Ohio State guard pulling his weight
Rehring helps escort backs on sweeps
Thursday, October 11, 2007 3:53 AM
By Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Steve Rehring loves to pick on someone not his size.
As the starting left guard for Ohio State, Rehring is sometimes asked to pull outside to lead a running back or to block for a receiver screen.
It's quite a sight, watching the 6-foot-8, 329-pounder pick 'em up and put 'em down out in the flat. He sets his ample body and size 17 shoes on course for a 180-pound defensive back and hopes his aim is true.
"It's kind of fun to get out there and try to hit a corner," Rehring said. "It's a little tough. If you get them, it's fun, but they can make you look pretty bad at times."
The defenders make up for lack of size with speed. Rehring said he has never timed himself in the 40-yard dash, but he guesses he runs in the 5.2- to 5.3-second range.
Sometimes, that's not enough, such as Sept. 29 at Minnesota, when Rehring pulled to lead Ray Small on an end-around. Small practically ran up the back of Rehring's jersey before deciding not to wait on the big fella, scooting past for a 37-yard gain.
Rehring contends he was held up at the line.
"I ran into the defensive end," he said, smiling. "A 6-8 guy trying to sneak outside is not easy to do."
He can smile now, because the junior from West Chester has fought back from a weight issue that threatened to limit his playing time.
Rehring came to fall camp at 344 pounds. Coaches preferred 325. Coaches always win those arguments, so Rehring found himself rotating with Bryant Browning.
Rehring has since lost 15 pounds and is working on a streak of 16 straight starts.
