OSU finishes spring practice

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Psst! It’s just a scrimmage.

Just don’t say that to the mammoth crowds that turn out every year for Ohio State’s Scarlet-Gray game, the 77th edition of which will take place today at Ohio Stadium.

A year ago, 95,722 fans — a national record for a spring game — showed up to watch.

Coach Jim Tressel happily welcomes the Buckeyes’ fervent faithful. And he knows a lot of it has to do with Northerners itching for a reason to get outside after being locked away all winter.

Thunderstorms and temperatures around 70 degrees are forecast, which will be preceded by a men’s lacrosse game.

There’s a buildup to the Scarlet-Gray showdown that does mirror that of something much bigger than a mere scrimmage. Ohio State’s seniors were split up into two teams, and then they selected the sides, taking turns by position, in a special draft.

Scarlet captain Dane Sanzenbacher stopped just short of declaring his team would win.

“Looking at the board, we got a pretty good draft. We’re excited to see what’s going to happen,” the receiver said. “We can’t guarantee victory, but we’ll see — I mean, the board speaks for itself.”

Scarlet won the coin flip to determine which side had the overall No. 1 pick. Then Sanzenbacher, after much deliberation, said he would take a quarterback and picked two-year starter Terrelle Pryor, a strong early contender for national awards in the fall.