Football
Miami Press Luncheon Highlights
By John Porentas
Coach Tressel's press luncheon is now over. Several interesting tidbits emerged.
* Ohio State Associate Director of Ticket Sales Richelle Simonson addressed the group before Tressel. According to Simonson, OSU game-day polices will be little-changed this year. That means that bags will be searched and food and drink will not be allowed to be carried into the stadium. She did emphasize that chair-back seats will not be allowed in the stadium.

Richelle Simonson
Photo by Jim Davidson

Simonson reported that the University will continue its policy of of requiring an I.D.of anyone using a discounted ticket, i.e. students and faculty. Students and faculty do have the option of upgrading their tickets to full price. If they opt to do so, the user of that ticket will not have to show an I.D. According to Simonson, faculty and staff account for approximately 15% of the tickets sold in Ohio Stadium, while students account for 22%, Of the tickets sold to faculty and staff, 62% have opted to upgrade their tickets to full price. That, of course, makes them easier to resell.
* Linebacker Mike D'Andrea has been granted a medical redshirt year by the NCAA. D'Andrea is recovering from a knee injury and could be available for the second half of this season. He then will have one more full season of eligibility.
* The pecking order at tailback seems to be Antonio Pittman, Brandon Schnittker and Maurice Wells. All three of those backs will see action against Miami University.
* The starting left tackle spot remains an open question. It's still too close to call between Doug Datish and Steve Rehring, but according to Tressel, both of those players will see action against Miami.
* According to Tressel, quarterback Justin Zwick is 97% going into the Miami game, but Tressel added that Todd Boeckman will see action against Miami as well.
* Of the incoming freshmen, defensive end Lawrence Wilson, safety Jamario O'Neal, corner back Malcolm Jenkins and running back Maurice Wells will definitely see action against Miami. Tressel described a host of other freshmen as "bubble" players who may or may not see action. We'll have those names in our more detailed report later.
* With a 12th game coming onto the schedule in 2006, universities are scrambling for to schedule opponents. According to Tressel, OSU hopes to sign games for 2006, 07, and 08 this week. All the opponents will be in-state opponents according to Tressel, but he would not give any further details. When it was suggested that one of those opponents could be Youngstown State, Tressel said that was a possibility, but would not confirm the statement as fact.
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