It?s a win-win OSU day

419-993-2087COLUMBUS — Maybe it was the baseball cap he was wearing that made Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel sound a little like baseball legend Ernie Banks after the Buckeyes’ spring game on Saturday.Banks was famous for saying he liked baseball so much he was ready to play two games every day.And after the Scarlet team beat the Gray 20-7 in OSU’s spring game, Tressel said he liked the annual spring practice-ending spring game, derided by some as nothing more than a glorified practice, so much, he’d have two of them if he could."If you gave me a choice, I’d have two spring games because I think they’re very, very helpful," he said."If you asked the guys which they would rather have, one more practice or a spring game, they would say a spring game. The focus and the excitement and all those things, it’s hard for us to duplicate in a practice."Excitement? Well, that didn’t quite match the regular season. But they were playing in Ohio Stadium and playing in front of an announced crowd of 76,346. A crowd representative of a fan base anticipating big things this fall with 18 starters returning from last season’s BCS runner-up team.Some familiar players, like quarterback Todd Boeckman (12 for 18 for 145 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions) and wide receiver Brian Hartline (6 catches, 82 yards) did some of the things they’ve done before on fall Saturday afternoons and will do again this fall.And players who might or might not be heard from again in the fall, like wide receiver Taurian Washington (5 catches, 74 yards) and running back Dan Herron (30 yards on 10 carries), got a chance to play in the absence of injured starters like Brian Robiskie and Chris Wells.Boeckman hit Hartline with a 48-yard pass to set up the Scarlet team’s first touchdown, then scored that TD on a 1-yard quarterback sneak, despite the fact he was wearing a black jersey, which signified he couldn’t be hit by the defense. "When they called that quarterback sneak, I was like, ‘Coach, are you serious? I’ve got a black jersey on.’ But you’ve got to expect that, it’s a contact sport," Boeckman said, with a laugh.His first interception came on a strong defensive play by safety Kurt Coleman on a deep throw and the second pick was by linebacker Ross Homan on a short throw."I did some good things out there and some bad things that I still need to work on," Boeckman said.The Buckeyes’ backup quarterbacks, Antonio Henton and Joe Bauserman, probably drew more scrutiny from the crowd than the starter did.Bauserman completed 7 of 14 passes for 125 yards, including a 51-yard touchdown throw to Washington. He also had a 63-yard touchdown throw to Washington called back because of a holding penalty. Henton was 6 of 12 for 73 yards and no touchdowns.The decision on naming a backup to Boeckman is a long way off, Tressel said."It’s way too far out to worry about who your backup is," he said. "I thought Joe and Antonio showed some elusiveness. They had to demonstrate a little bit of escapeability and they did that. Both of them showed that they kept their head up while they’re under duress, which is something we talk a lot about."Notes:—- Another quarterback who will be on the sidelines in the fall was also in the stadium. Much-hyped recruit Terrelle Pryor, who has not enrolled yet, watched the game.—- Tressel gave opposing defensive coordinators something to think about late in the game when he called a fake punt and had running back Brandon Saine throw a pass to try to get a first down. The pass fell incomplete, but Saine threw a nice spiral.—- Replacing Kirk Barton at right offensive tackle is one of the biggest question marks for OSU, which has nine offensive and nine defensive starters returning. If the season started tomorrow, sophomore Bryant Browning would get the job, Tressel said.