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No excuses
"There's work to be done." -- QB Troy Smith

By Jon Spencer
NNCO



COLUMBUS -- So what if the pigskin pundits who anoint Ohio State as America's No. 1 team take it for granted that the Buckeyes can replace five NFL first-round picks and nine starters on defense?
They must figure Ted Ginn Jr. can avoid another slow start and replace Santonio Holmes as the go-to receiver. They apparently believe the Buckeyes can win two huge road games at night in September even though they've lost their last four regular-season games under the lights.

Maybe all that matters is that triggerman Troy Smith is taking nothing for granted. "Coming in as a young guy, we won the national championship," said Smith, reflecting on his redshirt year in 2002. "I'm walking around with my ring on. I had hardware on that I earned ... and yet I didn't.


"It's something I took for granted. I don't wear my ring now because all that work is done on the field. I'll worry about being glorified later. There's work to be done."

It's fair to assume the rest of the Buckeyes share Smith's mindset after the way they followed his lead down the stretch in 2005. Once he shook off the effects of a two-game suspension for taking $500 from a booster, Smith directed OSU to seven straight wins, capped by a 34-20 rout of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Buckeyes' 617 yards in Tempe were the most ever allowed by Notre Dame and made an indelible impression on those who've forecasted a return to the Valley of the Sun for this year's BCS championship game.

"I can't disagree with that (prediction)," Min- nesota coach Glen Mason said. "A play here or there last season and Ohio State could have been national champions. They have outstanding offensive talent."

The Buckeyes also made a believer of Penn State coach Joe Paterno, even though Smith and Co. generated only 230 yards in a 17-10 loss at Happy Valley that ultimately gave the Lions a share of the Big Ten championship with OSU.

"No question, Smith is an outstanding quarterback," Paterno said, comparing him to Michael Robinson, who won Big Ten MVP honors for Penn State last season. "Against us, he was just starting to get a feel for things. After that he was just a tremendous, tremendous player. They have a couple of good kids around him, too.

"That Ginn kid ain't bad. I don't want to cover Ginn. And Jim (Tressel) does a great job of recruiting Ohio and getting good people. So I think they probably deserve to be the favorite."

That perception -- that Ohio State merely reloads -- makes it easy for some to overlook all the holes on defense. Talent has come and gone, along with two defensive coordinators, but the Buckeyes were No. 1 in Big Ten rushing defense three of the last four years and in scoring and total defense twice. The result: one national championship, two Big Ten titles and three Top 5 finishes.

"It's Ohio State; they're always going to have great athletes and backups who could start for a lot of Division I teams," Iowa quarterback and 2004 Big Ten MVP Drew Tate said. "Just because they graduated nine starters doesn't mean their defense is going to be bad. I've seen teams with nine starters back not do as good. It can go either way."

Gone is arguably the best set of linebackers in school history -- two-time consensus All-American A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel.

But what might really hurt are the early NFL defections of safety Donte Whitner and cornerback Ashton Youboty.

Their departures left OSU with the task of replacing its entire back seven.

The only holdovers up front are tackles Quinn Pitcock and David Patterson, whose four sacks are the most of any returning player. Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins started four games last year as a freshman.

"Some guys got spot-duty last year," Tressel said, referring in part to projected starters Jay Richardson (end), James Laurinaitis (middle linebacker), John Kerr (outside linebacker) and Jamario O'Neal (strong safety). "Did they get enough? Probably not. The good thing about the spring is that we didn't have many nagging injuries. I feel if we keep healthy, we'll have enough experience to be a good defense. I feel we're very capable."

Tressel hopes his 18-man senior class -- including 17 fifth-year players -- helps the young defense age gracefully. He's banking on members of the 2002 recruiting class, like Smith and offensive linemen Doug Datish and T.J. Downing, to provide invaluable leadership.

"The thing I like about Troy now is he wants to know 'why' when he watches film or we do something a certain way," Tressel said. "He's got to think like the opposing defensive coordinator."

Smith also needs to think like an offensive coordinator in finding ways to maximize Ginn's game-breaking skills. The Buckeyes waited too long to incorporate Ginn into the attack his first two years. Another slow start by the speed demon could doom OSU with prime-time showdowns at Texas and Iowa awaiting in September.

"My expectation of Ted is that he's going to be the best player in the nation," Smith said of his childhood friend, Glenville teammate and fellow Heisman Trophy contender. "He can do that. He's got all the tools and, hopefully, we can get the ball in his hands so he can flourish."

Seventeen of Ginn's 51 receptions last season came in the last two games against Michigan and Notre Dame. He caught only four TD passes, but none was shorter than 46 yards. He had a 100-yard kickoff return and a 68-yard punt return for scores last season. It was his fifth punt return TD, tying the Big Ten career mark.

But can Ginn and complementary pieces like Anthony Gonzalez, Roy Hall, Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline make OSU fans forget Santonio Holmes?
"I want the team to feel I'm the go-to guy," Ginn said. "Santonio made us feel he was that guy when he was here. I just have to have confidence that the team has confidence in me. I have to try and stay relaxed and humble and trust in my seniors."

There's always a potent running attack to fall back on. Junior Antonio Pittman answered questions about his toughness and speed, rushing for 1,331 yards and seven TDs last season, including the clincher in the Fiesta Bowl. Keeping him on his toes and offering a powerful change of pace will be 6-foot-1, 225-pound freshman Chris Wells, touted as the nation's No. 1 prospect when he enrolled in the spring.

It might be asking a lot of 27-year-old South African Ryan Pretorius to match the place-kicking exploits of predecessors Josh Huston and Mike Nugent, but this OSU attack could be even better than the one that averaged 33 points and 422 yards last season.

Question is, how much scoring will be enough?

"I'm glad people are talking about our offense, but you can't leave out the defense," Pittman said. "They've been the heart and soul of the team for years and nothing's going to change this year."

jspencer@nncogannett.com
419-521-7239

Originally published August 31, 2006