Media/Photo Day at Ohio Stadium is the last time that the players’ families get to spend any quality time with their sons/brothers/boyfriends until the regular season. It’s also Buckeye 50’s annual chance for interview/photo opportunities, which we’ll present in updates throughout fall camp.
A couple of headlines from today’s gathering-
Tyler Moeller was in attendance, bearing scars on the side of his head from the medical procedures following the “sucker-punch” episode in Florida. Tyler’s mom, Amy, has written an open letter detailing Tyler’s ordeal and thanking fans for their support. It can be found on the football page at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
As frustrating as it has been down through the years for Jim Tressel and the University to deal with off-field incidents because of players being out late or running with the wrong people, it has to be absolutely maddening when a young man is attacked unprovoked. On the one hand, it’s somewhat scary to think that an OSU football player can’t venture anywhere at all, but this case boils down to the gutless wonder who hit Moeller. You roll your eyes at the multitude of lawsuits in our society, but in this case I hope Tyler’s family cleans this SOB out, after he gets out of what should be a nice stretch in the joint.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor, as you might guess, came in second only to Coach Tressel in the amount of media types surrounding him throughout the proceedings. Terrelle matter-of-factly stated that Ray Small would be back with the team today. His coach was, uh, “optimistic” as well when asked if that was accurate-
“He may…We’ve got to get some things done.”Those things won’t include working with the receivers or the special teams right away, according to Tressel. When asked what Ray WOULD be doing, JT gave a detailed, thoughtful response - “Activities.”
The writers, who by now have learned when to play the straight-man role in the sometimes comedic give-and-take with the head coach, attempted to translate “activities”-
Reporter- “Will he be getting acclimated?”Tressel: “There you go…”There is some truth to that. When players report to camp, the NCAA requires a five-day “acclimation” period. For the first two days, the players can only wear helmets. The next two are “shell” days- basically helmets and shoulder pads. On the fifth day, teams can go full pads. So if a Ray Small is a few days late, he may be in “shells” while everyone else is full-go.
Defensive end Robert Rose also has found himself in academic hot water at the outset of fall camp. Tressel felt that he, too, could report today, although the coach insinuated that Rob’s “activities” may not be the same at Ray’s. As of right now, the Bucks have 103 players in camp, with an allowable limit of 105. Small and Rose would seem to be the missing pieces although Tressel didn’t rule out a third long-snapper or another receiver.
As Gregg pointed out on the home page, Terrelle Pryor set the team mark in the 40-yard dash with a blistering 4.33. Tress confirmed that the strength and conditioning guys had verified the time-
That stat would seem to offer even more of a challenge to Tressel and the offensive coaches. How do you balance keeping Terrelle in the pocket, going through his progressions and getting the ball to the potential big playmakers with utilizing his God-given running ability?
That is just one of the many questions that fans have about this year’s edition of the Buckeyes. We’ll let Coach Tressel and some of the players speak to some of those issues on our site as August progresses. Stay tuned to Buckeye 50 as we lean into football (and yes, it feels really good to be saying that!)
Joe-S-U
2009 Pre-Season - Media / Photo Day
By Joe-S-U
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2009 Preseason
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“I used to question the guys with their fast trigger fingers (using a manual stopwatch), but they say (this) was (timed) electronically. (Even if) it’s not, let’s say it’s 4.38 instead of 4.33. He’s (still) fast.”
