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OL Doug Datish (official thread)

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Dispatch

4/7/06

OSU FOOTBALL

Datish stays the course in face of tough times

Friday, April 07, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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What if Doug Datish had turned tail this time a year ago? What if he had decided playing college football at the highest level wasn’t his bag and simply given it up?

Maybe those are questions that could be pondered in the graduate-level counter-factual history class at Ohio State he’s in this spring after graduating in March.

"You try to argue for something that would have been the opposite of what happened, which is kind of weird," Datish said.

When times got tough for him at the end of the 2004 season, when he was replaced as a starter at guard by T.J. Downing, Datish could have walked away from football, or at least taken a permanent back seat.

"And he didn’t," offensive coordinator and line coach Jim Bollman said. "He really stepped it up, never said a word, fought and got better. And he had a great year last year, a great year."

Surprisingly, Datish won the starting job at left tackle in preseason and never looked back. His pass blocking improved seemingly with every snap, his run blocking revealed a mean streak, and as plays progressed downfield, there was Datish, running for all he was worth to try to make another block.

"I think I definitely matured," Datish said. "I got stronger, I got faster. I got more confidence. . . .

"I think my progression as a football player has to do with the cohesion of the line. We were just hitting stuff before we were even thinking about it.

It was nice."

But that running-down-thefield stuff, it was a product of his high-school coach telling him to always play to the whistle and of seeing former Buckeye Orlando Pace do it time after time during his stellar career at OSU.

"You’ve got to do whatever it takes," Datish said. "There’s guys flying around all over the place, defenses are running to the ball. Why can’t the offense run to the ball?"

In other words, it’s better to try to help make history than wonder what might have been. Datish showed that throughout the 2005 season, Downing said.

"Doug got a little nasty streak in him, and I liked it," Downing said.

Datish can’t show it this spring, though. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder in January, so his on-field action is limited this month.

"I go out there with my shoulder pads on, and I do shotgun snaps (for some of the drills), and my job is to talk to all of the young guys and help them out," Datish said. "Other than that, I run the stadium stairs and do conditioning work."

He’s not forgotten. In fact, barring calamity, he’s guaranteed to be one of the starting five up front in the fall, Bollman said. The question is, at what position?

At the moment, it appears to be center, where the Buckeyes must replace three-year starter Nick Mangold. Bollman has Alex Boone penciled in at left tackle and Steve Rehring at left guard, replacing the only other departing starter Rob Sims.

"Doug certainly is capable of playing center for us, certainly capable of playing left guard, left tackle," Bollman said. "So wherever the rest of the crew ends up . . . he’s a guy I can count on to go where we need him to make the organization operate best."

As for Datish, "The position I’ve always liked? Starting," he said. "Honestly."
No questions asked.

[email protected]
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Datish accepting role as leader for Buckeyes

By JOE SIMON Tribune Chronicle


HOWLAND — Ohio State lineman Doug Datish isn’t afraid to admit he’s getting old.
And as the 2006 college football season nears, he’s finding out what comes along with it: responsibility.
As one of three returning starters on the offensive line, Datish, 23, is now a savvy veteran who will be asked to move to his third position on the line. A tackle in 2004, then a guard last year, Datish, a 2002 Howland graduate, will be asked to take over for Nick Mangold, a 2006 first-round draft pick of the New York Jets.
But that’s not the only kind of responsibility Datish was talking about at the Howland Tigers Football Camp, which is going at Howland High School today. Datish said he’s focused on helping the new players get accustomed to their role on the line. Because while the Buckeyes’ offense returns Heisman Trophy candidates such as quarterback Troy Smith and wide receiver Ted Ginn, as Datish said, it all starts on the offensive line.
And after losing Mangold and fourth-round draft pick Rob Sims, Datish said he’s taking a leadership role to keep the line stout.
‘‘I’m getting pretty old now. And that’s my job ,’’ said Datish of becoming a leader. ‘‘It’s a new responsibility, and I’m looking forward to taking that on.’’
It’s not just X’s and O’s that he talks to the incoming players about either.
‘‘We’ve been talking about doing the right thing, on and off the field,’’ Datish said. ‘‘And (we’ve been talking about) trusting one another. That’s what it’s about. You’ve got to be ready to trust that guy next to you, cause if you’re not, you’re not going to play as well.’’
It’s vital the line creates a chemistry as well, Datish said. While Kirk Barton and T.J. Downing return to the line as well, the moving of positions and the addition of two other starters will force them to work on becoming a cohesive unit.
‘‘We’ve got 29 practices in the month of August to get that chemistry together,’’ Datish said. ‘‘And we play against such good guys on our defense that you can’t do anything but create chemistry against guys like that.
‘‘But it’s going to take a game or so to really get chemistry,’’ he added. ‘‘A game’s a whole different ballgame.’’
Protecting Smith could decide how successful Ohio is this season. The senior from Glenville High School in Cleveland came into his own last year, throwing for 2,893 yards, scoring 27 touchdowns (16 passing, 11 rushing) and leading the Big Ten in passing efficiency. He really came on at the end of the year as he was 19-of-28 for 348 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ 34-20 Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame.
‘‘Troy’s really got that confidence, he’s got that swagger about him that helps him play the way he does,’’ Datish said. ‘‘And he’s confident in the guys around him too. And I think that’s a big part of it.’’
‘‘We became pretty cohesive last year. We’ve got to fill some holes with the loss of Mangold and Sims. But I think if the o-line can come together, I think we’ll be all right. Troy’s got to have confidence in us first before he can do other things.’’
One of the guys Smith will be throwing to is Ginn, who is one of the fastest players in all of college football. With two years under his belt, Datish said Ginn may be playing at different positions to create match-up problems.
“He’s still fast, maybe faster than before, and he looks a little bigger now because he’s been lifting weights pretty good,” Datish said of Ginn. “He’s got a pretty good grasp of the offense now, and I think we’ll be able to utilize him at different positions.”
All in all, Datish said the Buckeyes need to do three things to be have a shot at the national championship: win at home, win the Big Ten, and play as a team.
“If we do all that, we’ll be successful,” Datish said.
[email protected]

Section: Sports Posted: 7/22/2006
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http://www.tribune-chronicle.com/Sports/articles.asp?articleID=6478
 
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Datish on the OL

http://www.theozone.net/football/2006/fallcamp/noteandquotebook080306.htm


Lots of speculation on if Datish would play center or guard, and from this article it sure seems like he's a center. My guess is Rhering nails down the starting LG spot and gives us one massive OL overall, especially the left side.


The starting OL could be scary good, but the depth worries me a little. If we stay healthy, we'll be in fantastic shape on offense.
 
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dragonknight said:
http://www.theozone.net/football/2006/fallcamp/noteandquotebook080306.htm


Lots of speculation on if Datish would play center or guard, and from this article it sure seems like he's a center. My guess is Rhering nails down the starting LG spot and gives us one massive OL overall, especially the left side.


The starting OL could be scary good, but the depth worries me a little. If we stay healthy, we'll be in fantastic shape on offense.
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Massive is an understatement, those guys are complete roadgraders!!! I hope Boone has worked on his footwork this offseason, I thought that was his weakness >> being able to swivel out on the speed guys.

Agreed on the depth but I think the first game will allow us to get some PT for the inexperienced guys and then the UC and PSU [they don't worry me at all for some reason] games before Iowa. If someone gets hurt during the Texas game, we could have a situation similar to PSU last year - my fingers are crossed.
 
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The good news we really need one interior lineman to step up. Rhering can man tackle. Honestly, starting two real tackles is a step up from what OSU has had recently. Having 3 with talent and some experience is a real bonus. We've heard a lot of good stuff about both Cordle and Skinner. Let's hope one has a breakout like Datish did last year.
 
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Dispatch

8/9/06

OSU FOOTBALL

Datish is all for being the center of attention

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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</IMG> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=credit width=200>JEFF HINCKLEY DISPATCH </TD></TR><TR><TD class=cutline width=200>Ohio State center Doug Datish stretches out before practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. </TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>
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Doug Datish didn’t just step into the center of the Ohio State offense without preparation.
He knew that his responsibilities would grow substantially in moving from left tackle, where he started last year, to center, where he is replacing three-year starter and first-round NFL draft pick Nick Mangold. Not only will his snaps start the plays for what is expected to be one of the more explosive offenses in the country, but his blocking calls to his teammates on the line will help determine whether those plays pop or fizzle.
"I have been watching a lot of film and thinking about the technique, because it’s a little different," Datish said. "I’m just trying to, well, not really emulate what Nick did, but try to bring a little aspect to the center game that I can do."
Such as?
"I don’t know, I like to think of myself as intelligent," said Datish, a fifth-year player who earned his degree in history last March and is in graduate school. "And I’ve been working on my strength."
As Datish pointed out, one sign of intelligence is in knowing you don’t know everything. He has been showing signs of that trait for a while, senior right guard T.J. Downing said.
"He was always in Nick’s ear the past two or three years: ‘Why are you making this call? Like if the safety is walking down, what would you do?’ " Downing said. "Let’s face it: Nick was the best last year. I think he was the best center in the country. And if you’re in a guy’s ear like that, that’s only going to make you better."
The trick is being able to relay such messages to fellow linemen in those precious seconds before a snap.
"I’ve got to get my guys around me to talk to me," Datish said. "I thought that was one of the things we did really well last year was we talked back and forth and gave Nick the information, because he can’t see everything.
"I think what I have to first do with these guys is get their confidence up to have the ability to say something. Second of all, I have to have good film study and kind of anticipate what is going to happen so I can make the right calls.
"But to have the ability to change something and make it better for us — to have that responsibility is neat. "
That Datish has landed in the middle after three seasons in which he played every other position on the line is no mistake, coach Jim Tressel said. Offensive coordinator and line coach Jim Bollman puts a premium on his center knowing as much about the offense as possible.
"If Jim Bollman’s got a good center, it makes him feel good," Tressel said.
Bollman has had centers to feel good about in recent years. Datish is stepping into a succession at the position that includes Rimington Award winner LeCharles Bentley in 2001 and fourth-round NFL draft pick Alex Stepanovich, who was the starting center on the 2002 national championship team before earning All-Big Ten honors as a guard the next year.
Whether Datish stays at center actually will hinge on how things develop at left guard. The Buckeyes also lost NFL draftee Rob Sims from that spot, and the competition for the vacancy includes senior Tim Schafer and sophomores Steve Rehring and Jon Skinner.
For now, though, Datish — who has gained 10 pounds from last year, to 305 — is prepping to be at the center of it all. His teammates see him there, too.
"I can’t wait for the season to start because I know he is going to be the anchor of our offensive line," quarterback Troy Smith said.
Downing agreed.
"I think Doug’s got all the tools to do it," he said. "I’m excited to play next to him, and get a couple of combo blocks on those big nose guards and move them around a little bit."
[email protected]
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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
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Link

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Woody . . . or wouldn't he?

OSU center almost wasn't as Datish's dad angered Hayes
Tuesday, August 15, 2006Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Doug Datish's Ohio State career nearly ended 11 years before he was born, on the day Woody Hayes was stood up by a forgetful high school kid.
His father, Mike Datish, was that kid. A lineman from Howland High outside Youngstown, Mike Datish had an after-school recruiting visit scheduled one day in 1972 with Hayes and assistant coach George Hill for 3 p.m. More than two hours later, following a workout at school, the absent-minded Datish arrived home, oblivious to the legend who had been boiling in his living room.
"My mom and dad were pacing, and my dad looked at me and said a few words you can't repeat," Mike Datish remembered. "You could tell coach Hayes wasn't happy, because he was not used to being treated that way. I apologized, and I felt so bad about making a coach of that caliber wait on me, that convinced me to go to Ohio State."

It wasn't until he arrived at Ohio State that Datish heard the rest of the story from Hill.
"You came awfully close to losing it, but you said all the right things," Hill told Datish.
"[Hayes] almost walked out. Five more minutes and he said that dumb [guy] wouldn't ever get a scholarship to Ohio State."
Those five minutes made Mike a Buckeye. Years later, Mike and his wife Sue created an OSU family that gave the Buckeyes their starting center.
Doug Datish is a fifth-year senior steeped in Buckeyes lore who's likely to be elected as a captain this season. Father and son both said the younger Datish, who has no stories of accidentally blowing off recruiters, wasn't pressured by the former Buckeye to choose Columbus, though Mike did refuse to go along to the spring game at Michigan when Doug paid a visit to the Wolverines.
It's hard to pass up Ohio State when you've been going to games at the Horseshoe since you were 6, wearing the old No. 50 jersey your dad saved from his playing days. The story dad tells about Woody finding a bat flying in a player's room during camp and knocking it from the air and stomping it to death has to make an impact on a grade-schooler with football on the brain.
"I think I came here with a little different appreciation for things," Doug Datish said. "It's funny because a lot of the stories my dad has are similar to what I have. College football has changed in the dynamics and how big it is and how it's played, but in the experience, I don't think it's changed."

His freshman season, Doug wore No. 66, but then Datish got back the family number, that 50 he already had spent so many Saturdays wearing. Mike never cracked the starting lineup with the Buckeyes while wearing it, lettering once as a backup while playing from 1973 to 1976.
"I was half a step slower than the guys in front of me," said Mike, a firefighter with the Howland Township Fire Department for 28 years. "But I'm awful proud of my son."
After starting at left tackle last year and left guard in 2004, Doug Datish is now part of another Ohio State legacy as a center.



The three previous centers of the Jim Tressel era -- LeCharles Bentley, Alex Stepanovich and Nick Mangold -- have moved from distinguishing themselves at Ohio State to starting at center in the NFL.
"In our scheme, the center in so important," Tressel said. "You go from Bentley to Stepanovich to Mangold, and you can tell where [line coach] Jim Bollman's emphasis is -- he wants to have a great center. Doug Datish is the guy now; he's in control up there."
Replacing Mangold, a three-year starter and first-round pick by the New York Jets, Datish followed the follicle requirements, forsaking his shaved head to grow his hair long.
"I had the same haircut since I was in second or third grade, and I was sick of it," Datish said. "If Nick sold his hair, he could get lots of money for it. Mine's kind of curly, but you have to have it hang out the back of the helmet. You have to look good to play good."
Datish laughs, relaxed and ready for his new role.
"Doug is not new," quarterback Troy Smith said. "I know he'll do a great job because he's got a great mind."
The mind, the hair, the history, it all fits. Makes you think Woody would be glad he waited.
 
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When an OL's on the cover, it's gotta go into his thread, also.

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Troy Smith (center), Doug Datish and T.J. Downing form a fearsome trio for OSU.
Peter Read Miller/SI


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Published: Sunday, August 27, 2006

Doug Datish is at center of Buckeyes' attention
The lineman from Howland anchors Ohio State's offensive front.

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

Ohio State senior Doug Datish's favorite movie is "Patton." He's already earned his history degree and he's working on his master's. When he's done with football, he may even pursue a career in politics.

He loves history.

Now he's hoping to reverse it.

The Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 in the AP preseason poll for the sixth time. They've never finished in the top spot after starting that way.

"We're looking forward to the challenge," said Datish, a Howland High graduate. "At the same time, when you're at Ohio State, you already expect to win every game. Being ranked No. 1 doesn't change anything because people are already gunning for us every week."

The one thing that has changed? Datish's profile.

Cover Boy

He joined fellow lineman T.J. Downing and quarterback Troy Smith on the cover of last week's Sports Illustrated and has been interviewed extensively by media outlets in recent weeks.

"It's a cool thing for myself and my family," said Datish, the son of Mike (who played on Ohio State's 1975 Rose Bowl team) and Susan Datish. "You grow up reading Sports Illustrated and seeing the covers and to be in that group of people is just unbelievable."

When the cover came out, Datish's girlfriend, country singer Karli Whetstone, went out and bought as many copies as she could find.

"You expect to get a lot of media attention at Ohio State. That's just the way it is. It's been a little more intense for me personally, but it's a welcome intensity."

Preseason hype

Most of Ohio State's preseason hype has centered around the offense, which has standouts such as Smith, wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and running back Antonio Pittman. But you can't overlook a talented line that returns three starters (including Downing and Datish) along with several others with experience. Datish, a 6-foot-5, 290-pounder, will move from guard to center.

He was primarily a tackle last year, but will move to center this season to replace Nick Mangold, a first-round draft pick by the New York Jets in April.

He's seen time at all three positions. Which does he prefer?

"I prefer to play," he said. "I don't care where it is."

All-Ohioan

Datish, a first-team All-Ohioan as a senior at Howland, has honed his ability over the past few years under the tutelage of offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Jim Bollman.

"Basically, [he] and his coaching helped me get where I'm at today," Datish said. "He's helped me learn how to play offensive line at an elite level."

Datish makes it back to Howland as often as he can — he was the first of a bevy of recent Division I prospects at the school — and said he still uses the advice of Tigers coach Dick Angle.

"Coach Angle always told us to work hard and not let anyone else out-work you," Datish said. "I know it's a cliché, but it's true."

[email protected]
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http://www.vindy.com/content/sports/local_regional/362489859536497.php

Published: Sunday, August 27, 2006

Doug Datish: At a glance

Personal: Datish graduated last winter with a bachelor's degree in history — he had a 3.5 grade point average — and is now working on his master's degree. He said he's considering law school and a career in politics or national security. Datish, who played tackle last season, sat out spring practice while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and will play center this season for the Buckeyes.

Favorite book: "That's tough," he said. "I read a lot of books. I've got to think of something that's not too military. I guess one of my favorite books is one of the first books I read: 'Where the Red Fern Grows.' " Did he cry? "I don't remember," he said. "I might have. It's a really sad book."

Three albums in his CD player right now: "Pulse" by Pink Floyd; "George Strait's Greatest Hits"; and a CD by his girlfriend, country music singer Karli Whetstone. Whetstone, who graduated from Howland with Datish, headlined the "Party in the Park" in downtown Youngstown on Friday. They've been dating for five years.

Last meal on Earth: "A 20-ounce Filet Mignon from the Chophouse in Chicago," he said. "With a lobster tail and a sweet potato."

Biggest inspiration: "My grandmother, Barbara Prokup," he said. "She's the sweetest person in the world. It takes a lot to never say one negative thing about anybody, but that's how she is. Whenever things get down, I think of her and she inspires me."

Favorite thing to do when he's back home: "Probably just hang out with my grandparents," he said. "I don't get to see them a lot."

Joe Scalzo
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http://www.vindy.com/content/sports/local_regional/362489860067863.php
 
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