Story by Marla Ridenour
Akron Beacon Journal
April 23, 2006

COLUMBUS--The Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith might be as
caught up in the hoopla over Chris Wells as the 63,649 who
came to sun-baked The Ohio Stadium Saturday for a
meaningless spring game.

"I hope he becomes a young Jerome Bettis," Smith said.
"When he was with the Rams, he punished guys. Back in the
day you'd see 'The Bus' run over guys, run for 30 yards,
then run over some more guys. I think Chris has a very,
very bright future."

Wells, the freshman Parade All-American tailback from
Garfield High School, showed Bus-like tendencies on more
than one occasion to help the Scarlet defeat the Gray 12-0.
His best moment came in the third quarter when he caught a
pass in the right flat two yards downfield and bowled over
two defenders for a 9-yard gain and a first down.

"He looked like he did the whole spring, comfortable and
patient," tOSU coach Jim Tressel said. "That's a big guy
with the ability to accelerate. We're very pleased with
him."

Wells, 6-foot-2 and 225 pounds, led all rushers with 48
yards on 11 carries, with a long gain of 11 yards. His
first carry went for 7 yards.

"It was loud, I could barely hear the plays," Wells said.
"The crowd was unbelievable. I can just imagine how it will
be for a regular game. I had a lot of fun, getting in there
and learning everything I can."

A crowd that included 23,600 walkups saw other area players
make notable contributions. Redshirt freshman Brian
Hartline of GlenOak was the game's leading receiver with
seven catches for 88 yards for the Scarlet. Sophomore
defensive end Lawrence Wilson of St. Vincent-St. Mary had
four tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack for the Gray.

The only touchdown drive came on the game's first
possession when Smith took the Scarlet 80 yards in nine
plays and taiback Erik Haw scored on a 4-yard run. Smith
was 4-of-4 passing for 62 yards, with tight end Rory Nicol
catching two passes for 33 yards, Anthony Gonzalez one for
18 yards and Hartline one for 11 during the drive.

"We can become the best offense in the nation if we stay
within ourselves and don't let the hype get to us," Smith
said.

It appears Wells will be a part of that offense. Graduating
early and enrolling for spring quarter to help his bid for
playing time this fall, Wells said the decision has paid
off.

"I've come a long way," Wells said. "The first day, I was
lost. I think we put in more plays in three days than I had
my whole high school career. The best thing I've done in my
life as far as football was coming in early. If I would
have come in late I probably would have ended up
redshirting my first year. It helped a lot, getting a feel
for the system.

"I think I did OK today. I feel pretty comfortable and
confident as far as plays, but the little things, like
blocking assignments, I need to improve on. Having the
football in my hand is the easy part. Not having the
football, who to block, where to go, the check-downs,
that's the hard part."

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