"As much as Aaron Pettrey considers Ryan Pretorius a friend, he left no mystery about his motive yesterday. He wanted to walk into Ohio Stadium and knock Pretorius off the top of the Ohio State kicking ladder.
It didn't happen. It was Pettrey-Pretorius Duel In the 'Shoe III, and for the second straight year, Pretorius came out on top, though neither had a spectacular day." - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"DeVier Posey had heard a lot about Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline, and watched them play a few times. But this summer, as he practiced with the two starting Ohio State receivers for the first time, he gained a better appreciation.
"Those two are professionals; they are NFL receivers," Posey said. "You can really tell that those two know what they're doing, with the way they carry themselves, and the way they are in meetings -- just the whole swagger about them.
"They are professionals, and that's how I want to be one day."
Posey and Lamaar Thomas were two of the higher-rated receiver prospects in the country when the Buckeyes signed them in February. But that meant little, Thomas said, once the college gang gathered." - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"Ohio State welcomed the public into its living room last night and treated the visitors to the football equivalent of two hours of small talk.
It's hard to blame the Buckeyes -- when you have 12,000 houseguests, you're not going to get into deep, meaningful conversations.
So the fans who showed up at Ohio Stadium watched an hour and 15 minutes of individual and perimeter drills, which doesn't make for thrilling viewing, before getting to the good stuff -- 45 minutes of full-team action.
During that time, fans might have noticed that the Buckeyes plan to run and pass this season. Seriously, did anyone expect the team to pull out secret formations and trick plays?" - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"He has refused to name a starting quarterback and probably won't reveal it until the kickoff against Utah on Aug. 30.
It's a two-man race between redshirt sophomore Nick Sheridan, who just received his first scholarship, and redshirt freshman Steven Threet, who has never played a college game." - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"In about 50 snaps of action in Ohio State's jersey scrimmage on Saturday, Jim Tressel said he called one running play for Terrelle Pryor. It happened to be a quarterback draw for a touchdown.
Sure, the super-hyped freshman scrambled around and gained yards on some broken passing plays, but Tressel had a message he wanted to spread about his No. 3 quarterback after two hours of action no reporters were allowed to watch.
"He's going to find someone to throw to," Tressel said of Pryor. "He's a thrower."" - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"I'll never forget walking into Michigan Stadium for the first time, standing on the east concourse, the sun shining from above.
Thursday, in the same spot 20 years later, it was dark and covered.
That's when I realized -- this is not the Michigan Stadium we knew." - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"If anyone needs confirmation that first-year Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez understands how important the Ohio State rivalry is, there was strong evidence at practice Thursday.
Rodriguez has made a point to mention all of the Wolverines' rivals -- Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State -- but the Buckeyes, who have won six of the last seven meetings against Michigan, are a primary target.
Literally.
AdvertisementScattered around the field behind Schembechler Hall are red blocking dummies. From behind, they look like, well, red blocking dummies. But on the side facing the players, Ohio State logos have been attached to the dummies at the contact point.
Looks like that "Beat Ohio State" button that Rodriguez said was on his desk his first day on the job has hit home." - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"The players call it "jock itch."
While dislocated kneecaps and high ankle sprains draw more attention, Coach Pete Carroll said he has never seen anything like the minor outbreak that caused key players to miss practice Wednesday.
As much as 25% of the team has been affected by the apparent run of tinea cruris, kicker David Buehler estimated. The condition seems to have spread by way of new compression shorts, or tights, worn under their football pants." - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
The mighty trojans have been felled by Jock Itch. Ouch - RAPatton
"Curtis Terry entered his senior season looking to go out with a bang as a full-time contributor on the Ohio State defense.
But when the coaches proposed during spring practice that Terry consider blocking for running back Chris "Beanie" Wells, he stepped across to "the dark side," as one of his defensive teammates put it.
Now, it looks as if Terry could see time at linebacker as well as fullback. Regardless, the decision to switch sides was anything but an easy one.
"It was a battle, a battle for a long time, and it was something I had to come to terms with," he said. "During the whole process, when they were recruiting me, they were telling me the team really needs a fullback."" - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"What started as a necessity has become a luxury for Ohio State center Jim Cordle.
Last season, an injury to his right hand put Cordle into a cast and forced him to snap left-handed for four games.
Not only did he manage to withstand the experience, he said that after the cast came off in early November he realized his ambidextrous skills could come in, er, handy.
Against Illinois on Nov. 10, Cordle said an Illini defensive lineman routinely was attacking him from his right side. He figured that snapping with his left hand would give him an advantage.
"If I could get that (right) hand free, then I could get on him before he got his hands on me," said Cordle, a junior from Lancaster.
He said he continued to snap with either hand through the end of the season, and plans to do it again this year.
"I never snapped with the left hand before I had to," he said. "(The injury) was a blessing in disguise."" - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
"Theodore Kaczynski (University of Michigan alumnus) has written to a San Francisco court, complaining that the display goes against the wishes of his victims. His cabin is on show alongside other items linked to infamous crimes. The professor was jailed for life in 1998 after admitting an 18-year bombing spree which killed three people. Kaczynski's letter argues that the exhibit goes against the victims' wishes to limit publicity in regards of the case." - RAPatton
"Justin Boren -- aka "The Traitor" in Ann Arbor -- continues to receive abusive e-mail from Michigan fans after transferring to Ohio State.
"Bad, bad stuff I can't repeat," Boren said of the messages.
Boren, who started every game last season for U-M, isn't eligible this year per NCAA transfer rules." - RAPatton via Bookmarklet
