Joe Bauserman is a man of few words. But the Ohio State redshirt freshman quarterback has opened preseason camp as the backup to Todd Boeckman and Bauserman hopes to do his talking with his play.
“I don’t know what is going to happen this year,” Bauserman said. “I just want to do whatever the coaches need me to do to help this team.”
True freshman Terrelle Pryor also appears to be in line to receive some playing time this season. And the battle to be the No. 2 quarterback could continue past camp and into the season.
“I’m not sure that I’m definitely No. 2,” Bauserman said.
Other than what they saw in the spring, Ohio State fans know very little about Bauserman. He is a native of Strasburg, Va., but played his final three prep seasons at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Fla. As a junior in 2002, Bauserman threw for 3,000 yards and 28 touchdowns. As a senior in 2003, he threw for 2,000 yards and 27 TDs.
He was slated to be a scholarship member of OSU’s 2004 recruiting class, but was drafted in the fourth-round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in ’04 and decided to go the professional baseball route as a pitcher instead.
However, after three summers of long bus rides in the minor leagues, Bauserman decided he wanted to give football another try. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel told him there would always be an opportunity for him available at OSU if he ever changed his mind, and last year Bauserman decided to take him up on it.
Bauserman joined OSU as a walk-on last season and the Pirates picked up some of his tuition due to a clause in his contract. He had a rough time in preseason camp and wasn’t sharp throwing the football after such a long break from the sport. However, Bauserman began to turn the corner during bowl camp and then really made his mark with a strong spring.
“I feel like I slowed the game down in the spring and it was really my first time to run the offense because in the fall I was on the scout team,” Bauserman explained. “So, I feel like I got the offense under control and started slowing things down and I feel I got a good grasp of what the coaches wanted to do.”
And now, Bauserman is a scholarship member of the football team. Tressel didn't think it was fair that only a portion of Bauserman's tuition was being picked up. And beyond that, Bauserman simply earned the scholarship with his play in the spring.
When asked to describe himself as a quarterback, Bauserman said: “I want to be a student of the game and I want to be smart and I want to be accurate with my throws. So, I want to work on all of those things any try and be the best at those as I can.”
In the spring, Bauserman proved that he had more than enough arm strength to be an effective college quarterback. And he also showed some surprisingly good skills running the ball.
“Coach Tressel tells me all the time, I see a pattern open up and I really want to throw the ball and throw it as hard as I can to get it in there,” Bauserman said. “So, I feel I have pretty good arm strength. And the running thing, I feel if I see a hole, I’m going to try and get the yards I can.”
Tressel completely agrees with the assessment that Bauserman is soft-spoken and humble. However, the coach also said there is more than meets the eye and Bauserman has a fiery side to him.
“Joe is tremendously competitive,” Tressel said. “I don’t care what the game is, he wants to win. He brings a little flair, I think, to your huddle. He brings a little flair to your team. Joe Bauserman, I’m glad he’s here.”
Depth at QB a problem?
Ohio State followers can debate whether there is a depth problem at quarterback for the Buckeyes with only three scholarship players on the roster. However, Bauserman certainly thinks the Buckeyes are in good shape.
“We’ve got Terrelle and then we’ve got Ross (Oltorik) who just came in,” he said. “We’ve got guys and I’m sure if they weren’t comfortable at quarterback, they would’ve got more guys.”
Oltorik is a walk-on from Cincinnati Moeller who will also be a scholarship member of OSU's baseball team.
The main reason OSU doesn’t have an abundance of depth at the position is the transfers of Rob Schoenhoft to Delaware and Antonio Henton to Georgia Southern. Both former Buckeyes are in contention to be the starting QB at their respective schools this year. (And with Boeckman, Bauserman and Pryor all in the fold, it would be pretty difficult to argue that the Buckeyes are really in bad shape depth-wise.)
“They left because it was the best interest for them,” Bauserman said. “I really don’t having anything to say about them; they left and I decided to stay.”
Did Bauserman decide to stick around because Henton left?
“No, it didn’t have anything to do with that,” he said. “I just know Ohio State is the place for me.”
As for his relationship with Pryor, there really isn’t one yet outside of the gridiron.
“We worked out in the summer, but I really didn’t get to know him,” Bauserman said. “He’s rooming with Todd during camp, so we really haven’t gotten a chance to know each other besides football talk and stuff like that.”
