DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Jim Tressel won't know for perhaps another three weeks whether any true freshmen will play much this season, but he learned during the team's conditioning test Monday morning that at least a few are swift enough.

The Buckeyes opened preseason practice by running 20 gassers of about 50 yards in Ohio Stadium. Each position group was required to complete them in a specified time.

The session was closed to the media, but Tressel said: "(Receivers)

Dane Sanzenbacher and Taurian Washington toyed with it. For (running back of Piqua) Brandon Saine, it was kind of a jog in the park. The tailbacks run with what we call the Lions, which is the middle group. Brandon is faster than all the Cheetahs (receivers and defensive backs). He was just so smooth."

The Buckeyes held their first practice in the afternoon, and a new quarterback is officially in the fold. Joe Bauserman of Tallahassee, Fla., has given up a pro baseball career to become a walk-on at OSU. He originally made a verbal commitment to the school in 2004, turning down offers from Clemson and Louisville.

"I asked at our coaches' meeting, 'Has anyone seen Bauserman throw?'" Tressel said. "Someone goes, 'I remember him in youth camp. He had a smooth motion. And (quarterbacks coach) Joe Daniels says, 'It was smooth enough for us to offer him a scholarship.' "

Tressel also said starting safety Anderson Russell is back after suffering a torn ACL in the Iowa game last season. And second-string cornerback Andre Amos, a Middletown native, is three months into his rehab from a torn ACL, and his status for the season is uncertain.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.