Church Leads NL in Scoring; Boo Sharp

RYAN SCORES, AGAIN

RYAN CHURCH scored three times Friday night as the Mets beat their National League East rivals the Philadelphia Phillies 6-4.

Church went 2-for-4 with a base on balls. He is now batting .333 after 15 games.

He also leads the major leagues (OK, tied with two others) in runs scored with 16. In that #2 batting slot he is getting on base and David Wright among others is driving him in. This blazing start has to be attracting attention. Could this be an All-Star year?

-0-

Boo Drawing Attention

BOO JACKSON connected on four of five passes in the University of Ohio Bobcats' first spring scrimmage. He is locked in a battle with Theo Scott for the quarterback job in the fall. Here is the latest from OU writer Matt O'Donnell.

Published: Friday, April 18, 2008
The Battle for Quarterback: Boo Jackson
Matt O'Donnell / Staff Writer / mo134405@ohiou.edu

Boo Jackson traveled a long way to get to Athens, but he still has much further to go before his real talent shows.

The junior-college transfer traveled more than 2,300 miles from El Camino junior college in Torrance, Calif., to compete with Theo Scott for the starting quarterback job. Not only does he have to digest a new playbook and a new part of the country, but he also must adjust to a new school.

“I’m getting pretty used to it,” Jackson said. “These first couple of weeks I had to find everything, all my classes, Chubb Hall and all these places, so it’s definitely a slow process right now. But after everything cools down, I’ll be all right.”

Making the transition a little easier is the fact that former teammate, safety Hilton Dawson, III, came to Ohio with him.

While Dawson and Jackson were at El Camino, Dawson said that the two hit it off right away. They are now roommates and helping each other get acclimated.

“We kind of got out on our own and did a little traveling around Athens,” Dawson said. “I pick his brain and he picks mine, and it’s helping.”

Jackson came into spring practice as a highly touted, four-star quarterback. Last season he was 134-of-223 for 2,235 yards with 23 touchdowns and just four interceptions, leading his team to a conference championship. The year before that, he led his team to a state title.
But there are some differences between the junior college level and Division I-A.

“Definitely the tempo,” Jackson said. “Out here it’s more physical, (there’s) more conditioning and more everything.”

Much like Scott did last season, Boo has taken his lumps this spring.

Jackson is a more pocket-oriented quarterback than Scott and the option that coach Frank Solich likes to run has taken some getting used to. He is also working on getting the timing right between himself and his receivers.

“He is what we thought we were getting,” quarterbacks coach Gerry Gdowski said. “He has a really strong arm. I think he can do some athletic things, and for a guy that has been on campus and has never thrown a ball with any of our guys until a little over a week ago, he’s done very well.

“For him to really understand the offense, you can’t really expect that at this point.”

At times, Jackson has shown flashes of why Ohio’s coaches recruited him. In the first scrimmage of the spring, Jackson was 4-of-5 passing for 38 yards, which included a nice touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Petersen in the corner of the end zone.

But as Boo will tell you, he isn’t anywhere close to where he wants to be. “I’m still learning the offense,” Jackson said. “I’m looking like a little rookie right now, but once I get that offense down, it’s a new person.”