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Soft stretch could expose forgotten TE
By JON SPENCER
Playing for Bowling Green, Rory Nicol would be Kellen Winslow Jr. For the Buckeyes, he's Mr. Irrelevant.
At most schools, overlooking a strapping young man with good hands like Nicol would be borderline criminal. It's excused at OSU, where the attack revolves around the sun (Troy Smith) and a galaxy of stars (Teddy, Gonzo, Tone, Beanie and Robo).
Playing tight end in Ohio State's high-octane offense elicits a "ho-hum" from the fans and, apparently, the guys drawing up the gameplans.
That makes Nicol the perfect poster boy for what on paper looks to be an insignificant six-week stretch beginning with Saturday's home game against Bowling Green.Stifling yawns until Michigan Week might be the Buckeyes' biggest challenge against opponents with a combined 14-16 record. Five of those 14 wins are against winless teams. Two are over 1-AA opponents.
"He's not taking (this stretch) lightly," Nicol said, referring, of course, to Coach Sweater Vest. "He told us we're on a mission and this Saturday is about ourselves. How much better do we need to get? He's really stressing that because, believe it or not, we have a long way to go."
Don't believe it.
In retrospect, the decision to play practically the entire traveling party at Texas really had nothing to do with the heat and humidity in Austin and everything to do with showing off Ohio State's incredible wealth of talent.
Jim Tressel's liberal substitutions have become a weekly staple. The Buckeyes are playing six receivers, three tailbacks, two front lines on offense and defense, six linebackers and six to seven defensive backs. What other team has a kicker with a 52-yard field goal to his credit sitting on its bench?
One of the players lost in the swarm of scarlet and gray humanity is Nicol. So far he's got six catches for 52 yards -- nothing to write home to Beaver, Pa. about. But, hey, at least he didn't muff a touchdown pass against the 'Horns.
Somehow, the wide receivers have even managed to upstage Nicol with their downfield blocking. Brian Hartline took out two Hawkeyes on Anthony Gonzalez's helter-skelter 30-yard TD against Iowa, and people are still talking about Ted Ginn's pancake on Antonio Pittman's 48-yard scoring run against Cincinnati.
"I think (wideouts) coach (Darrell) Hazell does a good job of making those guys pride themselves on every aspect of the game," Nicol said. "If you can't block, you're not doing much good when we're trying to run outside. He stresses it as a group, they respond well and I think they have fun doing it."
Fun for Nicol and other underexposed Buckeyes would be getting the chance these next six weeks to show why they're in Columbus and not at, say, Bowling Green.
A tedious stretch ahead? Maybe, but Nicol sees it as opportunity.
Soft stretch could expose forgotten TE
By JON SPENCER
Playing for Bowling Green, Rory Nicol would be Kellen Winslow Jr. For the Buckeyes, he's Mr. Irrelevant.
At most schools, overlooking a strapping young man with good hands like Nicol would be borderline criminal. It's excused at OSU, where the attack revolves around the sun (Troy Smith) and a galaxy of stars (Teddy, Gonzo, Tone, Beanie and Robo).
Playing tight end in Ohio State's high-octane offense elicits a "ho-hum" from the fans and, apparently, the guys drawing up the gameplans.
That makes Nicol the perfect poster boy for what on paper looks to be an insignificant six-week stretch beginning with Saturday's home game against Bowling Green.Stifling yawns until Michigan Week might be the Buckeyes' biggest challenge against opponents with a combined 14-16 record. Five of those 14 wins are against winless teams. Two are over 1-AA opponents.
"He's not taking (this stretch) lightly," Nicol said, referring, of course, to Coach Sweater Vest. "He told us we're on a mission and this Saturday is about ourselves. How much better do we need to get? He's really stressing that because, believe it or not, we have a long way to go."
Don't believe it.
In retrospect, the decision to play practically the entire traveling party at Texas really had nothing to do with the heat and humidity in Austin and everything to do with showing off Ohio State's incredible wealth of talent.
Jim Tressel's liberal substitutions have become a weekly staple. The Buckeyes are playing six receivers, three tailbacks, two front lines on offense and defense, six linebackers and six to seven defensive backs. What other team has a kicker with a 52-yard field goal to his credit sitting on its bench?
One of the players lost in the swarm of scarlet and gray humanity is Nicol. So far he's got six catches for 52 yards -- nothing to write home to Beaver, Pa. about. But, hey, at least he didn't muff a touchdown pass against the 'Horns.
Somehow, the wide receivers have even managed to upstage Nicol with their downfield blocking. Brian Hartline took out two Hawkeyes on Anthony Gonzalez's helter-skelter 30-yard TD against Iowa, and people are still talking about Ted Ginn's pancake on Antonio Pittman's 48-yard scoring run against Cincinnati.
"I think (wideouts) coach (Darrell) Hazell does a good job of making those guys pride themselves on every aspect of the game," Nicol said. "If you can't block, you're not doing much good when we're trying to run outside. He stresses it as a group, they respond well and I think they have fun doing it."
Fun for Nicol and other underexposed Buckeyes would be getting the chance these next six weeks to show why they're in Columbus and not at, say, Bowling Green.
A tedious stretch ahead? Maybe, but Nicol sees it as opportunity.
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