OSU football: Season starting to take shape

Linebacker James Laurinaitis was backed in a corner answering questions after Ohio State's intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday when the huge high-def, flat-screen monitor above him started showing ESPN highlights of LSU's win against the Buckeyes in the national championship game.

Laurinaitis stared at it vacantly, almost as if to say: well, there it is again, every time I turn around.

"It still hurts from time to time, but you accept it. It's over with. That season's done with," he said of the Buckeyes' 38-24 loss in the title game. "Now you have to focus on next season."
The Buckeyes put more distance between them and that loss with a two-hour, full-contact intrasquad jersey scrimmage Saturday at Ohio Stadium. For the record, the offense beat the defense 55-44 in the complicated, subjective scoring system.

What was more important was that several matters facing coach Jim Tressel and the 2008 Buckeyes came into sharper focus:

# RODRIGUEZ SPAT: New Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez reportedly has spoken to several recruits who have verbally committed to other Big Ten programs. Without mentioning each other by name, Tressel and Rodriguez have fired broadsides at each other, with Tressel complaining that coaches should lay off athletes who have indicated where they want to go and Rodriguez saying he'll continue to recruit players until they actually sign a letter of intent.

Tressel restated how Ohio State handles such a situation.

"If a guy is not interested in coming to Ohio State, and he says that, we've got to move on," he said.

Tressel said he and Rodriguez have "no beefs at all."

# THE FULLBACK POSITION: Curtis Terry, a linebacker his first four years at Ohio State, also is seeing playing time at fullback, one of two places where the Buckeyes lost offensive starters from 2007.

Terry, who played on both sides of the ball, said he wasn't sure if he was a winner or loser in the scrimmage.

"I was kind of neutral," said the 6-foot-1, 229-pounder, who is competing with senior Ryan Lukens and freshman Spencer Smith for the job.

He joked he might just have to go to Tressel and ask for 30 or 35 carries in a game so he can show his stuff.

"That's what I'm talking about," he said with a wide smile. "I've been trying to get them to see that. I feel I can break (a play) about 80 yards for a touchdown."

# BACKUP QB: Todd Boeckman firmly is entrenched as the starter for the second straight year. Terrelle Pryor, the acclaimed recruit out of Jeannette, Pa., doesn't come to campus until the middle of the summer, so Antonio Henton and Joe Bauserman are fighting for the backup job.

Boeckman threw two touchdown passes to Brian Hartline during the scrimmage, and Henton and Bauserman were erratic.

"I thought Todd was pretty fair and the other guys were pretty average," Tressel said.

# SCRIMMAGE STAR: That had to be Brandon Saine, who will back up tailback Chris 'Beanie' Wells when the season rolls around. Saine broke a couple of tackles, made a gee-whiz cut and carried two tacklers into the end zone on a 23-yard touchdown run.

"That was an unbelievable run," Boeckman said.

Saine looked particularly good when coming out of the backfield to catch passes.

# THE DEFENSE: One of the few criticisms of Ohio State's defense in 2007 was it did not take the ball away very often, forcing 19 turnovers.

Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said there were ways to improve.

"Don't drop interceptions, strip the ball when the (ballcarrier) is held up -- things like that. Just being more aggressive going after the ball," he said.

# SPRING GAME: Tressel said he had decided the spring game would be a scrimmage rather than a glorified practice because he knew the players wanted to get away from the monotony of another workout.

He added Boeckman would wear a yellow jersey in the game on Saturday at Ohio Stadium, meaning Boeckman cannot be hit by defensive players.

Tressel said he told one defense player, "The first time you'll see Todd with a red jersey on is in the locker room on Aug. 30" -- before the opener against Youngstown State.

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