Ohio State Football: 5 Things to Watch for in the 2011 Spring Game

Ohio State's annual spring game, one of the last ones among the FBS schools, takes place this Saturday afternoon at 1:30 PM in Ohio Stadium, also available on the Big Ten Network.

This annual spring scrimmage is taking on a new format of offense vs. defense instead of a split-squad scrimmage as is the norm.

And for fans and the media that have been hungry from some spring practice updates that we haven't gotten much of, this is a good chance to get an early look at the team we will see in the 2011 season.

But what should Buckeye fans keep an eye on?

Here are five different things to watch for in Saturday's scrimmage.

For the third time in the past four springs, rain is in the forecast along with a flash flood watch for the Columbus area.

The amount of rain can certainly have an effect on how Jim Tressel wants his offense to operate, as they may run the football more than throw it.

And in a situation where the battle for the starting job at QB, at least temporary, is the biggest question mark around the Buckeyes, this is the worst type of weather that could happen.

Wet weather affects the grip of the ball from everyone to the center to the QB throwing it, and the receivers that need to catch it.

It might not be a downpour, but consistent rainfall can certainly have an impact on the playcalling of the offensive coaches in the game.

The starting job at RB is a lock for Dan Herron starting October 8 at Nebraska. The first five games, however, have become quite an interesting battle.

Herron will get some carries but all eyes will be on the two young studs in the elusive Jordan Hall and lightning fast Jaamal Berry.

The two young backs anchored the No. 5 kickoff return average unit in the country, and saw plenty of carries as well last year.

Some conjecture that the starting job will come down to those two due to experience, but redshirt freshman Roderick Smith has drawn rave reviews from everyone from coaches to players and other media members. 

Whoever gets the most carries between Hall, Berry and Smith and who can take advantage of those opportunities will certainly have an inside edge to starting the season as the No. 1 back.

The concern most Buckeye fans have pushed slightly aside due to the suspensions from Tattoogate is the fact that the defense must replace seven starters.

While most of the players vying for starting gigs have some experience on the field, the battles are the things that need to be paid attention to.

The thing that should be noted most is who comes out with the first-team defense and who the first ones off the bench are. Those will be the ones that are most likely one step closer to being a starter on the OSU defense.

But one thing is certain, the new starters will have earned the job because of the tough competition.

That competition is why most people say the OSU defense doesn't rebuild, it reloads.

The interesting battles to watch will be at the LB and CB positions, where four of five starting jobs are up for grabs. 

New WR coach Stan Drayton, formerly at Florida, was brought in to make the passing game more explosive with players being more capable of getting yards after the catch.

But his biggest early contribution would be something that Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid would be proud of, the screen pass.

The OSU offense has never really used the screen game too often, but the lack of quality depth at the WR position and the strength at the RB position makes this an intriguing addition to the passing game.

If Drayton has high hopes for any player in the screen attack, it's Hall, whom Drayton likens to a poor man's Percy Harvin, quite a high praise for the elusive back.

While Hall has nowhere near the strength and pure speed of Harvin, his elusiveness and burst makes him quite an intriguing prospect out of the backfield, and possibly out of the slot.

Hall's versatility might mean that often, the OSU offense can have a back in the backfield and another out wide as a receiver, which would be quite a wrinkle in the offense that will need some punch to start off the 2011 season without Terrelle Pryor and three other offensive starters. 

Speaking of Terrelle Pryor, the real storyline of Saturday's scrimmage is the one of the four QBs vying for the starting job: Joe Bauserman, Kenny Guiton, Taylor Graham and Braxton Miller.

By multiple accounts, the competition has been interesting to watch, as the favorite to start, Bauserman, has looked very shaky, throwing multiple interceptions in practices.

In addition, Miller has turned out to reportedly be worth the praise given to a five-star recruit, as he has grown through every practice and may be starting to grasp the offense.

But don't discount Guiton and Graham by any measure, as both players have done pretty well themselves; Guiton was strong in the spring game a year ago and Graham has surprised quite a few people throughout the spring session.

While the rotation at QB is expected to be in the order at the top of the slide, whichever player plays best in front of the crowd could be the guy most look at to start at least until the competition resumes in the fall.

Plus, this will be the first chance Buckeye Nation has to see Braxton Miller, and a solid debut will have the fanbase buzzing without a doubt as he could be the people's choice to start.

But of course, it's ultimately up to the players and coach Tressel, not the fans, about who starts.

In the end, really any one of these four player can start the first five games until Pryor comes back.

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