Saturday, April 28, 2001
Tressel makes OSU debut today
The Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Jim Tressel isn't predicting a national title for Ohio State this fall. All he knows for sure is that the Buckeyes didn't lose one this spring.
“I've always felt that you never win a national championship in the spring, but you can lose one if you don't progress,” Tressel said in the days leading up to today annual spring intrasquad scrimmage. “I think we've progressed.”
When Tressel replaced the fired John Cooper in January, he was met with as many questions as there are players on the roster. Few of those questions have been answered during the 15 April workouts, but some have at least come into sharper focus.
• Who's the quarterback?
Steve Bellisari has been the first-stringer the past two years but has yet to prove he can complete passes consistently and avoid interceptions.
Redshirt sophomore Scott McMullen made inroads this spring and apparently has established himself as the backup — if not a challenger to Bellisari's job.
• What's the attitude?
The new staff's No.1 priority has been team unity.
But still festering under the surface of Camp Tressel's “one for all and all for one” mentality is the lawsuit between offensive linemates Tyson Walter and LeCharles Bentley. Walter alleges he was attacked by Bentley after a conditioning session in February 2000 and is seeking $50,000 to cover his medical expenses.
• How's the adjustment to a new system going?
“He's made practice fun,” McMullen said of Tressel.
Tressel has heaped a lot of information on his players, while throwing in a few wrinkles — a special-teams scrimmage, using old-fashioned drills and training equipment that hadn't been used since the Reagan administration — to break up the monotony.
• Have the holes been plugged?
Despite a shortage of offensive linemen due to injuries, it appears Tressel has sorted through some of the holes he inherited. Receivers Drew Carter, Ricky Bryant, John Hollins and especially junior-college transfer Chris Vance showed they may be at least as good as Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany.
Jonathan Wells takes over at tailback, and there are enough holdovers to fill out the lineup at linebacker and defensive line.
Still to be addressed are the cornerback spots vacated by Nate Clements and David Mitchell. Derek Ross was forced to sit out spring practice after picking up a speeding ticket and lying to the arresting officer about his identity.
BOWL GAMES: An NCAA panel has recertified 24 bowl games and certified a new one, the New Orleans Bowl.
The champion of the Sun Belt Conference will play a Mountain West Conference opponent in the New Orleans Bowl Dec.18.
The former Aloha Bowl will be played Dec.30 at Pacific Bell Park in San Francisco and will be called the San Francisco Bowl. The former Oahu Bowl will become the Seattle Bowl and will move to Safeco Field in Seattle on Jan.2, 2002.
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Tressel makes OSU debut today
