Jim Tressel, Ohio State head coach, announced the 2005 Ohio State football captains following the team’s rehearsal scrimmage Friday. Linebacker A.J. Hawk and center Nick Mangold, both of Centerville, Ohio, along with safety Nate Salley of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and guard Rob Sims of Macedonia, Ohio, were selected by of vote of both coaches and players.

Tressel said the four players, all seniors, were recognized for their leadership abilities.

“These young men realize the responsibilities of being a captain at Ohio State,” Tressel said. “They have been great leaders throughout the summer and in camp. I am not surprised at their selection.”

Hawk is a preseason candidate for a variety of national awards after being selected as the preseason Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. He also is being considered for the Butkus, Bednarik, Lombardi, Walter Camp and Lott awards this year. He led Ohio State in tackles as a junior with 141 tackles, including 62 solo stops. His efforts as a junior earned him first team All-America honors.

Salley is a candidate for the Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation’s best defensive back. The hard-hitting safety has played in 37 games with 20 career starts to his credit. His speed and size allow him to defend the pass and stop the run equally well. A second team All-Big Ten selection as a junior, Salley has 138 career tackles and two interceptions.

Mangold is in his fourth season at the center position. A candidate for the Rimington Award given to the country’s best center, Mangold enters the 2005 season with experience in 33 games, including 23 starts. He anchors an experienced Ohio State offensive line as one of nine returning starters on that side of the ball.

Sims has appeared in 37 games with 28 career starts. He will move to the guard position in 2005 after spending three years at tackle.

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The Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. (DACO), the organization which annually presents the prestigious Butkus Award® to the nation’s best collegiate linebacker has announced the preliminary list of 65 candidates for this year’s award. The Butkus Award® and the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, Inc. are celebrating their 21st anniversary in 2005.

The Butkus Award® Watch List will be trimmed to 10 semi-finalists on Thursday, October 20. That semi-finalist list will be cut down to three finalists which will be announced via a national teleconference with players, coaches, media members and Butkus Award® officials on Thursday, November 10. The winner will be announced Saturday, December 10, 2005 at the Butkus Award® Gala in Orlando, FL. The Butkus Award® will be presented to the winner by the award’s namesake former University of Illinois and Chicago Bear NFL Hall of Fame member, Dick Butkus. The finalists, their coaches and families are invited to attend the Butkus Award® Gala festivities including a welcome reception, golf tournament and silent auction.

This year’s Watch List includes 65 noteworthy candidates that represent schools and conferences from across the nation. The independent selection committee for the 2005 Butkus Award®, comprised of 29 of the nation’s foremost national media members, is solely responsible for all voting in the selection process. Selection Committee members have already started evaluating the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire football season. Additional Watch List candidates may be added in the coming weeks. Voting for the three Butkus Award® finalists and the Butkus Award® winner will be conducted by confidential ballots of the selection committee.

The Butkus Award ® is regarded as one of the most elite individual honors in college football.

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The Ohio State offense defeated the Buckeye defense 59-56 Saturday in the jersey scrimmage in Ohio Stadium. The win allows the offense to continue to wear the coveted scarlet jerseys during fall practice.

With the score tied at 51-all, freshman quarterback Robbie Schoenhoft connected with sophomore flanker Devon Lyons from 39 yards out on what turned out to be the winning score.

The Buckeye defense had two more chances to win the game, but could not come up with enough points to take the lead on either of the Scarlet’s final two possessions.

Schoenhoft, a true freshman from Cincinnati St. Xavier, completed 13 of 21 passes for 137 yards, including a 28-yard TD pass to sophomore Ted Ginn Jr.

Lyons, from North Braddock, Pa., led all receivers with nine catches for 108 yards. Ginn finished with three catches and linebacker-turned-fullback Brandon Smith had two.

Redshirt freshman Erik Haw was the leading rusher for the offense with 37 yards on nine carries, one more yard than senior Brandon Schnittker had on the same number of attempts.

Sophomore Antonio Pittman of Akron carried the ball 10 times for 26 yards and true freshman Maurice Wells, a product of Jacksonville, Fla., finished with 33 yards on nine carries.

Junior quarterback Troy Smith had a 31-yard run and recorded the only rushing touchdown of the day on a short-yardage dive. Smith also completed eight-of 13 passes for 74 yards.

Redshirt freshman Todd Boeckman took the majority of snaps with the first offense and completed nine of his 18 passes for 46 yards.

The Buckeye defense recorded eight sacks, blocked a punt and had a 35-yard interception return by Donte Whitner.

With temperatures approaching the 90s, the Buckeyes still ran nearly 150 plays.

“I was impressed with our effort,” Coach Jim Tressel said afterwards. “We played hard and made some big plays, and I thought we were playing just as hard at the end as we were in the beginning. That shows me we are in good shape.”

Senior Josh Huston nailed a pair of field goals and freshman Ryan Pretorius connected on a 55-yard try.

The Buckeyes are off Sunday, but return to practice Monday.

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After reporting for fall camp Sunday, the Ohio State football team took to the practice field Monday at 2 p.m. at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center. The team will practice once each day through Saturday with the exception of Thursday, when the team will hold an autograph session at 6:30 p.m. at French Field House.

“We need to get things organized,” head coach Jim Tressel, who is opening his fifth camp as coach of the Buckeyes, said. “The players looked at the playbook today and there was a lot to it. It was a reintroduction for the guys who were here in the spring and it was a total introduction for the new players. We tell them the purpose for what we do. It is a learning process through the first five practices. When we get to two-a-days we will turn it up a notch.”

The team begins practicing twice a day on Aug. 15 and alternates with one practice every other day through the end of fall camp Aug. 26. The team begins with normal game-week preparations Sunday, Aug. 28 in time for the season opener against Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 3 at Ohio Stadium.

During the Thursday autograph session, players will be permitted to sign only one item per person during the 45-minute session.

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