Okay, I'm back, with some almost-excessively delayed spring game thoughts. I'll give 'em anyway, though, if for no other reason than to give you all an opportunity to give your thoughts on the game. I know what I think, but I'm just one guy that watched from roughly a mile away from the sun in C-deck, slowly roasting while cheering on the Scarlet. Your opinions may vary from mine, especially because toward the end of the game, I was more concerned about what it meant for my hair than how the team was performing. See, I had bet a friend that Scarlet would win; I lost, so I had to wear a fauxhawk for the rest of the day. It was very emo, but surprisingly well-received. Ah, the follicular adventures of a college senior.

But enough about my hair, and more about the game. The thing about a team playing itself, whether in a spring game, a scrimmage, or a practice, is that it's a good news/bad news situation: the offensive line might look great, but that could be because the defensive line is terrible. Accordingly, I'm going to present my points from both sides, the good news and the bad news.

Bad News - None of the quarterbacks were especially impressive. They were a combined 21-of-46 for the game, with 231 totals yards, 1 touchdown, 3 interceptions, and 6 sacks between the three of them. Todd Boeckman looked the most impressive to me; he made good decisions and several of his incompletions were drops that should have been caught. Rob Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton both had good moments, but they looked a little too raw to get the start this year. A lot can change between now and fall, but right now, it looks like we'll get what we expected: Boeckman as the starter and a more conservative offense.
Good News - The secondary looked pretty decent. I don't remember the corners doing too much (though Shaun Lane was the leading tackler for Scarlet), but that's probably a good thing, since if you notice the corners, they're probably messing up (or getting interceptions, but you get the point). The safeties had several nice hits and broke up at least two touchdown passes that I can think of. Guys were open downfield a couple times, but given the amount of blitzing we saw, that wasn't too surprising. I'll have to take a look at my recording of the game again, but my feeling on the secondary is that we've got at least a couple good corners, and any of four or five safeties could play without me getting too worried.

Good News - The defensive line looked very good. Vernon Gholston, Lawrence Wilson, Alex Barrow, and Robert Rose all looked good and got consistent pressure on quarterbacks. I didn't notice the defensive tackles as much, but considering the lack of success both teams had running the ball, I'd say they did a pretty decent job. The team doesn't have a lot of depth at the defensive tackle position, but they look absolutely loaded on the outside. Big Ten QBs could be in for some rough games against the Buckeyes.
Bad News - The offensive line didn't look so hot. Quarterbacks were running for their lives all day, and running backs didn't have much room to run. Part of this is due to injuries, part of this is Maurice Wells being the only scholarship tailback in the game, and part of it just comes with the territory when you throw first-, second-, and third-teamers together on a line. It's a concern, don't get me wrong, but I think that once everyone's healthy, the line will be fine.

Good News - The linebackers appear to be playing at the level we expect of OSU linebackers. I don't think they'll be at the Hawk-Carpenter-Schlegel level, but they looked significantly better than last year. Larry Grant spent most of the day in the Scarlet backfield, finishing the day with three tackles for losses (including two sacks), not to mention two forced fumbles. Curtis Terry and Thaddeus Gibson each contributed sacks of their own. Marcus Freeman returned an interception for a touchdown, and James Laurinaitis led the Gray with six tackles. It just looked to me like they all were playing better than they did last season. True, it's just one essentially meaningless game, but the linebackers went from the weakness of the defense to the strength, it seems to me.
Bad News - Running back is not a deep position. A big reason for the linebackers racking up so many sacks was the inability of the running backs to handle the blitz. It's not surprising: Mo Wells isn't big enough to hold off linebackers for long, and you can't expect walk-ons to do much against scholarship players, especially those as good as our linebackers. But to stop that pass rush, the offense needs more than a good pass-blocking running back (I don't even know if Chris Wells can play that role). They need a good running game, and without Chris Wells, I'm not sure the offense will have that. I like Mo Wells as a change of pace and a guy that can be a sort of poor man's Reggie Bush, but if I want an every-down running back or a guy to pick up tough yards, I'm turning to Chris Wells. If the freshmen, Brandon Saine and Boom Herron, don't turn out to be pretty solid backs, this position could be as lacking in depth as a kiddie pool.

Good News - Devon Lyons played well enough to get noticed by Stewart Mandel.
Bad News - Mandel called him "Shane Lyons."

Bad News - We don't really know that much about the wide receivers. They never really had a chance to shine in this game. All three quarterbacks were on the run and usually dumping the ball off on short passes. Brian Robiskie had a nice catch downfield, and the aforementioned Shane Lyons put together a nice game, but other than that, not a whole lot happened in the passing game.
Good News - The QBs looked mobile. This isn't entirely a good thing, as Schoenhoft and (especially) Henton tended to look at a receiver (two at most), and if he was covered, take off running. But that'll improve with time.

Bad News - In summary, the offenses just didn't look that good. Shaky play just about everywhere. There were some decent individual performances here and there, but if the spring game is any indication of how the season will go, the Buckeyes won't have an impressive offense. Fortunately, adding Chris Wells and the injured linemen will do a lot for the offense, I think.
Good News - The defense looked very good. It was pretty much the opposite of the offense in that above average performances were the rule, not the exception. I'm a little concerned about the offense, but I'm very excited about the defense.