Spring Football Drills Continue – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/9/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 9, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two more full-pad practices Tuesday and Thursday has left the Buckeyes at the near mid-point of this spring season. Just eight more days of practice are left and the next practice wont be until Monday, April 12. A nothing-new-to-report practice on Tuesday was followed up by an hour-long, 11-on-11 scrimmage session on Thursday that featured lots of hitting. Coach John Cooper, when asked by the media who stood out in the scrimmage, replied with a quick and humorous “nobody.” He added: “Today was the first time weve hit 11-on-11 for any extended period of time. We worked on a lot of situation-type plays.” %^$
%^$Bellisari Throws Alone
%^$Steve Bellisari took all the snaps during the 11-on-11 scrimmage. Austin Moherman had a sore throwing arm and coaches decided to give him Thursday off. “Counting today, hell get five days to rest the arm,” Cooper said.%^$
%^$Lots of Line Shuffling
%^$Quarterback Steve Bellisari went through a stretch of about six straight pass plays without getting the pass off due to the heavy rush from the OSU defenders. It wasnt a major concern for John Cooper for two reasons: The defensive line, which returns its top eight players from last season including starting tackles Ryan Pickett and Joe Brown and starting ends Rodney Bailey and Brent Johnson, is very, very good and it will be a major foundation for the team this season. And there has been lots of movement on the offensive line. Tyson Walter has played some at left guard (due to the absences of Mike Gurr and Rob Murphy) which is giving sophomore Jim Massie some time at left tackle. Right tackle Henry Flemming is new as a No. 1 to the position. And Mike Jacobs was playing some at center (behind Kurt Murphy due to the absence of LeCharles Bentley). Coach Cooper: “The good thing is that some of these younger offensive linemen are getting a chance to step up and practice.”%^$
%^$Scrimmage Notes
%^$Tailbacks Jerry Westbrooks, Derek Combs and Jonathan Wells all left defenders grasping at air with terrific “shake and fake” moves. Derek Ross came up big with a solid open field tackle of dangerous Ken-Yon Rambo. Ross also made a difficult over the shoulder interception near the sidelines. He stayed in bounds, too. TE Darnell Sanders had a nice one handed catch. Steve Bellisari was on target with his passes and he puts zip on his throws. Ken-Yon Rambo seemed to catch everything he got his hands on. The best block of the day was Jamar Martins on Joe Cooper that sprung Combs on a 35-yard run. Gary Berry sat out the scrimmage with soreness in his neck. He is expected back Monday. Paris Long could be through for this spring due to a severe groin pull suffered in Tuesdays practice. %^$
%^$Gurr and Bentley Should Return
%^$Left guard Mike Gurr (sprained knee) and reserve center LeCharles Bentley (sprained shoulder) each are expected to return to the practice fields next week. Both had MRIs this week. %^$
