Meadowdale H.S. graduation 2012
Middletown H.S. graduation 2012
Dunbar H.S. graduation 2012
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April 2008
OSU’s artificial fields believed to be safe
Ohio State has been following the saga of the possible health hazards created by some artificial-turf fields in New Jersey, two of which were shut down last week by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission because they contained dangerously high levels of lead.
Artificial turf was just installed at Ohio Stadium last year — at a cost of about $800,000 — and the Buckeyes have three synthetic surfaces at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
In some of the older nylon surfaces being used nationally, pigment containing lead chromate is a common ingredient because it makes the fake grass look green and hold its color over time. But that doesn’t appear to be an issue at OSU, which has only the newer-generation turfs.
“Obviously, we want to be safe, and we feel we are safe,” said Don Patko, OSU’s director of facilities.
The three fields used by the OSU football team are covered with FieldTurf, which has become popular of late because of its grass-like feel. Tests were conducted on that product, and the lead amounts were negligible.
A lacrosse field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center has an older artificial surface, but Patko said that model is considered safe, too.
Just to be sure, though, Patko said OSU will conduct its own tests with the help of the turf-grass research center on campus.
“We’re not going to panic over this, but we’ll do our due diligence,” Patko said.
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Bottom line, Boeckman is the right QB
Todd Boeckman has acted all spring like a guy who feels secure as Ohio State’s starting quarterback — and he should. The senior-to-be doesn’t have any reason to fear for his job.
The more I watch Boeckman, the more I’m convinced the Buckeyes are going to be just fine at QB next season, and any discussion about Terrelle Pryor coming in and taking over is simply absurd.
I was studying Boeckman while he warmed up before the spring game in some 11-on-11 drills and marveled at how his throws seem to end up perfectly placed on outstretched hands.
Yeah, Pryor will see the field this season and may be a future star, but Boeckman’s still the guy.
Some other final spring observations:
- The Buckeyes will be looking to take some of the tailback load off Chris “Beanie” Wells, given his injury history, and redshirt freshman Daniel “Boom” Herron could provide some depth at running back.
I’m not forgetting about Brandon Saine, but I see him in more of a multi-purpose role. Herron appears to have the power and natural running back instincts to make an impact this season.
I’ve never understood what the OSU coaches see in Maurice Wells, and the senior from Jacksonville, Fla., probably would be phased out if coach Jim Tressel wasn’t so loyal to his seniors. - Sophomore Bryant Browning is the heir apparent at right tackle to quote-machine Kirk Barton, and the Cleveland Glenville product already has earned his teammates’ respect. He was the first lineman taken in the spring-game draft of non-seniors, and I watched him pancake veteran defensive tackle Nader Abdallah on Saturday.
The amiable Barton will be missed by the media, but the OSU offense will hardly notice he’s gone. - The Buckeyes will be much better than they were last season on special teams.
Although Tressel has always emphasized that facet of the game — we wouldn’t be surprised if he has his trademark saying, “The punt is the most important play in football” chiseled on his tombstone — the Buckeyes were horrendous on kickoff returns (117th nationally out of 119 teams) and had four field goals blocked last season.
They simply have too many athletes in uniform to be that bad again, and kicker Ryan Pretorius and the field-goal unit have been nearly flawless this spring. Plus, the Buckeyes have another competent kicker in Aaron Pettrey in case Pretorius falters.
The Buckeyes are a team with few holes and will be worthy of all those top-five preseason ratings they collect this fall.
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An interesting draft class
At a table near the press box elevators, the Ohio State athletic department is handing out a list of past NFL draft picks. Let’s just go over the four years.
2004: Chris Gamble (1st round), Michael Jenkins (1st), Will Smith (1st), Tim Anderson (3rd), Ben Hartsock (3rd), B.J. Sander (3rd), Darion Scott (3rd) Will Allen (4th), Alex Stepanovich (4th), Drew Carter (5th), Craig Krenzel (5th), Robert Reynolds (5th), Adrien Clarke (7th), Shane Olivea (7th).
2005: Mike Nugent (2nd), Dustin Fox (3rd), Maurice Clarett (3rd).
2006: A.J. Hawk (1st), Donte Whitner (1st), Bobby Carpenter (1st), Santonio Holmes (1st), Nick Mangold (1st), Ashton Youboty (3rd), Anthony Schlegel (3rd), Nate Salley (4th), Rob Sims (4th).
2007: Ted Ginn Jr. (1st), Anthony Gonzalez (1st), Quinn Pitcock (3rd), Antonio Pittman (4th), Jay Richardson (5th), Roy Hall (5th), Troy Smith (5th), Doug Datish (6th).
An impressive list. Then, in another section, there’s a box suggesting ways to contact former Buckeyes during draft weekend, because they could potentially be picked or signed by a team. Here’s that list:
Vernon Gholston, Kirk Barton, Larry Grant, Dionte Johnson, Trevor Robinson, Tyler Whaley.
Where did all the good players go? Well, the Buckeyes kept most of their talented underclassmen in school (except for Gholston, but if you had that body pictured above, would you stay in college another year?) Plus, others who would be seniors this year and entering the draft left OSU early.
The combination leads to a scrawny list of potential draftees.
By the way, 10 Buckeyes have been first-round picks since Jim Tressel took over in 2001.
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This is gonna be a big one
Tickets to the Ohio State spring game are $5. Still, that didn’t stop scalpers on nearly every corner during the walk to Ohio Stadium carrying their signs that said, “I NEED TICKETS” and hawking them.
Me? I parked out past the Schottenstein Center (it was about a 30-minute walk) to come to the end-of-spring scrimmage. I wasn’t alone by a long shot, as the buses, trailers and tailgaters were already out in force by 10:30 this morning for the 1:30 p.m. game.
Even though it’s April 19, Columbus has the feel of a fall Saturday. We’ve talked a lot recently about why spring games across the country have grown so big. Earlier this week, I had a conversation with Earle Bruce about it.
“When you talk about Buckeyes or Gators or Huskers, they’ve been fanatic fans and they want more,” he said.
They’re getting it. More traffic. More scalpers. More Buckeye beads for sale. More ponchos for $5 on sale next to the scalpers (or, at times, by the scalpers).
There’s a mountain of money to be made around Ohio State football, and there’s no end to the ideas. Just imagine what the price tag was on all of the Buckeyes apparel and merchandise walking up and down Lane Avenue on the way to the stadium.
The OSU athletic department, though, isn’t taking itself too seriously. On the side-stadium screen that usually updates scores, here are some that are scrolling past:
Pirates 17, Ninjas 12
Knight 2, Dragon 50
Pawtucket Pat 6, Duffman 12
Chuck Norris 62.80, The World 0
Shredder 31, Splinter 16
T.V. 73, Reality 0
By the way, OSU lacrosse is up 16-9 after three quarters. Spring game to follow.
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Terrelle Pryor won’t be running in Ohio Stadium … he’s running track
OK, let’s see. Football state title? Check. Basketball state title? Uh huh.
Track? Why not?
(Terrelle) Pryor, a senior at Jeannette, said this week he will run the 200-meter dash for the Jeannette track team. Seriously. “Why not?” Pryor said. “It’s just something to do. Maybe another championship I can win.”
On Saturday, when we convene in Ohio Stadium for the annual blockbuster scrimmage/spring game, the fan favorite as the future of the Ohio State football team might very well be on some high school track in Pennsylvania (although, he might also be in Columbus visiting the game) because he’s competitive.
It’s not enough for Pryor to be All-State in football and basketball, but he’s going for the same in track.
This is actually not a new trick for Pryor. He ran on Jeannette’s track team for part of his freshman year but quit near the end of the season, and one of the reasons was AAU basketball. At the time, he had one of the best 200 times in WPIAL Class AA at 22.7 seconds. Pryor, who has signed with Ohio State to play quarterback, said he plans to run in a few meets with Jeannette this spring and then at the WPIAL qualifier in May. The WPIAL AA championships are May 13 and the PIAA championships May 23-24. Pryor will leave for Ohio State in mid-June.
No matter how exciting Brian Robiskie or James Laurinaitis or Brandon Saine are in the spring game, it won’t be the same without Pryor. From the time we knew Ohio State was one of his favorites, we’ve been scouring YouTube for clips. We want to see this absurdly talented player run over and around defenders while firing passes to a variety of specific spots.
We want more Pryor. One of the benefits of a spring game is the chance to see the early-enrolled players for the first time. Unfortunately for the fans, Pryor isn’t one of those.
This is another example, though, of how Pryor seems to be a fairly normal student. He really seems to like the town and the school, and he has a sincere desire for championships. It’s not like he thinks he’s too big to run high school track. He’s embracing the idea.
The fans on Saturday won’t be able to embrace him in Columbus quite yet.
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OSU’s Tressel considers spring game a necessary evil
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is no fan of spring games — and who can blame him?
He was an assistant at OSU in charge of quarterbacks 25 years ago when starter Mike Tomczak broke his leg, sending shudders throughout Buckeye Land.
His players may get fired up over the chance to put their talents on display, but Tressel doesn’t share their enthusiasm.
“I like when it’s over,” he said.
With such a large group of returning starters — 18 are back along with both specialists — Tressel toyed with the idea of just staging some drills and scrimmaging a bit. But he knew that wouldn’t suffice.
Fans of big-time college football programs need an excuse to tailgate … er, I mean, expect to get a glimpse of the team in game-like conditions in the spring, and Tressel, like most coaches, feels compelled to feed the monster.
“You feel obligated to have some reason for people to come,” he said. “They’d be bored if we had a practice and, really, our guys would be bored if we had a practice.”
Tressel receives an annual reminder of how much the spring game means to his team during the spring game draft. The seniors picked players earlier this week, and plenty barbs were exchanged throughout the lively exercise.
“To me, that was good enthusiasm,” Tressel said. “They want to win. If it was a ho-hum thing, they’d have just sat there.
“Yeah, we do feel obligated to put some people out there (on the field) and put pressure on them.”
And all the while, Tressel will be praying for no broken bones.
