http://www.mnsun.com/articles/2005/1...aurinaitis.txt
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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=headingbar height=20>Sports:</TD><TD class=topbar align=right><SCRIPT src="/shared-content/newsys/common/date.js"></SCRIPT><SCRIPT><!--showCurrentDate(1);//--></SCRIPT>Friday, November 4, 2005<NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>Wayzata grad goes from Trojan to Buckeye
By Nick Clark\Sun Newspapers
(Created: Thursday, November 3, 2005 1:47 PM CST)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>As the day faded into night last week over Columbus, Ohio, Wayzata graduate James Laurinaitis was acting like most college freshmen across the country.
Homework was his top priority that evening. But as he studied for one of his freshman courses at Ohio State University, one thing became obviously clear: Laurinaitis isn't your average college freshman.
Laurinaitis is listed on the Buckeye football team roster. However, what's even more impressive is that he's actually playing.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle><SCRIPT ******************** src="/shared-content/adsys/creative.js" type=text/**********></SCRIPT><SCRIPT ******************** type=text/**********>aAds = new Array();aAds[0] = new Array();aAds[0][0] = '+instory';aAds[0][1] = '32899';aAds[0][2] = 'swf';aAds[0][3] = '250';aAds[0][4] = '250';aAds[0][5] = 'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.special-sections.com%2Fmnsun%2Fsplash_ad.html';aAds[0][6] = '%2Binstory';displayAd('http://adsys.townnews.com', 'mnsun.com', aAds);</SCRIPT><OBJECT id=32899 codeBase=http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0 height=250 width=250 classid=clsid
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<embed src="http://adsys.townnews.com/77290481288011/creative/mnsun.com/+instory/32899.swf?clickTAG=http://adsys.townnews.com/96799737520827/creative/mnsun.com/%2Binstory/32899.swf%3Fr%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.special-sections.com%2Fmnsun%2Fsplash_ad.html" wmode="opaque" quality="high" width="250" height="250" name="32899" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed></OBJECT><NOSCRIPT><object classid='clsid
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<embed src="http://adsys.townnews.com/1987208990/creative/mnsun.com/+instory/32899.swf?clickTAG=http://adsys.townnews.com/822360656/creative/mnsun.com/%2Binstory/32899.swf%3Fr%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.special-sections.com%2Fmnsun%2Fsplash_ad.html" wmode='opaque' quality='high' width='250' height='250' name='32899' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed></object></NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Most major college football programs redshirt their freshmen in order to give them another year of development.
But, the only red shirt that Laurinaitis is putting on this season is the one he wears on game days in Columbus.
"It's been pretty cool," Laurinaitis said. "I didn't know if I would play this year or not. Then Marcus Freeman got hurt, so I moved to No. 2 on the depth chart and I've just stayed there. It is an honor. Not many freshmen get to play."
It was a decision his coaches wrestled with, but after the injury to Freeman, Laurinaitis was their next best option.
Ohio State Linebackers Coach Luke Fickell thought Laurinaitis could play and was mature enough to join the team the first two weeks of the season.
"I kept telling him that if we have the luxury of being able to redshirt I think it would be a good thing," Fickell said. "When Freeman got hurt, he was one of the next guys that we could put into a game and trust. That is what he wanted to do and I think it will be for the best for him."
Laurinaitis has seen action in all eight of Ohio State's games this fall, and has worked his way onto the field in just about every special teams situation.
He was on the field over the weekend in the Buckeyes' 45-31 win over Minnesota, starting on the special teams unit and getting some late action at linebacker. He managed two tackles on the Gophers' last drive.
"I wanted to make sure I got to play in that game," Laurinaitis said. "It was always my goal to make the traveling squad so I would have the opportunity to play at the Metrodome this year."
The game allowed him the opportunity to erase the memory of his last dome appearance.
Laurinaitis' Wayzata team lost in the state title game last November on the same field. The game against Minnesota was his first time back in the building.
"I need to forget that last game and replace it with something new," he said.
Laurinaitis said that he's been paying close attention to what's been going on at Wayzata this fall and that he still talks to the coaches and some members of the team almost weekly.
"I have to keep in touch," he said. "But in the end, they ask me more questions than I ask them."
He said a lot of the time they want to know what it is like to play in front of excess of a 100,000 people.
"It's crazy," Laurinaitis said. "Words can't even describe it."
Laurinaitis also said his former teammates want to know what it is like to play behind what is arguably the best group of starting linebackers in the country.
The senior trio of A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel have been highlighted weekly this fall on the Buckeye's national televised games. Hawk is up for just about every defensive award this year and his name has come up in Heisman talk around Columbus as well.
Draft experts consider all three as locks for the NFL draft next spring and Laurinaitis is paying close attention as to how they go about their business.
"He's a very smart kid and he has absorbed a lot," Fickell said. "He's watched those guys work in practice. He's a very mature kid with great abilities, but we ask these guys to do a lot here and learn a lot, so for him to be able to work side by side with those seniors will really pay off for him."
Laurinaitis was impressed with the way the three seniors welcomed him onto the team.
"What people don't get to see is how good of guys they are," Laurinaitis said. "They help me out tremendously. If I have any questions at all they'll answer them. I watch them, how they take care of themselves, how they prepare for game and how they practice during the week. For me, I couldn't be in a better spot to learn."
If Laurinaitis stays in his current place on the depth chart, which is backing up Carpenter, he will be starting next year. That's a goal that Laurinaitis said he's been thinking about since he first stepped a football field.
"That is why I came to Ohio State," he said. "You want to play with the best and against the best. If that happens, I couldn't even imagine a better situation to be in."
It is a situation that has produced many of the greatest linebackers to play college football. Laurinaitis wants to be the next one, and his coaches, including Fickell, think he's got a legitimate shot.
"The one thing that he is going to give us even next year is the versatility to play all three positions," Fickell said. "Not many players can do that. He is smart enough to do it. He is going to be a great asset for us."
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"We want to keep this going. This is Running Back U. It fell off for a couple of years. Ohio State is not Ohio State without a 1,000-yard back." - Antonio Pittman 
