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Football
Pryor No. 1, but No. 2 Undecided Heading into Camp
By Brandon Castel

 CHICAGO — Kenny Guiton had a smile on his face. And why not? The youngster from rural Texas had just thrown the game-winning touchdown in front of more than 65,000 fans at Ohio Stadium to capture the spring game.

It was a moment no one other than Guiton will remember in 10 years, unless of course he goes on to become the starting quarterback at Ohio State.

Terrelle Pryor
Photo by Dan Harker

The Buckeyes are already set with one of those for 2010, as junior Terrelle Pryor was picked by the media as the preseason Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten Monday at the kickoff luncheon in Chicago.

What they don’t have is an established backup. Not after Guiton’s impressive spring.

“I think it is a good battle,” OSU Head Coach Jim Tressel said of the competition between Guiton and junior Joe Bauserman.

Bauserman established himself as the backup to Pryor last season after Todd Boeckman graduated. He entered the spring as the clear No. 2, but that’s when things started to get interesting. While Bauserman continued to look like the Bauserman that coaches have come to know since he came to Ohio State after a minor league pitching career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Guiton showed clear signs of dramatic improvement from his rookie season in Columbus.

“I think Kenny did a good job of using reps this spring to get better and I thought he did a nice job when he was called upon,” Tressel said.

Kenny Guiton
Photo by Dan Harker

The culmination of which came in the annual spring game, where Guiton completed 11 of his 21 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Not only did he look good throwing the ball as the starting quarterback for the Gray team, who selected him instead of Bauserman, but he lifted his team to a 17-14 victory with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Taurian Washington in the final minute of the game. It came at the end of an 11-play, 89-yard drive on which Guiton completed 10 of his passes for 95 yards.

Based on that performance alone, and that of Bauserman’s in the spring game (6-of-15 for 75 yards and 2 interceptions), Guiton might be the clear-cut No. 2 heading into the fall. But Guiton is still learning the system, which gives Bauserman a little time to keep the playing field even.

“Joe has got the system under control and he knows what's up,” Tressel said.

“He knows how to get things done.”

Also in the mix this fall will be incoming freshman Taylor Graham. The son of former OSU signal caller Kent Graham is 6-foot-4 with a rocket arm.

Joe Bauserman
Photo by Dan Harker

“As far as Taylor goes, he has a very strong arm. As far as he can know the system or not, I don’t know. That’s yet to be seen in camp,” said wideout Dane Sanzenbacher.

Unlike Sanzenbacher who got to catch balls from Graham this summer, Tressel hasn’t seen his new quarterback up close, at least not as a Buckeye. He will get his first chance when they open camp Aug. 5th.

“It is going to be fun to watch and it is going to be fun to watch the young quarterback Taylor Graham,” Tressel said.

“I haven't seen him, these guys have seen him throw the ball a little bit and I have heard rumors that he can spin it pretty well. That will be fun to watch him as well.”

While it’s unlikely he can overcome the learning curve in just 29 fall practices, Graham will be given a chance to jump right in and compete with Bauserman and Guiton for one of the backup spots in 2010.

“I think it depends on what day it is and what drill it is,” Tressel said.

“Looking at the schedule for the first 7-on-7 thing, it looked like Joe, Kenny and Taylor were all going to get to throw some over the course of the practice.”

Ultimately it probably won’t make much of a difference who takes over if Pryor gets hurt during the season, but winning the backup job away from Bauserman would be a huge step for whoever wants to hold of Braxton Miller when Pryor’s OSU career comes to an end.

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