Ohio State Fall Camp Notes – Day 9 – Ohio State Buckeyes
8/22/1998 12:00:00 AM | Football
August 22, 1998
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeyes dropped down to two practices today, an early morning affair in Buckeye gear (shoulder pads and shorts) and an afternoon scrimmage at Ohio Stadium that featured “the best against the best,” according to head coach John Cooper. The scrimmage was closed to the public and the media, but those along the sidelines saw among other highlights: a nifty 65-yard run by junior TB Michael Wiley off right tackle; a 42-yard interception return touchdown by junior FS Gary Berry off a tipped Joe Germaine pass; another sideline interception by sophomore CB David Mitchell of a Mark Garcia pass; some powerful straight-ahead runs by senior TB Joe Montgomery and sophomore TB Jerry Westbrooks; lots of carries for promising freshman TB Jonathan Wells; lots of solid tackles from senior SS Damon Moore; and generally some good defensive pressure on the quarterbacks.
Head Coach John Cooper “Quotes”
On Jonathan Wells: “He has impressed us since the day he came in here. He is a big back and he has some ability. He got a lot of reps today — it was a long scrimmage and all of our backs got a lot of reps. But that’s the least of our worries — who can carry the football. Michael Wiley broke a long run on the second play from scrimmage and then we held him out (due to his sore right lower leg). Joe Montgomery did some good things.”
On the passing game vs. the secondary: “Good and bad. We hit some passes and we dropped some passes and we ran some wrong routes and we had a couple picked off.”
On the defense: “The defensive backs and the linebackers are leading the defense. They are the experienced units on the defense.”
On backup QB Mark Garcia: “Mark has played very little football here and he does need a lot of work. And particularly he needs a lot of scrimmage work with bodies flying around.”
More on the secondary: “I don’t worry about the secondary as much as I worry about some other positions on our team. Obviously you know that Antoine Winfield is a player. Damon Moore is a good player, although he has missed some practice time. Gary Berry and Ahmed Plummer started every game last year so it is a solid secondary.
On the defensive front: “If you see a guy coming free [in scrimmage situations] it is probably because somebody missed a block. Its hard to look at all 22 players when you are field level.”
On conditioning: “We are in condition to practice but not in condition to play a game. The only way you get in condition to play a game is to go in the stadium like we did today and start playing. It’s a lot quicker tempo in and out of the huddle — the clocks running — there is substitions going on — it’s a whole different ball game.”
OSU
