Uncertainty over key positions remains after spring game
By Garrett Downing
Athens NEWS Campus Reporter
April 28, 2008
At the start of spring practice, the Ohio University football team had some key positions up for grabs. With the arrival of junior college transfer Boo Jackson at quarterback, and the departure of all-time leading rusher Kalvin McRae, all eyes were on who would fill the backfield.
After the Green and White game on Saturday, which the White team won 20-14, few questions have been answered.
The battle for quarterback will carry into fall practice after Jackson and juniors Theo Scott and Brandon Jones each had moments in the spring game.
Scott, who played significant minutes last year and entered spring ball with a slight edge, struggled early and was picked off by Donovan Fletcher on his first two possessions.
“(Theo) has had a very, very good spring, and I think he wanted to show that today, and he was pressing early, but then came around and played well,” said head coach Frank Solich.
Scott admitted he may not have been completely focused at the start, but he did settle in, and finished with a productive day, completing 12 passes for 102 yards. He also orchestrated a 98-yard yard touchdown drive.
“I am kind of glad that this happened, when things don’t go right, because everybody is not going to be perfect, and still show that you can handle yourself as a man and show that you can handle the team,” Scott said.
Jackson came to Athens from California with a lot of hype surrounding his abilities. During his first couple weeks of spring practice, he had to adjust to the Bobcats’ offense and struggled to compete for the quarterback position.
After those early weeks of practice, however, he started to grasp the system, and it showed in the spring game as Jackson completed 16-20 passes for a game-high 190 yards.
“He has done an excellent job of picking up the system,” Solich said. “The system is not an easy system, especially from the quarterback standpoint.”
Jackson’s emergence late in spring practice has kept the competition close, but Solich gives the slight advantage to Scott heading into fall camp.
Jones has also kept his name in the competition, throwing for 82 yards and one touchdown to Adam Olsheski in the spring game.
“Theo has the experience and had a good spring, so he’ll go in with an edge in the fall camp,” Solich said. “But that position is not decided.”
All of the quarterbacks had on gold jerseys, meaning they only had to be touched to be considered down. Solich decided to have the quarterbacks wear the gold jerseys to avoid injuries, but it limited the quarterbacks because Scott, Jackson and Jones have good scrambling abilities.
Regardless of who gets the starting nod, he will have young receivers who showed on Saturday that they have the ability to make big plays. Sophomores Robert Mercer and LaVon Brazill each put forth strong performances in the spring game.
Mercer showed he is a potential deep threat, and Brazill displayed his speed on slant passes. Several times Mercer broke free in the secondary but was held back on pass-interference penalties by players in the secondary.
“(Brazill) is going to be a beast,” Scott said. “He is a monster.”
Running back — a four-man battle — also was a stiff competition during spring practice between Vince Davidson, L.J. Flintall, Donte Harden and Chris Garrett. Coming into the spring game, nobody had separated themselves from the rest, and after the spring game the battle remains open.
Garrett, who spent his first two years as a return man and receiver, had the strongest performance Saturday, rushing for 79 yards on 14 carries. Flintall rushed for 19 yards, and Harden had six yards including a one-yard touchdown plunge.
Davidson struggled in the game to match his production from earlier in spring practice, and he also was limited because of a leg injury.
Solich noticed Garrett’s performance but said the position is still undecided.
“(Garrett) was pretty productive,” Solich said. “It seemed like we threw the ball a lot today so the running backs did not get as many carries as sometimes they will.”
At the end of spring ball, the Bobcats still have many of the same questions as they did at the start of spring. The coaching staff is still looking for a running back to assert himself as the number-one guy and will try several different looks at quarterback.
Comments
Please log in to post a comment.
