Associated Press
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COLUMBUS — For a dozen games last season, Ohio State was true to its roots and ran the ball about twice as often as it threw it.
Then came the team’s trip to the Rose Bowl. And something strange happened.
Quarterback Terrelle Pryor tossed 38 passes, the most all year. Both Buckeyes touchdowns came on passes and, for the first time, Ohio State looked as if it had embraced a pass-first-and-ask-questions-later offense.
Midway through workouts this spring, the fans — and, for that matter, the Buckeyes themselves — are wondering about the 2010 plan of attack.
“It’s nice to not only get that (passing game) but also get a win — and to bring that into spring ball,” wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher said. “It brings a whole new pep to everybody’s step. As far as opening up the offense, you get that question a lot. I don’t know any more than you guys know. But I think being able to be successful at something like that will give the coaches confidence.”
Maybe it was faith in the growth of the mercurial Pryor. Or the offensive line had improved enough to let him throw more. Or it was the maturation of a young receiver corps. Or maybe it was just the matchups against Oregon that led to the air show in a 26-17 win over the Ducks in Pasadena, Calif.
So, are the Buckeyes opening things up?
“I don’t know what that means,” assistant head coach Darrell Hazell, who also oversees the receivers, said with a laugh. “With older players you can run more things and those guys are all a year older. That gives you a chance to do that. But you’re always going to do, as a coach, what you think is the best thing to win the football game, no matter what the fans are saying.”
One thing is for certain: The Buckeyes receivers and Pryor are feeling more confident and comfortable the more they play together. And the coaching staff is giving them more leeway because of that.
“I definitely feel that they’re giving us a lot more ability to make our own (plays),” said DeVier Posey, who led the Buckeyes with 60 catches for 828 yards and 8 TDs a year ago. “That comes with losing your youth and getting older and (the coaches) being able to trust you. This is all a trust factor, the coaches trusting you to get your job done.”
Matchup advantages had to have played a role in the Rose Bowl. Pryor attempted 17 passes in each of the last three regular season games, completing a combined 31 passes for 285 yards. Against Oregon, he was 23 of 37 for 266 yards.
Asked if he sits at home hoping that the coaching staff wants to continue to throw that much, Sanzenbacher flashed a wide grin and joked, “Every night.”
Ohio State is toying with the idea of throwing more to backs and tight ends. However, this isn’t the first time the coaches have suggested that. In the past, though, they’ve changed their minds once they get caught up in the heat of battle.
But this spring they like the idea of getting co-tailbacks Brandon Saine and Dan Herron on the field together. They also like the speed and size (6-foot-5, 245) of tight end Jake Stoneburner.
Still, the key is the wide receivers, one in particular. With a year of experience as a starter under his belt, Posey believes he’ll be called upon more and more.
“It’s weird that I’m growing up,” said Posey, a junior. “(I was) a talented youngster; I’m expected to be a seasoned veteran now. It’s crazy how your role just flips within a winter.”
Hazell believes Posey could explode as a player, if he continues to mature, harnesses his abilities and grows into a leadership role.
“Right now he’s his biggest enemy because he looks for perfection in everything he does,” Hazell said. “So when he makes a mistake, it kind of looms on him for a while. He has to learn to get over that, because he’s going to make a mistake.”
For a coach who has seen Brian Robiskie, Ted Ginn Jr., Santonio Holmes and Michael Jenkins come through Ohio State in his seven years at Ohio State, Hazell has high hopes for Posey, who’s reception provided the clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl.
“He is an exceptional receiver. One of the best we’ve had since I’ve been here,” he said. “But he’s got to learn to put some of those things that he doesn’t do as well as he’d like behind him so it doesn’t compound (problems for) him on the next play.”