[Buckskin86]

September 5, 2008
Buckeyes Diary: One Man Down
By The New York Times

Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis won the Butkus award last season and the Nagurski award the season before that. A two-time All-American, Laurinaitis was projected as a first-round pick in April?s N.F.L. draft, but elected to remain at Ohio State for his senior season. He?s been checking in with The Quad?s Thayer Evans from time to time to talk about the season. In this installment, he discusses his daily schedule, Terrelle Pryor?s potential and why he prayed as soon as he saw Chris Wells get injured.

The toughest game is always the first game, but I thought we played really well in our season-opening victory against Youngstown State. You never know what to expect from the other offense in the first game. You can watch all the film you want from last year, but you know they?ve got new personnel, new schemes and new things they?re going to put in.

It really comes down to kind of going out there and playing on principles. For our defense to play the way it did was exciting. Obviously, we looked at the film and there?s always room to get better, but I like how we started off. We need to make sure we?re building on that.

It was a little bit scary when our running back Chris Wells went down with his right foot injury. The first thing I did was pray, which is what I do any time one of my teammates or opponents goes down. For a guy like Chris to go down is really worrisome because he?s a tough kid. If he can?t get up and walk off the field, there?s a real problem. Anytime someone fumbles untouched like that, you know it?s not good and that something went really wrong.

He?s the type of player that if there was any way he could play this weekend, he would, because he?s tough mentally. He?s been working hard in the rehab room. It?s pretty cool to see him coming back strong and taking that kind of approach. I?ll be interested to see what happens from there. It?s good to know that he should be O.K. and that everything looks good for him. I?m excited to see what kind of progress he makes.

Chris is obviously a huge part of this team, but if he doesn?t play this Saturday against Ohio, it?ll be exciting to see what the other guys can do. We have Maurice Wells, who is a very polished guy that has done his job well. We can see what Daniel Herron and Brandon Saine can do.

Since we don’t start school until Sept. 24, it’s good to have football all day. That’s a big advantage for us. You appreciate being on the quarter system right now because most other teams are already balancing class with football. Until classes start, I basically start my day at 9 a.m. with a 30- to 45-minute workout. After that, I get in the cool tub for about 10 minutes. Then, I usually watch film from 10 a.m. to about 11:20 a.m. or 11:30 a.m. After lunch, I watch film from noon to 1 p.m. and then get in the hot tub for about 10 minutes. Afterwards, I get taped up and get my pads ready for practice. It’s then more film until 2 p.m., when we have meetings. Practice usually starts around 3:30 p.m. and we’re often at dinner by 6:30 p.m. But before dinner, I watch post-practice film, do another workout, and get in the cold tub. Following dinner, I watch a little more film and then head home.

Buckeyes Diary: One Man Down - The Quad - Sports - New York Times Blog