Sports
Vick Listed As Ohio’s No. 1 Quarterback
By: Eric Singer
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The Ohio Bobcats are no stranger to roster turnover, as the team has replaced many starters and all-conference players in between the past two seasons.
Now, heading into the 2014 season, it is the offense that is seeing the most turnover, as the unit returns just four starters from the previous season.
Perhaps the biggest question mark for the Bobcats squad is at quarterback, where redshirt junior Derrius Vick and redshirt sophomore J.D. Sprague have battled throughout spring practice to fill the void left by Tyler Tettleton.
According to Ohio’s first depth chart that was released Wednesday morning, Vick is currently listed as the No. 1 quarterback. Ohio coach Frank Solich noted that it is not set in stone.
“(Vick) has the kind of skills that if he puts it all together – athletically and mentally – he has a chance to be a great quarterback for us,” Solich said. “However, there is a competition here. There are other guys that are right there.”
Another area of question for the Bobcats will be at running back, as the spots held by Beau Blankenship and Ryan Boykin for the last few seasons are up for grabs.
The early leaders for those positions appear to be junior Daz’mond Patterson and senior Tim Edmond. Patterson has the most experience of the two backs. He has carried 72 times for 406 yards and three touchdowns in his two years as a Bobcat. Edmond saw some time in mop-up duty at running back in 2013, racking up 103 yards on 31 carries.
Edmond was also voted as one of Ohio’s four team captains for the season. Vick, Nathan Carpenter and Josh Kristoff were also named captains by their teammates.
After Patterson and Edmond, there is a lot of unknown for the next spots on the depth chart, including redshirt freshman Dorian Brown, and true freshmen Maleek Irons and Papi White. Irons was the British Columbia (Canada) offensive "Player of the Year" in 2013.
On defense, the Bobcats are pretty well set. The ‘Cats return eight starters from a disappointing 7-6 season, including FWAA All-American defensive end Tarell Basham.
“(Basham) has it all put together,” Solich said. “He’s got great athleticism, great relentless attitude, and he will pursue and run anyone down, and he doesn’t quit on any play. That’s where great players are made.”
The only glaring hole on defense is the loss of cornerback Travis Carrie, who was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in May. Senior safety Josh Kristoff believes replacing Carrie won’t be an issue.
“Guys like Devin Bass, Devin Jones and Ian Wells played a lot for us and played well last year,” Kristoff said. “We have a lot of confidence in them to step in no problem.”
The Bobcats' fall camp begins August 4 in Athens.
The full offensive depth chart:
F-WR: 87 Landon Smith (Sr., 6-0, 188, Girard, Ohio)
12 Jordan Reid (R-So., 6-3, 201, Stone Mountain, Ga.)
X-WR: 6 Sebastian Smith (So., 6-3, 183, Columbus, Ohio)
85 Brendan Cope (R-Fr., 6-2, 189, Warren, Ohio)
Z-WR: 8 Chase Cochran (R-Jr., 6-2, 190, Lebanon, Ohio)
12 Jordan Reid (R-Fr., 6-3, 198, Stone Mountain, Ga.)
LT: 75 Mike Mcqueen (R-Jr., 6-6, 287, Garfield Heights, Ohio)
70 Zach Adams (R-Fr., 6-4, 272, Roswell, Ga.)
LG: 67 Mike Lucas (R-Jr., 6-4, 313, Chicago, Ill.)
58 Seth Everhart (R-Jr., 6-4, 318, Carlisle, Ohio)
C: 54 Lucas Powell (R-Jr., 6-3, 296, Edgerton, Kan.)
67 Mike Lucas (R-So., 6-4, 311, Chicago, Ill.)
RG: 57 Durrell Wood (So., 6-2, 306, Columbus, Ohio)
78 Nick Gibbons (R-So., 6-5, 303, Stone Mountain, Ga.)
RT: 79 Troy Watson (R-So., 6-6, 293, Aurora, Ohio)
69 Zack Murdock (R-Fr., 6-6, 267, Dublin, Ohio)
TE: 82 Troy Mangen (So., 6-5, 252, Union, Ohio)
86 Mason Morgan (R-Fr., 6-6, 259, Cincinnati, Ohio)
QB: 15 Derrius Vick (R-Jr., 6-1, 196, Lincoln, Neb.)
3 JD Sprague (R-So., 6-1, 200, Cincinnati, Ohio)
TB: 7 Daz’ Patterson (R-Fr., 5-7, 177, Plant City, Fla.)
31 Tim Edmond (Sr., 5-11, 235, Woodstock, Ga.)
The full defensive depth chart:
DE: 93 Tarell Basham (So., 6-4, 250, Rocky Mount, Va.)
96 Kendric Smith (R-Sr., 6-3, 244, Harker Heights, Texas)
NG: 91 Antwan Crutcher (Sr., 6-2, 304, Cleveland, Ohio)
34 Watson Tautuiaki (Jr., 6-2, 304, Sacramento, Calif.)
DT: 94 Cameron McLeod (Sr., 6-5, 282, McLain, Miss.)
95 Brandon Purdum (R-Jr., 6-3, 280, London, Ohio)
98 Tony Davis (Sr., 6-3, 280, Wyoming, Ohio)
DE: 99 Kurt Laseak (R-So., 6-4, 236, Mentor, Ohio)
44 Casey Sayles (So., 6-3, 268, Omaha, Neb.)
WLB: 33 Blair Brown (R-So., 6-0, 230, Moreno Valley, Calif.)
38 Chad Moore (R-Fr., 6-0, 193, Grove City, Ohio)
MLB: 36 Ben Russell (R-Jr., 6-1, 233, Cincinnati, Ohio)
40 Cody Grilliot (R-Fr., 6-0, 214, Clayton, Ohio)
SLB: 51 Javon Johnson (R-So., 6-0, 215, Solon, Ohio)
32 Quentin Poling (R-Fr., 6-0, 219, Spencerville, Ohio)
or
50 Travis Daugherty (R-Fr., 6-1, 202, Clarksville, Ohio)
N: 35 Nathan Carpenter (R-Sr., 5-9, 201, Lancaster, Ohio)
42 Blake Scipio (R-So., 5-11, 187, Hilliard, Ohio)
CB: 41 Ian Wells (R-Jr., 5-11, 202, Dayton, Ohio)
13 Devin Jones (R-Jr., 6-1, 202, Sandusky, Ohio)
CB: 37 Devin Bass (R-Jr., 5-9, 180, Omaha, Neb.)
13 Devin Jones (R-Jr., 6-1, 202, Sandusky, Ohio)
SS: 9 Josh Kristoff (R-Sr., 6-0, 203, Pickerington, Ohio)
27 Aaron Macer (R-Jr., 6-0, 192, Twinsburg, Ohio)
FS: 25 Thad Ingol (R-Sr., 6-0, 222, Barberton, Ohio)
24 Toran Davis (R-So., 6-0, 206, Lithonia, Ga.)
Specialists:
P: 23 Mitch Bonnstetter (Jr., 5-11, 187, West Bend, Iowa)
46 Matt Green (R-Jr., 6-1, 225, Lexington, Ky.)
PK: 39 Josiah Yazdani (R-Jr., 5-10, 216, Albany, Ohio)
31 Matt Amicone (R-So., 6-1, 166, Zanesville, Ohio)
KO: 39 Josiah Yazdani (R-Jr., 5-10, 216, Albany, Ohio)
46 Matt Green (R-So., 6-1, 225, Lexington, Ky.)
LS-P: 47 Miles Chapman (R-Sr., 6-1, 200, Tiffin, Ohio)
44 Casey Sayles (So., 6-3, 268, Omaha, Neb.)
LS-FG: 47 Miles Chapman (R-So., 6-1, 210, Tiffin, Ohio)
58 Seth Everhart (R-Jr., 6-4, 318, Carlisle, Ohio)
H: 23 Mitch Bonnstetter (Jr., 5-11, 187, West Bend, Iowa)
15 Derrius Vick (R-Jr., 6-1, 196, Lincoln, Neb.)
KR: 37 Devin Bass (R-So., 5-9, 185, Omaha, Neb.)
7 Daz’ Patterson (R-Fr., 5-7, 177, Plant City, Fla.)
PR: 37 Devin Bass (R-Jr., 5-9, 180, Omaha, Neb.)
2 Ian Dixon (R-Jr., 5-10, 160, Franklin, Mich.)