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Football
Spring Practice Insider: Friday Walk-through
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS — With the spring jersey scrimmage less than 24 hours away, Jim Tressel gave his team a light workout Friday in preparation for one of the most intense and highly anticipated events of the spring.

The actual spring game at the Horseshoe (April 24) might draw more excitement from the fans—probably because they can actually watch—but there’s no question the jersey scrimmage brings out the most enthusiasm from the players.

 It was only fitting then that there was very little enthusiasm on the practice field Friday as the Buckeyes went inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for their 10th practice of the spring. It was a light day in no pads and most of the buzz seemed to stem from the fact quarterback Terrelle Pryor was going to meet with the media for the first time this spring.

1. TP wearing a brace. He may have met with the media after practice, but during practice Pryor was wearing a thick black brace on his left knee. He did not appear to be hobbling and the brace didn’t seem to limit him much if at all, but it was noteworthy Pryor had not worn a brace at all this spring. He hadn't even worn anything on his knee since the first couple practices when he had a sleeve on the knee following minor off-season surgery.

2. Pryor says knee not a problem. Asked about it after practice, Pryor said the brace was simply for additional support and that his knee was 100 percent this spring. If you recall, I mentioned the other day that it looked like he had a little scare during practice and came up hobbling. He was also icing his right elbow/tricep during a large portion of practice but quarterbacks coach Nic Siciliano said afterwards that he is not concerned about Pryor's health one bit. I thought he looked good warming up today. He was showing off his arm strength and threw a couple balls right on the money from about 50 yards away.

3. Newsome makes his debut. The only bigger surprise than Pryor in the brace Friday was seeing No. 55 running around during drills with the linebackers. Sophomore Jonathan Newsome had been absent from the first 10 practices this spring because of academic reasons, but made his spring debut Friday. He worked mostly with the third-team defense at Sam linebacker and a little bit at the “Star,” but also got a few reps with the second-team defense. It will take a while for Newsome to work his way back, but the kid just looks like a football player.

4. Oliver back at practice. The Buckeyes also welcomed safety Nate Oliver back to practice Friday. Unlike Newsome, Oliver had been a part of spring camp from the beginning, but he missed Thursday’s practice for what coach Paul Haynes called “personal reasons.” Back out there Friday, Oliver reassumed his role as the “Star” in the nickel with the first-team defense. After a solid day with the ones Thursday, Jamie Wood went back to playing Star with the second group.

5. Jordan Hall out of action. After hurting his shoulder during the scrimmage portion of Thursday’s practice, tailback Jordan Hall was wearing a no-contact yellow jersey during Friday’s practice. It’s hard to say exactly how serious the injury is because there was no contact, but Hall did not participate in the scrimmage portion of practice Friday. We will find tomorrow at the jersey scrimmage if he's able to go or not.

6. Connor Smith on the shelf. One player who likely won’t go tomorrow is senior Connor Smith. The Cincinnati native has spent most of the spring working as a backup guard, but found himself on crutches Friday after going down during practice yesterday. He was playing left guard with the second group when he fell to the ground and grabbed at his foot. He hobbled off and did not return to practice and today he was moving around on crutches with a bag of ice on his left foot.

7. Blankenship still on D. Even with Connor Smith out of commission, Evan Blankenship stayed on the defensive side of the ball Friday. This leads me to believe he may be there permanently. The Buckeyes had originally tried Connor Smith over there, but opted with Blankenship to give them extra depth at defensive tackle. He has been on defense five straight practices and could get some reps as a third-team defensive tackle in Saturday’s scrimmage.

8. Tight ends turning heads. It’s not often that tight ends get a chance to showcase their skills other than blocking at Ohio State, but Friday turned out to be one of those days. With the pads off, Jake Stoneburner seemed to be Pryor’s No. 1 target during the scrimmage as he went to him early and often. Stoneburner is having a solid spring and continued that with a couple nice catches Friday. What impressed me more was his route-running ability and the way he finds openings in the middle of the field. Even more impressive than Stoneburner, however, was backup tight end Nic DiLillo, who made a number of catches working with the third group.

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