Frank Solich assured Ohio fans before Saturday's spring game that it wouldn't resemble the typical competitive atmosphere of past years.
And it certainly wasn't.
No score was kept. No starting positions were decided. And the atmosphere of a heated scrimmage was absent with so many injured players.
But despite the distinct differences, Solich called the culmination of Ohio's spring season a success.
There were some good things that took place
Solich said. Early on we had some good drives from the offensive side of it.
The game was divided into four 12-play quarters with Solich giving the offense to one quarterback for each quarter. Quarterback Boo Jackson was first to lead the Ohio offense.
He rebounded from his previous scrimmage, going 4-for-6 for 61 yards.
Jackson also led the Bobcats to a touchdown on the opening drive. On a third-down play, Jackson hooked up with wide receiver LaVon Brazill for a 31-yard pass. Running back Vince Davidson scored on a one-yard touchdown run to cap the drive.
This scrimmage was a whole different me Jackson said. When things are going bad things are going bad. When things are going good and you're on a roll
you just want to keep rolling.
The offense kept rolling on Ohio's second possession under Theo Scott. Scott, who was 2-for-4 for 28 yards, completed a healthy spring after breaking his collarbone against Ohio State in September.
He said it was nice to get back into the game mindset and shake off the rust.
You get limited plays
you have to make the best of it
Scott said. Overall
I feel good.
Scott did say that he would have liked to get hit at least once in the spring to regain that feeling of game action. But he understood that as a quarterback, he couldn't risk another injury.
Solich said that the quarterback position wouldn't be decided until the fall.
The quarterback situation is still open because we haven't had enough reps for one guy to distinguish himself
Solich said. We like the fact that we have several experienced guys who can make plays.
Another area of experience that showed was at wide receiver. Ohio showcased its depth with six wide receivers catching passes. Terrence McCrae and Bakari Bussey each had two catches to lead the group.
Solich said Bussey and Serggio Judkins were two receivers who stepped up with so many receivers nursing injuries.
I was pleased with what we saw out of our receiving corps
and I think they're working hard to improve their blocking
Solich said. They'll have to do that to help our running game.
Defensively, the Bobcats were led by safety Donovan Fletcher who had four tackles and a sack in his bid to replace safety Michael Mitchell, who was drafted in the second round of this weekend's NFL Draft. As a group, the Bobcats had six tackles for loss, four of which were sacks.
But Solich said the best aspect of this year's game was that no names were added to an already large injured list.
Not a bad spring
Solich said. I'm looking forward to the fall and getting a team that's healthy again.
