04-24-2004, 09:53 AM
Ohio football players making cases for starting positions
By Lonnie McMillan, The Post
April 23, 2004
(U-WIRE) ATHENS, Ohio -- Entering spring practice, the Ohio football team had several starting positions to be battled out. Now that spring ball has come and gone, none of those positions have been locked down, but leading candidates have emerged.
Ryan Hawk has a definite edge over Austen Everson at quarterback, while John Taylor has the edge over several others to take over as the running back in Ohio's new one-back offense.
Hawk had a solid spring and capped it off with a good performance in the Green and White Game, in which he went 19-of-36 for 193 yards and a touchdown. Everson, on the other hand, was 3-of-11, but he did start to put things together late in the game.
Ohio coach Brian Knorr said both have shown themselves to be capable quarterbacks, though Hawk has the lead.
"I would say Ryan has an upper hand right now, but by all means, Austen has shown us he can come in and do the job well," Knorr said.
Last season, Hawk battled Fred Ray for the starting quarterback position, but after both suffered injuries, Everson was forced into the starting role. In his first start, Everson led Ohio to a 28-0 win against Central Florida. However, Everson struggled at times later in the season.
Hawk said his performance this spring has been indicative of the improvements he has made and that he is not worried about trying to beat out Everson.
"I'm just battling as hard as I can," Hawk said. "I'm letting the spring tell the story on that."
Everson said it's good to simply have the competition and the help that goes along with a position battle.
"Me and Ryan, we're great friends," Everson said. "It's true, we've been competitive, but it helps to push each other like that. He's been helping me, and we've been helping each other."
The question of who will be lining up behind the quarterback at running back is also closer to being answered following spring practices, as Taylor has emerged from a slew of candidates.
He carried 11 times for 51 yards in the spring game and was instrumental in running out the clock on the final possession of his team's victory.
"That's a big-time deal," offensive coordinator Phil Earley said. "John is right now a go-to guy. You saw the way he ran. He's a guy we know we can hand off to. We know he'll run hard, he'll find a seam, and he has great lean, so he's not usually going to get knocked back -- he's going to fall forward for that extra yard. When you're trying to buy first downs in situations like that, that's big."
Taylor helped his team pick up four first downs and run off the final eight and a half minutes of game clock to seal a win.
Knorr said it's especially important to identify one running back to lead the team.
"In a one-back offense, you need to have one or two guys who feel very comfortable, and certainly John has surfaced as one of the top candidates," Knorr said.
Knorr said Brad Young also had a good spring. Additionally, Justin Roush, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the first game of last season, would be given a good shot once he is able to practice full contact. Knorr said Roush's running style is one that would fit well in the offense.
While the secondary is fairly set with Chip Cox and Rob Stover at the safeties and Dion Byrum, T.J. Wright and Andre' Bradford at the corners, the linebackers are a little questionable because of injuries to Dennis Chukwuemeka and Tyler Russ, Knorr said. The defensive line is a place where Knorr said he hoped players would step up.
"I think we need defensive line," he said. "We need to find out who's going to be able to come in and compete for us."
A solid competitor in the spring game was defensive end Seth Ream.
"I thought Seth Ream made plays today," Knorr said. "Seth's a guy who's been up and down in spring ball and has only played D-line for one year. I saw him make some good plays out there and was very encouraged by it."
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By Lonnie McMillan, The Post
April 23, 2004
(U-WIRE) ATHENS, Ohio -- Entering spring practice, the Ohio football team had several starting positions to be battled out. Now that spring ball has come and gone, none of those positions have been locked down, but leading candidates have emerged.
Ryan Hawk has a definite edge over Austen Everson at quarterback, while John Taylor has the edge over several others to take over as the running back in Ohio's new one-back offense.
Hawk had a solid spring and capped it off with a good performance in the Green and White Game, in which he went 19-of-36 for 193 yards and a touchdown. Everson, on the other hand, was 3-of-11, but he did start to put things together late in the game.
Ohio coach Brian Knorr said both have shown themselves to be capable quarterbacks, though Hawk has the lead.
"I would say Ryan has an upper hand right now, but by all means, Austen has shown us he can come in and do the job well," Knorr said.
Last season, Hawk battled Fred Ray for the starting quarterback position, but after both suffered injuries, Everson was forced into the starting role. In his first start, Everson led Ohio to a 28-0 win against Central Florida. However, Everson struggled at times later in the season.
Hawk said his performance this spring has been indicative of the improvements he has made and that he is not worried about trying to beat out Everson.
"I'm just battling as hard as I can," Hawk said. "I'm letting the spring tell the story on that."
Everson said it's good to simply have the competition and the help that goes along with a position battle.
"Me and Ryan, we're great friends," Everson said. "It's true, we've been competitive, but it helps to push each other like that. He's been helping me, and we've been helping each other."
The question of who will be lining up behind the quarterback at running back is also closer to being answered following spring practices, as Taylor has emerged from a slew of candidates.
He carried 11 times for 51 yards in the spring game and was instrumental in running out the clock on the final possession of his team's victory.
"That's a big-time deal," offensive coordinator Phil Earley said. "John is right now a go-to guy. You saw the way he ran. He's a guy we know we can hand off to. We know he'll run hard, he'll find a seam, and he has great lean, so he's not usually going to get knocked back -- he's going to fall forward for that extra yard. When you're trying to buy first downs in situations like that, that's big."
Taylor helped his team pick up four first downs and run off the final eight and a half minutes of game clock to seal a win.
Knorr said it's especially important to identify one running back to lead the team.
"In a one-back offense, you need to have one or two guys who feel very comfortable, and certainly John has surfaced as one of the top candidates," Knorr said.
Knorr said Brad Young also had a good spring. Additionally, Justin Roush, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the first game of last season, would be given a good shot once he is able to practice full contact. Knorr said Roush's running style is one that would fit well in the offense.
While the secondary is fairly set with Chip Cox and Rob Stover at the safeties and Dion Byrum, T.J. Wright and Andre' Bradford at the corners, the linebackers are a little questionable because of injuries to Dennis Chukwuemeka and Tyler Russ, Knorr said. The defensive line is a place where Knorr said he hoped players would step up.
"I think we need defensive line," he said. "We need to find out who's going to be able to come in and compete for us."
A solid competitor in the spring game was defensive end Seth Ream.
"I thought Seth Ream made plays today," Knorr said. "Seth's a guy who's been up and down in spring ball and has only played D-line for one year. I saw him make some good plays out there and was very encouraged by it."
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