Ohio State Football: 10 Unanswered Questions After the 2011 Spring Game
The 2011 Ohio State spring game lasted only about 90 minutes due to severe weather in the Columbus, OH area and featured a new format of offense vs. defense.
While we only saw about 80 to 90 snaps, the few things we did see provided a little bit of insight into the changes and new faces for the upcoming football season.
Unfortunately, what we saw might only have been a small sample of what the Bucks worked on in spring, as well as what we might have seen if the scrimmage lasted longer.
Let's examine the 10 questions that Buckeye fans still have or asked after the 2011 spring game.
1. Is Braxton Miller the Real Deal?
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Huber Heights, OH product Braxton Miller, one of the top high school QBs in America, made his debut in Ohio Stadium pretty entertaining.
He did have his ups and downs, showing some inaccuracy in some of his throws.
But he showed quite a bit of what makes him a special player: He showcased the speed to get to the edge and elude pass rushers, and he throws a great ball with one of the better arms on the roster.
Miller led the team in passing, going 7-of-12 for 73 yards and a TD pass to WR Corey Brown, and rushed for 19 yards on four carries.
He has a long way to go, but he certainly has made a case to be on the field at some point in the 2011 season.
2. How Much Did Taylor Graham Improve His Chances to Start?
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Of all the four QBs vying for the coveted starting job with Terrelle Pryor serving the five-game suspension, redshirt freshman Taylor Graham may have been the most overlooked.
Although Graham's lack of mobility showed after being sacked five times, he went 4-of-9 for 94 yards and delivered the pass of the game, a 68-yard pass on a dime to redshirt freshman WR T.Y. Williams.
Graham is the least mobile QB of the four competitors for the job, but he may have one of the better arms and may be one of the better pure passers as well.
He also is one of the biggest at 6'4" and around 220 lbs., which is a prototypical pocket passer QB size.
He hasn't been talked about much, but his pass to Williams may help get him some extra reps with the ones in the summer and fall.
3. Can Joe Bauserman Still Be Considered the Favorite to Start at QB?
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With the way that both Miller and Graham both showed the ability to make things happen, Miller leading a 92-yard TD drive and Graham with the longest pass of the day, Joe Bauserman's grip as the favorite to start might be slipping.
Bauserman was barely mediocre Saturday, and that could have really hurt him, at least in the eyes of Buckeye fans.
Running mostly with the ones, Bauserman threw for the fewest yards and lowest completion percentage of the four, going 4-of-11 for 42 yards and getting sacked twice but throwing for a TD to walk-on WR Ryan Ross.
If nothing else, the performance Saturday weakened some hope most had of Bauserman being the clear-cut starter, although the fans ultimately won't make the decision.
Although Jim Tressel wants his QBs to be able to value possession of the ball above most else, they still have to be able to make plays, and Bauserman just didn't seem nor has he seemed to have that ability to make big plays.
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4. Is There Any More Doubt About the Running Back Stable?
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For any Ohio State fans worried about the state of the RB position, those worries were quickly extinguished after Saturday's scrimmage.
Dan Herron, Jaamal Berry, Jordan Hall and Rod Smith all averaged over 4.5 yards per carry, with three players rushing for over 30 yards in the scrimmage.
Only Berry, who had just two carries on the afternoon, rushed for under that, though he rushed for 16 yards on his two carries.
Hall also added 21 receiving yards on two catches, including a 17-yarder, and showed why he will be utilized as a receiver this season in some capacity.
Even with Boom Herron out of the lineup for the first five games, no matter who OSU throws out from Hall, Berry and Smith, the running game should be in good hands.
5. How Good Is Dan Herron?
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Staying with the RBs, although the three backups are very good, Saturday's scrimmage showed that Boom Herron can still be the guy to lead the running game.
Herron rushed for 37 yards on eight carries and had a long 17-yard run.
Boom, who might be a second- to third-round pick in the 2012 NFL draft, showed that his breakout year in 2010 was no fluke, showcasing the great vision and quickness that makes him a dangerous runner.
Herron might be under-appreciated as far as a running back, but there is no doubt that he is a very dangerous back that can punish defenses for a full 60 minutes.
His vision and ball protection make him the type of back Tressel likes, and he showed Saturday that he can still play strong and will most likely be the lead rusher after he returns from his suspension.
6. Did a New WR Enter the Discussion to Start?
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For a few months, it looked as if Corey "Philly" Brown and Chris Fields would be the favorites to start at the WR position with DeVier Posey among the Suspended Five.
But there are a few faces that may have earned an extra look in the process: redshirt freshman T.Y. Williams and converted quarterback Verlon Reed.
Both Williams and Reed caught a TD pass along with Brown, but both were also helped by the lack of a catch from either Fields or James Louis.
Williams led the team in all-purpose yards with 83 in the game, 68 of which came on that long TD pass from Taylor Graham.
Reed as well made a very nice TD reception from Kenny Guiton, as both young players tried to make a case for why they can start out of a wide-open pool of inexperienced wideouts.
7. Did Etienne Sabino Clinch a Starting Job?
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The young Buckeye LB from Miami, FL redshirted his junior season last year in order to become more familiar with the mental aspects of the LB position in Jim Heacock and Luke Fickell's 4-3 system.
If Saturday was any indication, the former blue-chip prospect showed why he can be one of the latest elite 'backers to come out of Columbus.
Sabino was among the leaders in tackles with six and led the team with 1.5 tackles for loss in the scrimmage.
More than anything, Sabino was very aggressive and used his athleticism, which was very highly regarded coming up, to his advantage.
With two starting jobs in the LB corps still to fill, Sabino's strong spring might have all but earned him the right to start at MLB this season.
8. Was the OL That Bad, or Was the DL That Good?
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The first couple dozen plays of the spring game showed the Ohio State defense, especially the front four, completely outplaying the offensive line.
Whether that was just the lack of depth on the OL or the great depth on the DL, the OL looked very outmatched early on in the scrimmage.
The scrimmage eventually evened itself out later on, as the DL probably got less aggressive, but it may still be concerning about the OL being carved up early on.
The good news for the OL is that the OSU front seven may be one of the best they see all season, although Nebraska's unit is extremely formidable in itself.
To see the Buckeye defensive line playing well with the departure of Cameron Heyward had to be something good to see as well.
In these types of scrimmages, it's really tough to tell what the result is, but we really won't know which it was for sure until the end of September most likely.
9. Were the Open Airways Just a Result of Missing Secondary Players?
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In the scrimmage, the Ohio State passers went 20-of-43 passing for 249 yards and four TDs on the afternoon.
But the thing that most people didn't see was what wasn't on the field, namely 11 defensive backs, nine on scholarship, that didn't play in the game.
Among the 11 absentees were Tyler Moeller, C.J. Barnett and Christian Bryant, all of whom are vying for the second starting safety job alongside Orhian Johnson.
The loss of all three major competitors for the starting job really eliminates the ability of the staff to evaluate who is best for the gig when the season begins in September.
Travis Howard was present along with Dominic Clarke, the latter of whom dropped a sure interception chance midway through the scrimmage.
But the day proved that Ohio State will need one of the three men mentioned above to be healthy and ready to go at 100 percent when the season starts to make for a complete secondary.
10. Is the New Format Better or Worse Than the Old One?
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In the past, the OSU spring game has been a split-squad affair, with player drafting the split teams and a shortened game with four quarters and many of the same rules in effect.
This year, the format changed to offense vs. defense with a complicated scoring system that may have been tough to follow.
But which version is truly better? It really depends on who you ask.
For the fans, the split-squad game may be more appealing because it's a full action game with kick returns and an actual clock with spontaneous situations. In other words, it really does feel like a real game.
The Ohio State coaches might have preferred the recent game's style, matching best on best and mixing up personnel to get different people chances with different personnel groups.
But as far as how much you can take away from the game, the current format may be more accurate to see who has truly stepped up in spring workouts and who works best with who.
Sadly, this is the last chance Ohio State fans will get to hear or see any field action or practices from the Buckeyes until August.
But hey, September 3 is only a few months away from now. Buckeye football is not as far away as you think.
For more college football news and information, follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim and visit The BCS Blitz.
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