Some of the good news for the Ohio offense following Saturday's 48-play scrimmage was that they didn't have any turnovers.
The bad news is that means the defense didn't create any turnovers.
You can never be pleased when your team is on offense and defense at the same time
coach Frank Solich said with a smile.
Last season, Ohio had 32 turnovers while only creating 19 for a turnover margin of minus 13, which was last in the Mid-American Conference.
Solich wants to turn those numbers around heading into next season. He said they have to take better care of the ball because those turnovers were a major factor in the team's 4-8 record.
In addition to having no turnovers Saturday, the Bobcats had no major injuries. This is a major plus for a team that has a lot of guys recovering from injuries, especially on the offensive line.
We'll take all the healthy days we can get Solich said.
But there were plenty of penalties in the first live action since the fall. Solich said that the team has installed a lot both offensively and defensively, and it's showing.
We still have the mechanics of the game to work on offensive coordinator Tim Albin said. We had too many penalties
had a bad snap. Things that are correctable
but we need to get those things ironed out.
Albin said that even though they are putting a lot of packages into the offense, many of the guys have been here for awhile. He named running backs Chris Garrett, Vince Davidson and L.J Flintall, and quarterbacks Theo Scott and Boo Jackson as guys who he expects to be on their 'A' game.
Scott and Jackson both were accurate on Saturday as Scott was 4-of-6 for 38 yards and Jackson was 5-of-7 for 27 yards. Jackson also scored the only touchdown of the day on an 18-yard run.
Most of the passes were short, high percentage attempts. Scott started and then he and Jackson switched off for most of the day until giving way to the other quarterbacks.
Both quarterbacks have the ability to scramble and create. But when they have on the no-contact jerseys, it can be difficult to really evaluate them.
They're less likely to have those kind of opportunities in practice
Solich said. So you're not seeing what they're truly all about as far as quarterbacking is concerned.
Albin said that it's still too early to say if either Scott or Jackson is likely to be the starter. But he did say Jackson is a completely different quarterback than he was a year ago.
He said Jackson is poised, under control and not trying to force the game.
He's a whole different animal
a whole different person in a year's time
Albin said.
He said Scott, on the other hand, is simply eager to get back on the field after missing the last 10 games of the season. Albin said it's his senior season and he's ready to get after it.
All in all I think they're doing good things
Albin said. We have to keep moving forward and we'll see how the last two scrimmages play out.
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