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Home > Blogs > Buckeyes Beat > Archives > 2008 > April > 17 > Entry
OSU’s Tressel considers spring game a necessary evil
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel is no fan of spring games — and who can blame him?
He was an assistant at OSU in charge of quarterbacks 25 years ago when starter Mike Tomczak broke his leg, sending shudders throughout Buckeye Land.
His players may get fired up over the chance to put their talents on display, but Tressel doesn’t share their enthusiasm.
“I like when it’s over,” he said.
With such a large group of returning starters — 18 are back along with both specialists — Tressel toyed with the idea of just staging some drills and scrimmaging a bit. But he knew that wouldn’t suffice.
Fans of big-time college football programs need an excuse to tailgate … er, I mean, expect to get a glimpse of the team in game-like conditions in the spring, and Tressel, like most coaches, feels compelled to feed the monster.
“You feel obligated to have some reason for people to come,” he said. “They’d be bored if we had a practice and, really, our guys would be bored if we had a practice.”
Tressel receives an annual reminder of how much the spring game means to his team during the spring game draft. The seniors picked players earlier this week, and plenty barbs were exchanged throughout the lively exercise.
“To me, that was good enthusiasm,” Tressel said. “They want to win. If it was a ho-hum thing, they’d have just sat there.
“Yeah, we do feel obligated to put some people out there (on the field) and put pressure on them.”
And all the while, Tressel will be praying for no broken bones.
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