COLUMBUS, Ohio -- On a day when <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=379070" target="_blank">Terrelle
Pryor</a> (black) saw little playing time, little-known Kenny Guiton (black) made the
most of his.
The third-team quarterback tossed a 45-yard scoring
pass to <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=235818" target="_blank">Taurian
Washington</a> with 55 seconds left on Saturday to give the Gray a
17-14 victory over the Scarlet in Ohio State's annual intrasquad
scrimmage.<div ="mod-inline -right"><div style="margin-left: 10px; width: 300px;">
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<div style="width: 300px;"><cite>AP Photo/Terry Gilliam</cite>The Buckeye
faithful turned out for Ohio State's annual spring game Saturday as
quarterback Terrelle Pryor mostly watched his backups compete.</div></div></div>
"I
feel comfortable," said Guiton, a redshirt freshman from Houston. "I
had three of the starting linemen, so there was nothing for me to be
antsy about. So I just took my time and played ball."
The Buckeyes
wrapped up their 15 spring practices before a crowd of 65,223 at
overcast Ohio Stadium.
Guiton completed 11-of-21 passes for 167
yards and two scores, both to Washington, who had three catches for 83
yards.
The performance of Guiton was a surprise to many. He was
the last player offered in his recruiting class and had to wait until
things fell apart with two other prized recruits before he got the call
with a scholarship.
"Kenny Guiton has proven it every day up
through the spring," Washington said. "For being the last guy picked,
he's done extremely well during the spring. He's a great kid and in the
future he's going to do great things."
Pryor completed 8-of-12
passes for 108 yards and a touchdown before retiring early. He did not
speak with reporters afterward.
Coach Jim Tressel said he was
pleased with the progress his team made in the spring.
"We know
we've got a lot to do between now and August, and it's up to the players
to kind of initiate that," he said. "I know they'll do that. Our staff
will do a great job of planning a good preseason in August and be ready
to see if we can meet the challenge of 2010."
The teams swapped
scores midway through the first quarter. First, Washington snagged a
28-yard scoring pass from Guiton, then Pryor hit <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=235808" target="_blank">Dane
Sanzenbacher</a> on a 12-yard completion for the Scarlet.
It
stayed that way until Drew Basil kicked a 47-yard field goal early in
the fourth quarter.
Bo Delande's 4-yard touchdown run with 4:48
gave the Scarlet a 14-10 lead.
After Delande's run, the Scarlet shocked the Gray with an
onside kick that was recovered by the Scarlet's <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=243273" target="_blank">Spencer
Smith</a>. <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=243266" target="_blank">Joe
Bauserman</a> (White) , considered Pryor's backup until now, hit <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/player/profile?playerId=481824" target="_blank">James
Jackson</a> on a 43- yard pass. After a penalty, the Scarlet had a
first-and-5 situation at the Gray 13 with just over 3 minutes left.
But
Bauserman's throw into the end zone was intercepted by Nate Oliver, who
returned the ball to the 11. Guiton took it from there.
He
completed passes of 8, 15, 16 and 11 yards to get the ball into Scarlet
territory before lofting a pass along the left sideline near the goal
line that Washington pulled in between defenders Dominic Clarke and Nate
Ebner.
Taylor Rice then intercepted a long Bauserman pass in the
final minute.
There was one scary moment, however. Rather than
just take a knee and run out the clock, the Gray coaches had Guiton
passing from deep in his own territory. A teammate landed on his knee
and he was temporarily laid out on the turf before walking off the
field.
He said he was fine and was hoping his play might have put
him in the race to be No. 2 on the depth chart.
"I don't think I
put a stamp on anything but I know I have to keep working," he said.
"I'm going to leave it in the coaches' hands."
The Buckeyes will
return nine starters on offense when they open their season on Sept. 2
against Marshall at home.
The teams wore uniforms with pink
numbers. Along with the coaches' pink hats, they were auctioned off
later to benefit the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research.
The wife of former Ohio State and NFL linebacker Chris Spielman died in
November.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5133213
