Does Pryor make the line look better? and other Spring Game tidbits

The Ohio State offensive line has gotten mixed reviews for its Spring game performance. While it paved the way for even walk-on Marcus Williams to bust a big run, the units combined gave up 10 (!) sacks in the game, four allowed by the Gray team and six allowed by the Scarlet. Terrelle Pryor was sacked three times, but only once after the non-contact jersey was taken off. Leadfoots Joe Bauserman and Justin Siems got rocked seven times.

So does Pryor make the line look better? The spring game stats say very yes; and I've got a feeling the gameplan may have been built around the deficiencies in the line's pass protection abilities. Am I the only one who noticed a surplus of rollouts? Ray Small's early dropped pass - a frozen rope from Pryor, btw - came on a rollout. Some of Pryor's scrambling yards came on rollouts. Overall, it seemed Tressel was more willing - going on this gameplan alone - to compensate for deficiencies in the offensive line, rather than insist that they get better and insist that they do the same thing (i.e. blocking for a stagnant pocket, rather than a rolling one) over and over to get better at said thing. It was nice to see.

What I took away from the spring game is this; the line is young, and where it is not young, it is inexperienced. Brewster has one year under his belt, Adams nothing to speak of. Browning is learning a new position. Cordle is learning a new position.  Boren hasn't played real football for a year. Given these facts, I expect a little wonkiness out of the gate, and none of it can be laid at the feet of Jim Bollman. I do expect a more cohesive unit this fall, but I cannot demand it knowing these limitations and circumstances.

Personally, I think they looked better than the line did last year, including the spring game and the first seven or eight games of the season. I'm encouraged by this. More after the jump.

 - Did the linebackers look good or what? Sure, both units gave up yards to Herron, Saine, and even Williams, but Moeller, Rolle and Sabino led the game in tackles. Moeller especially looked fast in taking down Terrelle Pryor before he got loose and Marcus Williams in the open field. Saine looked good, abandoning his fear of hits and hitting the hole (TWSS) with tenacity, quickness and excellent vision.

- The secondary, as I alluded to in the notes, may need help. I'm worried first and foremost about the depth, which will be partially resolved in the fall when the massive (and massively talented) four-strong freshman DB class hits the field this fall. But Amos and Chekwa, for their parts looked good. Even though Chex blew the coverage on the long Taurian Washington TD grab, he looked like a bolt of lightning closing in on Washington. Like Jenkins, the kid has the quickness to make up for his mistakes.

- Speaking of Washington, I'm going to give him a conditional nickname of Taurian "Fucking" Washington, because all he does is catch touchdowns. Literally, it seems like every year he has a massive spring game and disappears in the fall. If he plays like this in the fall, he'll earn that moniker.

- TEs were again ghosts on the field, use primarily in power running formations.

- Bauserman, I thought, was solid. He went 10/21 with no touchdowns and that late pick. He has a howitzer, he just doesn't have the targeting reticule yet.