Ohio State Football: Buckeyes May Have a Passing Game Brewing After Spring Game

If Saturday's Ohio State spring game taught us anything, it's that the new Ohio State offense might actually look like an offense.

While the offense that fans saw on Saturday is about only 30 percent of what it will actually look like according to Braxton Miller, that 30 percent is already an improvement over what the Buckeye offense looked like in the past decade with Jim Bollman calling plays.

The Buckeye offense lived up to Meyer's promise of being pass-heavy in their spring scrimmage as Miller and Kenny Guiton combined for 57 pass attempts, with only two interceptions.

The offense had receivers running slants and flat patterns and hitches—something you almost never saw in the past decade.

Corey Brown and Devin Smith, who each, along with Jake Stoneburner, led the team with 14 receptions apiece last year, combined for nine receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown in the game.

Brown also showed some of the elusiveness and quickness that made him such a highly touted recruit back in 2010.

Smith reeled in a touchdown by taking a short slant and following his blockers into the end zone.

But the guy who stole the show for Ohio State was a guy who not too many people talked about in their incoming recruiting class—WR Michael Thomas.

Thomas, who had been compared by some to Keyshawn Johnson, made a strong impression on Buckeye fans in his Horseshoe debut, reeling in 12 passes—two less than the 14 that Brown, Smith and Stoneburner each had in 2011 to lead the team—for 132 yards.

More of Thomas' receptions were short five- to six-yard catches, though he had a great play where he made the initial man miss and carried a few defenders a few yards before he could be brought down.

Thomas had been a guy who enrolled early along with several other freshman and has clearly made an impression not only on his coaches, but now on fans as well.

He has the opportunity to do big things because there's a lack of proven talent at the WR position.

They won't likely get too many of them coming in the fall either unless one of the underrated WRs like Frank Epitropoulos steps up.

That means the door has been opened up for a player like Thomas, and he has made quite the first impression.

When it comes to the Buckeye offense, it obviously won't be a pass-heavy offense like Texas Tech's Air Raid under Mike Leach.

They passed the ball a lot to get the reps they needed through the air because everyone knows they could run the ball.

The passing game certainly wasn't as pretty nor as diverse as it will be later on in the year, but it's already better than what it was last season.

Unfortunately, that will be all fans get to see until the Sept. 1 opener against Miami (OH).

It's still a pretty nice appetizer and should leave fans ready for more when the regular season starts.

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