ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

Jim Tressel's pre-spring news conference actually was held today, not tomorrow. My bad.

The Ohio State head coach discussed a variety of topics, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who goes through his first spring as the starter after earning Big Ten freshman of the year honors last season. Ohio State will be making some changes on offense that could better accentuate Pryor's ability.

Pryor also will be viewed as more of a leader this year despite starting the final 10 games last fall. Ohio State's locker room last season was filled with Todd Boeckman's friends, and though the team didn't turn against Pryor when he replaced Boeckman as the starter, he should have an easier time leading his peers this fall.

"I think it will be more natural for him to lead from this point on," Tressel said of Pryor. "It was a little bit more difficult when he was thrust into the role he didn't expect in the fall, or maybe we didn't expect in the fall."

Here are some good nuggets from Tressel's news conference from The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Doug Lemerises.

It's interesting that the Buckeyes coaches spent the offseason in ACC country, visiting the four schools in North Carolina (UNC, Duke, Wake Forest and NC State). The ACC is projected to have a strong 2009 season, but I don't know if it's the league to consult about jump-starting your offense, which Ohio State really needs to do. Only one ACC school ranked among the top 50 nationally in total offense, and that was Georgia Tech, which came in at No. 50. Yeesh. And I thought the Big Ten struggled on offense.

Also, offensive tackle J.B. Shugarts is among the Buckeyes players who will miss spring ball following offseason surgeries. Defensive end Lawrence Wilson, who sustained a torn ACL last fall, will be held out of contact. And not surprisingly, Pryor and backup quarterback Joe Bauserman will be off limits for much of the spring.