COACH TRESSEL: Hogie's here. Are you ready? Hogie, were you doing the anchor stuff?
REPORTER: I might have been. You might have seen that. Got to be versatile.
COACH TRESSEL: Was that a nightmare or -- Well, it was a great day for our kids. Started off they had the opportunity to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Gatson and some of the wounded warriors from Walter Reed Hospital that were native Ohioans and they had a chance to hear a great presentation and interact with those heros and it was just a special, special day from that standpoint and of course they got to come over here in front of their family and friends and have a chance to compete against one another. I think one of the goals that we had for the spring was to make sure we had some fun and I thought they had some fun today and had some fun throughout the course of the spring and got some young guys out there that hadn't had a chance to play in front of a crowd and had some opportunities. For the most part, I think we stayed healthy. I know Jermale got banged up a little bit, don't know how serious it is, but for the most part we stayed healthy. I think it was a good, positive day. We had a good, positive 15 days of practice and good concentration by our guys and I think we took a needed step, and these next three months are going to be crucial as the guys are out on their own deciding just how good they want to be and we have to have great preparation for the preseason, but for the most part, I thought it was a good spring.
REPORTER: Anything catch your eye from the sideline?
COACH TRESSEL: You know, I thought some guys made some plays. The most difficult thing is making sure you have good enough pass protection, especially when you're short-handed, and the quarterbacks kind of dodged and darted a little bit and some guys made some plays. Thought the hitting was good and that 47-yard field goal caught my eye, tough conditions, banging that through, but I thought they were having fun. I guess that's what caught my eye.
REPORTER: Jim, you mentioned pass protection. What was, I guess, your main objective going into this game and was it accomplished in your mind today?
COACH TRESSEL: Well, we had objectives within every position so obviously the offensive line and the backs, it was pass protection and running the game, and defensively we limited them a little bit as to what they ran on first down. They did certain things on second down, so forth, but I think what we wanted to see position by position was just good competition, a chance to do it a little bit closer to game condition, a little bit more excitement, a little bit more nervousness, you know, than in a practice and just gain some experience. That was the big thing we were looking for across the board.
REPORTER: Could you elaborate a little bit on the quarterback position? Obviously Boeckman's the starter, but just what you thought about how the other two guys looked and if one has an edge at this point, granted a long way away from the opener.
COACH TRESSEL: I thought Todd played solid. I thought the interception he threw that Kurt Coleman made was a great play. That wasn't that far underthrown. And I don't think B. Hart noticed that Kurt was that close and Kurt made a great play. I thought on the other interception, I thought maybe Todd tried to force it a little bit and Ross made the pick. But I thought other than those two, he showed good command and good understanding, made big plays and really had a productive day. I thought both Joe and Antonio showed some elusiveness. They had to demonstrate a little bit of escapeability and they did that. Both of them, I thought, showed a little bit that they kept their head up while they were under duress, which is something we talk a lot about. It's easy to just be looking out for, you know, where are the next three yards I can get to get to safety. I thought they had their heads up and looked for plays to make and a couple of them threw in there. And so, as far as where they are, I think they're competing against themselves first and to become as good as they can be. And like you said, it's way too far out to worry about who's your backup. But I thought this was a good day for both of them to experience.
REPORTER: If you would, the freshmen who enrolled early and participated in spring football, did any of those guys do enough in early stages of spring practice and also today to get some consideration for some playing time in the fall as well?
COACH TRESSEL: It was good to see J.B. Shugarts in there doing well, because he had been in there, got banged a little bit, missed a couple days, and he was back in and got some good experience. I'm sure he'll and Coach Bollman will feel like he'll be battling in that two-deep. I thought both linebackers, Etienne Sabino and Andrew Sweat showed they can certainly contribute and are going to be good players here. Jake Stoneburner did a great job coming back from a little bit of an injury and playing today and I think he had a catch or two and so I think all those guys, even Mike Adams and Mike Brewster, who didn't get to play today, the learning that they had a chance to do during the spring practice, I think, is going to serve them well come August.
REPORTER: How comfortable do you feel, you know, you had a tradition here lately of having receiver depth and like Taurian Washington had a really good game today and Hartline, of course, just we didn't even see Robiskie today, but comment a little bit about what you see there at that position.
COACH TRESSEL: I think we have a good chance to have a good receiver corps, I really do. The guys you mentioned, Taurian, I thought, made some good plays, and Brian Hartline is as competitive as he's going to be and will be a good one, and Robiskie will be back, Sanzenbacher, and Ray Small was out there running around and Grant Schwartz now is starting to develop a little understanding of the receiver game coming over from defense, and Jake Stoneburner's getting that experience. We've got a couple other guys coming in. I'd like to think, because we have good leadership in the two Brians, and know what they expect of their comrades, I think we can have a good receiver corps.
REPORTER: Coach, to continue with receivers, who's showing more on the offensive end with the receivers, Sanzenbacher or Small? I know they're both battling for that position.
COACH TRESSEL: Well, it really depends upon what we're going to be in. Right now, if we were in a two-receiver set, it would be Brian Hartline and Brian Robiskie would be the lead guys, and the others would be the backups. If we were in a three-receiver set, it would depend upon what three receivers Coach Bollman's thinking about. Would it be two wideouts or would it be two runningbacks, because Brandon Saine spent some time out there and can do some things. But I think the guys you mentioned, Dane Sanzenbacher and Ray and Taurian and that type of thing, our guys had some experience, gained some more experience this spring, and we need them to step up and be playmakers because you never know what people are going to do. They're going to find ways to put two people on Brian Robiskie, find ways to put two people on Brian Hartline, and when those things happen, guys like Jake Ballard and Rory Nicol and Dane Sanzenbacher and Ray Small and Taurian and Brandon Saine are going to have to make sure they win in one-on-one matchups, those kind of things.
REPORTER: Jim, two questions, since I won't get the mike back. With Boom, how did he do this spring? Did you see enough to see how he'll contribute in the fall? And the new rule thing, obviously the horse collar, I think you got called for that the other day, and also the clock rules, how do you think those will affect the game coming this fall?
COACH TRESSEL: I think Boom Herron's going to be a contributor. I think anyone who's watched practice knows that. Anyone that's seen him in a scrimmage knows that. And he showed that today, I thought, so he's going to help us. As far as the new rules, the horse collar thing is something that the NFL started from a safety standpoint and now we've followed suit. Most rules that are safety oriented usually become in effect, and so we've got to make sure we stay away from doing that. The clock thing, I anticipate it will cost us some plays. I think we'll have less plays than we'll have. Some say it will be not quite as many shaved off the game as there were two years ago with those adjustments. Others say that there may be more plays shaved off the game. I'll be interested to see, but whatever it is, when there's zero ticks on the clock, we've got to be the ones on the top.
REPORTER: But the 40-second clock, did you all have trouble adjusting to that?
COACH TRESSEL: We worked hard on it this spring. We had that thing going every play this spring, so we got used to it. I think our centers and quarterbacks and guys that need to make decisions as to when the ball is snapped had a lot of good work with that.
REPORTER: Coach, can you comment on the initials that were on all the players' helmets honoring the crossing guard and how that sort of came about?
COACH TRESSEL: Well, you know, I think anytime you see one of those heroic acts within your community, it touches all of us, and you think about the number of people in your own life that have stepped in and made a difference in your life and you reflect back on that and you want to show ways of being grateful for that. And it was just a way for us to kind of demonstrate for the world, you know, our little world, the appreciation we had for her heroic act.
REPORTER: Coach, with all the ways you've already started to use Brandon Saine, what sort of things do you want him to focus on before next season? How do you want him to keep growing?
COACH TRESSEL: Brandon, I want him to do exactly what he's been doing because Brandon Saine is unbelievable. He's in class when he's supposed to be in class. He's in community outreach opportunities whenever you need someone. He's in the weight room constantly. He's in the film room. I mean, shoot, I don't want Brandon Saine to change at all. I just want him to keep working on improving and improving.
REPORTER: The usefulness of the spring game kind of -- does the time of the spring game kind of pass itself, do you get as much out of spring practice because you have to use the spring game at the end?
COACH TRESSEL: Oh, yeah. I think if you'd ask our guys which would they rather have, one more practice or a spring game, they would tell you spring game. And I think the focus and the excitement and all those things, it's hard for us to duplicate that in a practice. So in fact, if you gave me a choice, I'd have two spring games, that's because I think they're very, very helpful.
REPORTER: Jim, trying to fill the hole at right tackle, what did you think of the spring Bryant Browning had and how much more do you know about that spot than you did coming into the spring?
COACH TRESSEL: I think if we had a game tomorrow -- and I'm just speaking for Coach Bollman -- it would be Bryant. He's very dependable. He's got power. He does some things that we think are going to be very, very special and he works like crazy. I think he's going -- we've felt that way ever since he's been here that he's going to be a good player and he's continued to grow and we think he's going to be a good one.
Coach Tressel
Spring Game Press Conference
2008
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April 19, 2008
4/19/08
