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Walking on at Ohio State was a snap for Makridis
By ED PUSKAS Tribune Chronicle Sports Editor
COLUMBUS ? Dimitrios Makridis doesn?t carry the highest profile among players on the nation?s No. 1 college football team.
Ohio State fans can?t just walk into a store and grab his jersey ? No. 56, for the record ? off the rack.
Troy Smith? Sure. Ted Ginn Jr.? Absolutely. James Laurinaitis, Anthony Gonzalez and Antonio Pittman? Their jerseys are undoubtedly big sellers around the state.
Makridis? Not so much. But the former All-Trumbull County player from Warren wouldn?t trade his last four seasons with the Buckeyes for anything. He wouldn?t even trade them for more playing time in another college football program.
Makridis, the Buckeyes? backup long snapper, is right where he always wanted to be.
??As a little kid I always liked the Buckeyes,?? said Makridis, a 2003 Warren G. Harding High School graduate. ??I knew by the time I hit high school that I was going to come here.??
Makridis watched former Harding teammate Maurice Clarett lead Ohio State to the national championship in ?02. That experience served only to seal the deal for him.
??When Maurice came here, it made me want to come here even more, seeing how he did and the way that 2002 team was,?? Makridis said.
The oldest son of Nick and Irene Makridis probably could have secured a football scholarship elsewhere, but chose to walk on at Ohio State in ?03. He was redshirted that season and did not play as a freshman in ?04.
Makridis got into an ?05 game against Northwestern and made the snap on a field goal. He is currently listed as the top backup to Buckeyes starting long snapper Drew Norman.
Two weeks ago, Makridis played against Michigan State.
??It was a punt snap,?? he said. ??I did pretty good. I ran down and almost caused a turnover. Some of the coaches and I think it was a turnover, but the refs didn ?t see it that way.??
Norman is a senior this season, so Makridis could enter ?06 as the favorite to become Ohio State?s No. 1 long snapper.
Even so, the relationships with his teammates are what Makridis enjoys most about playing for the Buckeyes.
??It?s been great,?? he said. ??It?s not often you get to be on an undefeated team, but the friendships are the big thing. Not even counting what the public sees. It?s the way we are as a team.
??The way we joke around ... it?s awesome. It?s like nothing that I?ve ever experienced. We have great camaraderie and I love it. I?ve made friendships for a lifetime here.??
Ohio State (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten Conference) plays at Illinois and Northwestern the next two weeks, then will complete its regular season against unbeaten Michigan. The Buckeyes and Wolverines are ranked first and second in the Bowl Championship Series standings, but Makridis said Ohio State?s players aren?t looking that far ahead.
??Not at all,?? he said. ??Not that I can see at all in the locker room. We take it one week at a time, like coach (Jim Tressel) says. That?s it. We?ve got Illinois this week, then we?re going back to Illinois the next week for Northwestern. Then we?ll worry about Michigan.??
Makridis doesn?t mind the relative anonymity that comes with being a backup at such a specialized position. In fact, he said not being seen means a long snapper is doing his job well.
??As a snapper, the only time they see you is if you mess up,?? Makridis said. ??The best thing to do is be unknown your whole career here.??
Walking on at Ohio State was a snap for Makridis
By ED PUSKAS Tribune Chronicle Sports Editor
COLUMBUS ? Dimitrios Makridis doesn?t carry the highest profile among players on the nation?s No. 1 college football team.
Ohio State fans can?t just walk into a store and grab his jersey ? No. 56, for the record ? off the rack.
Troy Smith? Sure. Ted Ginn Jr.? Absolutely. James Laurinaitis, Anthony Gonzalez and Antonio Pittman? Their jerseys are undoubtedly big sellers around the state.
Makridis? Not so much. But the former All-Trumbull County player from Warren wouldn?t trade his last four seasons with the Buckeyes for anything. He wouldn?t even trade them for more playing time in another college football program.
Makridis, the Buckeyes? backup long snapper, is right where he always wanted to be.
??As a little kid I always liked the Buckeyes,?? said Makridis, a 2003 Warren G. Harding High School graduate. ??I knew by the time I hit high school that I was going to come here.??
Makridis watched former Harding teammate Maurice Clarett lead Ohio State to the national championship in ?02. That experience served only to seal the deal for him.
??When Maurice came here, it made me want to come here even more, seeing how he did and the way that 2002 team was,?? Makridis said.
The oldest son of Nick and Irene Makridis probably could have secured a football scholarship elsewhere, but chose to walk on at Ohio State in ?03. He was redshirted that season and did not play as a freshman in ?04.
Makridis got into an ?05 game against Northwestern and made the snap on a field goal. He is currently listed as the top backup to Buckeyes starting long snapper Drew Norman.
Two weeks ago, Makridis played against Michigan State.
??It was a punt snap,?? he said. ??I did pretty good. I ran down and almost caused a turnover. Some of the coaches and I think it was a turnover, but the refs didn ?t see it that way.??
Norman is a senior this season, so Makridis could enter ?06 as the favorite to become Ohio State?s No. 1 long snapper.
Even so, the relationships with his teammates are what Makridis enjoys most about playing for the Buckeyes.
??It?s been great,?? he said. ??It?s not often you get to be on an undefeated team, but the friendships are the big thing. Not even counting what the public sees. It?s the way we are as a team.
??The way we joke around ... it?s awesome. It?s like nothing that I?ve ever experienced. We have great camaraderie and I love it. I?ve made friendships for a lifetime here.??
Ohio State (9-0, 5-0 Big Ten Conference) plays at Illinois and Northwestern the next two weeks, then will complete its regular season against unbeaten Michigan. The Buckeyes and Wolverines are ranked first and second in the Bowl Championship Series standings, but Makridis said Ohio State?s players aren?t looking that far ahead.
??Not at all,?? he said. ??Not that I can see at all in the locker room. We take it one week at a time, like coach (Jim Tressel) says. That?s it. We?ve got Illinois this week, then we?re going back to Illinois the next week for Northwestern. Then we?ll worry about Michigan.??
Makridis doesn?t mind the relative anonymity that comes with being a backup at such a specialized position. In fact, he said not being seen means a long snapper is doing his job well.
??As a snapper, the only time they see you is if you mess up,?? Makridis said. ??The best thing to do is be unknown your whole career here.??
