COLUMBUS, Ohio — Coach Jim Tressel says the main goal of his team in Saturday's annual Scarlet vs. Gray intrasquad scrimmage game at Ohio Stadium is to avoid injuries.

        More than most people, Tressel realizes the confounding irony of that.

        Tressel believes that one of the motivating forces behind Ohio State's last outright Big Ten championship was when starting quarterback Mike Tomczak broke his leg in the 1984 spring game.

        “Now do I want someone to get hurt so that will happen (again)?” Tressel said this week after a workout. “No. But I think it's a good lesson. When something happens, you take the cards that are dealt you and you go on.”

        Tressel, the quarterbacks coach at Ohio State at the time, was watching the spring game from the press box when Tomczak crumpled to the turf on an option keeper early in the second half.

        Tressel believes the Buckeyes became champions in the weeks following Tomczak's injury.

        “What he did from a rehab standpoint was amazing, how that infected our football team,” Tressel said. “I think he inspired the whole team the way he worked out in rehab and showed how bad he wanted to be back. I think everyone else worked harder that summer because of Mike's injury.”

        Spring games and spring workouts seldom give much insight to what will happen the following season. Teams usually develop more over the summer — just as the Buckeyes did when Tomczak was a senior — than during 14 spring practices followed by a token scrimmage.

        Craig Krenzel, who started at quarterback in the Buckeyes' last two games last season, said there isn't much riding on Saturday's game.

        “Positions aren't earned in the spring, games aren't won in the spring,” said Krenzel, who is fighting Scott McMullen for playing time. “So much can change over the summer. Some guys will come in and work hard. Whoever comes in and works hard, that will dictate how good we end up being next season. Spots are earned this fall.”

        The focal point for most fans — more than 30,000 are expected in the first spring game at Ohio Stadium since 1998 because of construction on the old 80-year-old facility — will be the competition at quarterback, tailback, cornerback and the offensive line.

        Ohio Mr. Football Maurice Clarett has jumped into the picture at tailback where he will vie with Lydell Ross, Maurice Hall and JaJa Riley. At cornerback, the Buckeyes need to replace Derek Ross, who turned pro a year early, and Cie Grant, who has shifted to linebacker. Richard McNutt and Dustin Fox, who moves from safety, currently are the top two candidates at the corners.

        Up front, replacements must be found for center LeCharles Bentley, tackle Tyson Walter and tight end Darnell Sanders. Alex Stepanovich will take Bentley's spot, but injuries have kept Shane Olivea and Adrien Clarke out of the mix and have also hampered the search for a tight end.

        A year ago, the new coaching staff had to deal with just as many vacancies — in addition to an awkward transition period.

        “This spring we haven't had to spend any time wondering who's who,” Tressel said.

        Even though there is little riding on the outcome other than bragging rights in the locker room, the players realize the spring game is one more opportunity to show their stuff.

        “It's definitely going to be fun, but it's also going to be a businesslike attitude, like a real game,” said Branden Joe, locked in a battle with Brandon Schnittker for the fullback job. “The film will be graded, just like a real game. You've got to be on your P's and Q's. After the game's over, that's when it'll be fun to go back and laugh about it.”

        Unless, of course, someone gets hurt.

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