The Ohio State offense is operating under a cloud of anonymity this spring. Maybe that's a good thing, considering no one would want their name associated with the offensive mess that was the team's jersey scrimmage last weekend.

Whether things will be different Saturday when the squad splits for the Scarlet and Gray game in Ohio Stadium remains to be seen. But there seems to be no doubt that at this point in the post-Troy Smith era that the offense has an identity crisis.

It's not only because the Buckeyes lost Troy Smith, the 2006 Heisman Trophy winner. They also lost three top producers (receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez, and running back Antonio Pittman) plus two of their better linemen, center Doug Datish and right guard T.J. Downing.

Ohio State has operated this spring with three raw quarterback prospects in Todd Boeckman, Rob Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton. Muddying the waters is that the projected main weapon, power back Chris "Beanie" Wells, has been out much of the spring because of an ankle sprain, and he has been joined on the sideline by returning line starters Kirk Barton and Steve Rehring (out because of unspecified injuries).

It's no wonder the stew is bland at this point, not that everyone is surprised.

"That's something you need to go through; it's what happens when you lose guys on a team who are impact players," said receiver Brian Hartline, a projected starter who also is out because of a pulled hamstring. "You've just got to be ready to free some new impact players, because there are always impact players in the group."

Because of Troy Smith's absence, players knew this spring was going to be different compared with last year.

"Troy was the field general, without a doubt," said Rory Nicol, a returning starter at tight end. "It's a little different because we're young, and quarterback is a huge position. Those guys are really coming to practice to work, where Troy had a grasp of things and a little better understanding."

For Nicol, it brought to mind a book he had just finished, which had been loaned to him by coach Jim Tressel. Entitled God's Words of Life for Leaders, among its chapters was one labeled "Change."

An example in that chapter, Nicol said, was, "A grandmother used to cook a roast in a pot, and she cut the ends off the roast. So, naturally, her daughter, when she cooked a roast, she did the same thing, and she passed it down to her daughter.

"One day, the husband of the grandchild asked, 'Why do you cut the ends off your roasts?' The grandchild said, 'I don't know; because my mom did.' … It continued down to the grandmother, who said the reason she did it was because 'I didn't have a pan big enough' " to fit the whole roast.

The point being, "Sometimes, change is the hardest thing, but it also creates great things in the end," Nicol said. "Every team is going to have an identity, and our identity (in 2007) might be a little bit different, and I don't know that there is one right now."

But there is a common theme, he said.

"The thing that is very apparent with this team is guys want to get better, and guys want to learn," Nicol said.

"And guys still are bitter about what happened (in the 41-14 loss to Florida in the national championship game), and you should be."

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