're outdoors, you're focused on the people across the line of scrimmage. I don't think there will be a difference," said Tressel.

"It will be hot, which our guys are used to, but we turn up the steam there in our indoor place and sweat it out a little bit and it won't be a big difference," said Tressel.

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