Football Buckeye Seniors Taking Nothing for Granted Despite Number One RankingBy John Porentas
The preseason coaches poll that tabbed the Buckeyes preseason number one placed the bulls eye squarely in the middle of the Buckeyes' chest. It also could have given them reason to be a little full of themselves as Fall camp convenes, but according to several
OSU seniors, the number one ranking is nice, but it isn't bringing any extra pressure and they are taking nothing for granted.
"Anytime you're at Ohio State you expect to be at the top of the Big Ten and compete for a national championship, this year being no different. I think this year maybe nationally that those expectations are there as well," said fullback Stan White.
White feels that the pressure that goes with being a Buckeye every year will help his team cope with the perceived pressure of a number one ranking.
"I think the pressure is there on us from ourselves and from the people of Columbus and Ohio State fans in general, year and year out. I don't think this year is any different than that," he said.
<table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100"> <caption align="bottom"> Jay Richardson
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</td> </tr> </tbody></table> Senior defensive end Jay Richardson appreciates the number one ranking, but knows the difference between talk and performance.
"I just know that it was an honor to be number one, and I think we're all appreciative of it, but we all know we have a lot of work to do and it's something you have to live up to," said Richardson.
"There's always a target on us being Ohio State. Team's are always going to play us hard. That's just the way it is," Richardson said.
Richardson said that he expects no letup among the Buckeyes as a result of the ranking.
"That's the beauty of being at Ohio State," said Richardson.
"You can never slack off, because every year we have a tough schedule and every game you have to go as hard as you can. With this BCS system, if you don't knock them all down you might not have a good chance. That's just how it is," Richardson said.
David Patterson was on much the same page as his classmates.
<table align="right" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100"> <caption align="bottom"> David Patterson
Photo by Jim Davidson </caption> <tbody><tr> <td>
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> "I think it is just an honor for people to think that we have that much talent to be considered the number one team, but it really doesn't put any pressure on us because we have to work to prove we're the number one team," said Patterson.
"That's a ranking we got before we've even played any games, so we know we have to go out and practice hard and become a great team."
Offensive lineman T. J. Downing said that as far has he's concerned, anybody who enters fall camp with a complacent attitude is simply asking to loose a job.
"You can never sleep because there's always somebody out there trying to get your job, trying to eat your food," said Downing.
"Getting comfortable is going to kill you. Being satisfied will make you lazy. You always have to stay hungry and think 'You know what, maybe this isn't my spot. Maybe right guard is open and it's not T. J.'s spot, nobody put T. J.'s name on it, but I can put my name on it if I work hard and I practice well, but you have to do that first."
