Sunday, April 25, 1999
Ohio State QB battle will wage into fall
Pair struggle in Buckeyes' scrimmage
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — The audition for Ohio State's starting quarterback will likely continue all summer.
Coach John Cooper watched candidates Austin Moherman and Steve Bellisari direct the offense during the Buckeyes' annual spring intrasquad scrimmage Saturday.
Shortly after watching each QB struggle to produce points, Cooper said he was in no hurry to name Joe Germaine's replacement for the Aug.29 season opener with Miami in the Kickoff Classic.
“You know we could sit down with the coaching staff and grade this and say one of them is No.1 and one is No.2, but there wouldn't be any good coming out of that,” Cooper said. “So let's let them work this summer and come into fall camp and see what happens.”
Ohio State's offense spurted to only three scoring drives Saturday in the Gray's 61-16 victory over the Scarlet.
The game was played at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center because of Ohio Stadium's $150 million reconstruction. It was closed to the public.
The invitation-only crowd didn't see many fireworks.
The game pitted Ohio State's offensive team — the Scarlet — against Buckeye defenders — the Gray. The Scarlet squad scored according to traditional rules. The Gray scored points a variety of ways, from touchdowns to forcing turnovers to holding the offense without a first down.
The Buckeyes' offense struggled to replace several key players who either graduated or missed the game because of injuries or suspensions.
Moherman and Bellisari led one touchdown-scoring drive apiece, but spent most of the day dodging the blitz.
They were sacked a combined 10 times and each overthrew several open receivers — while on the run — as their passes wobbled in the swirling wind. Blocking schemes constantly broke down with the absence of starting left tackle Tyson Walter (back injury) and Moeller graduate and left guard Rob Murphy (suspension).
Bellisari completed 7-of-21 passes for 142 yards, while Moherman was 12-of-22 for 87. They each tossed touchdown passes to Reggie Germany and were picked off once.
Bellisari's speciality of rolling away from pocket-pressure was hamstrung all day. Defenders only had to get a hand on the QB for a sack.
“I definitely thought I made a couple of mistakes here, but that's gonna happen,” he said. “Overall it was a good day.”
A highlight for Bellisari was a 56-yard scoring strike to Germany. Germany, streaking down the right side, reached over the outstretched arms of cornerback Derek Ross and headed for the end zone.
“Both of them throw good balls and they get it out there so you can do something after you make the catch. That's what you want from a quarterback,” said Germany, who caught 7 passes for 122 yards.
Moherman, a redshirt junior, said he wasn't ready to make any bold predictions about his future.
“This spring was really about getting in there, getting in the fire, doing the reps, and that was the big learning proc ess. I think I did it pretty well and soaked up a lot of things,” he said.
NOTES: Linebackers Chris Kirk and Jason Ott, vying to replace Andy Katzenmoyer at middle linebacker, had an interception and fumble recovery, respectively. Na'il Diggs, a preseason All-American in at least one national publication, played a solid game at linebacker with 5 tackles. On one, he brought down running back Michael Wiley in the backfield with one hand.
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