'05 OH WR Greg Orton (Purdue signee)

[Buckskin86]

Orton isn't lacking confidence
By TOM KUBAT
tkubat@journalandcourier.com

Greg Orton admitted Tuesday what most football coaches, players and fans already knew -- all receivers believe they're open on every play.

Orton, Purdue's junior wide receiver who is third on the team after five games with 18 receptions for 233 yards and two touchdowns, breaks every huddle figuring that quarterback Curtis Painter will be able to throw him the ball.

"I would like to think that I could do a lot no matter who is guarding me," Orton said.

Orton, from Dayton, Ohio, is particularly fired up to play the Buckeyes, who have been absent from Purdue's schedule the previous two seasons.

"It's a game I've been looking forward to," Orton said. "I have a few friends on the other side. It's exciting to go against your home-state team."

OSU linebacker Marcus Freeman is a former high school teammate of Orton's, and several other Buckeyes played in the same conference.

Orton was more of a North Carolina basketball fan in high school than an Ohio State football fan, but he did attend a few OSU games in Columbus.

He never received a football scholarship offer from Ohio State, and he insists an offer wouldn't have meant automatic acceptance.

"I didn't attend their (football) camp and I was looking at other places," Orton said. "It would have been nice but it wasn't a big deal to me coming out of high school.

"We had another receiver who went to my school (who went to Ohio State) and he didn't get to play a lot. I was looking at all that, and at the time Purdue was a great team, throwing the ball, and I thought I could play early."

He claims that revenge is not a factor in his desire to beat the Buckeyes.

"I'm just going to go out there and play my game," he said. "It probably does add a little bit more motivation, but not a whole lot. I have a lot of stuff that gets me motivated. My team being the underdog. Their secondary is really going to be a good challenge. That motivates me enough. It's going to be a great challenge."

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