Tressel magic in fine form

By TIM MAY

The Buckeyes coach opened camp with plenty of veterans on board.

COLUMBUS — Before Jim Tressel the coach took the field to start his eighth preseason camp at Ohio State Monday, Tressel the magician performed a trick.

Informed that quarterback Terrelle Pryor, the nation’s top prospect in the 2008 recruiting class, had just been seen warming up with starter Todd Boeckman and Joe Bauserman but wasn’t wearing a no-contact black jersey, Tressel first joked.

“He’s live. Even in shorts, he’s live,” Tressel said. “I’m gonna go hit him.”

Laughs followed. But Tressel doesn’t want anyone taking unnecessary shots at any of his quarterbacks the next few weeks. In the case of Pryor’s jersey color, “I think Terrelle is wearing black,” he said.

When reporters insisted that he wasn’t, Tressel retorted, “I think he’s wearing black. You better check closer.”

Presto. Moments later, Pryor was in a black No. 2 jersey taking part in his first practice, Tressel was roaming the field, and work for the veteran-laden 2008 Buckeyes — ranked No. 3 in the USA Today preseason poll behind Georgia and Southern California — got under way.

Ohio State has 20 starters back, including nine on offense and nine on defense, from a team that won a third straight Big Ten title but lost a second straight national title game last season. That’s why expectations are high.

“It is exciting,” Tressel said. “We’ve been around a lot of these guys a long time, and we have great expectations and hopes for them. … There are some young guys who have shown us they really like to work hard [during summer conditioning], and I am anxious to see them play football. I like this football team.

“Now, they’ve got to do things to help us like them day after day after day, and handle all of the adversity, and the success, and the distractions along the way. But I am anxious to watch them come together as a team.”

There were a couple of question marks in terms of returning starters. Tressel said the status of defensive tackle Doug Worthington and cornerback Donald Washington for the opener is in doubt.

Worthington was stopped for speeding on campus July 26 and subsequently charged with driving under the influence after he registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.095 on a Breathalyzer.

Since then, he pleaded not guilty to the drunken-driving charge, but no court date has been set. Plus, he might face discipline from the university beyond whatever punishment he faces from Tressel.

Washington reportedly broke unspecified team rules in the spring. He is said to be in jeopardy of missing the opener Aug. 30 against Youngstown State and perhaps the next game Sept. 6 against Ohio, though Tressel had little to say about that.

“We’ve got 103 other guys that are really doing well, if you want to talk about them,” he said.

Though that number includes the defending Butkus Award winner in linebacker James Laurinaitis, a Heisman Trophy candidate in running back Chris “Beanie” Wells and one of the nation’s top defensive backs in Malcolm Jenkins, the conversation always seemed to turn back to Pryor, the newcomer everyone was eager to see. That even went for Tressel, who was about to help coach him for the first time.

“That will be exciting because everyone has been talking about him so much, and he’s a great kid, he’s trained hard, and he’s nervous like any freshman,” Tressel said. “I’m sure he didn’t sleep last night.”