Scrimmage Puts Focus On OSU Kickers

For most of August, Ohio State's place-kickers and punters labor in relative obscurity, practicing apart from their teammates and doing whatever it is kickers and punters must do to get ready for another season.

The annual kick scrimmage -- both dreaded and anticipated by the participants -- changes all of that.

Ohio State's kick scrimmage on Wednesday was particularly illuminating since coach Jim Tressel must find replacements for both Pretorius and punter A.J. Trapasso.

Tressel, of course, calls the punt "the most important play in football." So by extension, the punter must be the most important player on the field. But the hunt for Trapasso's replacement remains a casting call, almost the opposite of what's taking place among those trying out for kicker.