Tim Reed/FOR THE POST Ohio tailback Jamel Patterson, a member of the Green team during the annual Green and White Game at Peden Stadium Saturday, is grabbed by the White team's Scott McManamon. White defeated Green 21-7 marking the end of spring football practice. Ohio's season begins on Sept. 4 at Minnesota.

Ohio tailback Keith Brooks had just stamped himself as star of the Green and White Game Saturday at Peden Stadium with three touchdown runs and 101 yards rushing on 26 carries. As several members of the media questioned Brooks, head coach Jim Grobe peeked his head in, saying he was just checking to see what Brooks was saying.

Grobe need not have worried. Brooks seems to have as good a grasp as anyone on the running back situation now that spring practices have ended. Perhaps at no other position will the competition be so fierce.

"I don't know what the coaches are going to do," Brooks said. "I'm sure they'll make the right choice. All of us are good. It doesn't matter whether we got (Chad Brinker) in, Jamel (Patterson) in or me in. All of us are first-team running backs, I think. So we should hold out all right."

In part because the White team concentrated more on the run, it defeated the Green team 21-7. Led by quarterback Derrick Jenkins, who completed 6-of-12 passes for 113 yards, White scored a touchdown in the second quarter and two in the third, all on runs by Brooks, to take a 21-0 lead.

Brooks, a junior, became the workhorse for White when Shaun James injured his ankle earlier in spring practices. Green's workhorse was Patterson, a sophomore redshirt who carried 13 times for 74 yards.

But Green concentrated on the pass because its quarterback, Dan Jordan, is the favorite to take that role into the fall when Ohio opens its season Sept. 4 at Minnesota.

Jordan did get into the end zone late when he found tight end Randy Pennington for the Green's only score. Jordan completed 12-of-24 passes for 150 yards and threw two interceptions. But this spring was enough to convince Grobe that Jordan can handle the starter's role in the fall, despite how impressed Grobe was with Jenkins.

"We'll get Jenks back to wideout in the summertime," Grobe said. "He did enough good things at the quarterback position to be competitive at quarterback. But we can't have two guys who are potential starters fighting it out with each other. I think Dan Jordan can do it."

Grobe had his doubts about Jordan coming into the spring. Jordan, a freshman from Shorewood, Ill., saw limited action last season behind Kareem Wilson. What most concerned Grobe was Jordan's speed, or lack of it.

"He didn't run as well last fall as we had thought coming out of high school," Grobe said. "I think he had a little trouble with his Achilles tendon that he had hurt in baseball during his senior year playing catcher. I don't think the guy really felt comfortable until about midway through winter workouts. Then he just started to accelerate, getting better speed. I thought today he scrambled well, ran the option a couple times pretty well."

Truthfully, though, this was the defense's game in many ways. Duffer Duffy and Mark Calgaro of White had interceptions, as did Kahieem Maxwell of Green. White's Arden Banks and Green's David Swenson recovered fumbles.

Thus spring practices end, and months of weight lifting begin. When a player asked Grobe after the game when lifting begins, another said he should know it begins today. Nothing ever really stops, after all.

"We just got done with 15 days of run, run, run," Ohio offensive lineman Mike Varone said. "It's been a lot more hitting than usual. I think we needed it. We lost a lot of experience. What we gained are guys who want to play football and guys who don't get tired of football. We have a full team of guys who are thirsty to play."