Terrelle Pryor, Ohio State Buckeyes Answer Questions in Rout of Marshall

Thursday afternoon's TSB asked five questions as we looked ahead to the opening night contest with Marshall.  Now it's time to look back at the game and search for some answers.

1) Terrelle Pryor showed improved mechanics and consistency

Without doubt, the No. 1 question on everyone's mind was whether or not Pryor would build on his big Rose Bowl performance and continue to improve as a pocket passer.

Only the most cynical fan would fail to admit that Pryor is developing, based on his execution of the game plan against Marshall.  His performance was night and day compared to the Navy game of a year ago. 

Instead of thinking run first, Pryor calmly stood in the pocket, scanned the field, and patiently waited for receivers to get open.  He spread the ball around, and with the exception of one long pass to Posey, didn't seem to force anything. Granted, this was against a weak secondary, with lots of time provided by an improved offensive line. 

I am sure Terrelle will get flushed out of the pocket more next week and will have to use his legs and throw more on the run.  But for now, we can say that he is showing solid signs of improvement.

2) The secondary looked decent, but with a few chinks in the armor

Injuries and the loss of some experienced players caused us to wonder how the last line of defense would look on opening night. 

I thought the starting corners played well, led by Chimdi Chekwa, who showed no ill effects of his hamstring issues. I have yet to be impressed by Travis Howard though, and wonder if someone will pass him up as the No. 3 corner. 

Safety continues to worry me.  We all know that Jermale Hines can play, but C.J. Barnett looked lost at times and isn't very physical.  Hopefully, Orhian Johnson will regain his health and solidify the free safety spot. 

Otherwise, look for Jacory Harris to exploit the Buckeye secondary next week.

3) Jim Tressel called an excellent first game

We all know that the Sweater Vest can be conservative, especially in the opening game.  However, he came out throwing, similar to the Rose Bowl, and then mixed it up nicely, using a combination of running plays, play action, and first-down passes. It helps when you win the battle in the trenches, which was the case all night. 

Still, I was impressed by the diversity of Tressel's play-calling; he gave Miami plenty to think about, yet held back enough to not show his whole hand. 

If I was to be picky, I would question the second-string offensive line coming in as early as they did—I would have liked at least one more score—and I would ask why Pryor was in the game in the fourth quarter.  I didn't like watching him run the ball and take a couple hard hits late in the game with a five-TD lead.

4) Our new starters didn't stand out

We wondered about the new starters on defense, and they didn't exactly light it up.

Solomon Thomas got to the quarterback only once, late and for a 15-yard penalty. Overall, he looked rather tentative.  Let's hope Nathan Williams is ready to go next Saturday. 

Andrew Sweat didn't get to play a whole lot because Ohio State was using the "Star" against the Marshall spread, and only employed two linebackers most of the time.  When Sweat was in the game he played fine. 

Of course, Tyler Moeller excelled at this hybrid "Star" position and had a marvelous night in his return from a career-threatening injury.  And, as mentioned, Barnett didn't have a great night at safety, although he was usually in position to make plays.

 

5) A few youngsters did stand out

I was watching all night to see which freshmen played and how they performed. 

I was impressed with the play of big Johnathan Hankins at defensive tackle; he will earn more minutes as the year progresses.  Redshirt freshman Jaamal Berry looked ultra-quick when he entered the game in the fourth quarter, and it appears the running back depth is as good as advertised. 

Another redshirt, Dorian Bell, had a huge hit on the opening kickoff to set the tone for the game. "Philly" Brown looked good on one punt return, but dropped an easy pass from Joe Bauserman.  

And Andrew Norwell got quite a bit of time an offensive tackle, which is rare for a true freshman.  He didn't look bad, but was a little anxious and jumped early a couple of times. 

Those were the freshmen that caught my eye.

 

One final thought

A fun topic of conversation all year will be the use of tight end Jake Stoneburner. 

A lot of money seems to be riding on whether or not he catches at least 30 balls.  Drew and I have our own small wager; I predicted 35 catches for Stoney and Drew says he won't quite reach 30. 

On the first night Jake caught three balls, which is exactly what the Buckeyes need out of him to keep defenses honest.