A redshirt or a green light?
Playing freshmen tough choice for OSU
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- Receiver Ray Small was stumbling along in preseason practice, slow to catch on to the plays. He was certain he'd be spending his freshman season at Ohio State redshirting, sitting out the year to learn and grow and prepare himself for the four years of eligibility he'd have starting in 2007.
Then he made a play.
"One day I had that one catch in practice and I took it the distance, and they were like, Wow, I didn't know he could do that,' " Small said. "And since then I've been rotating in."
Small's not a starter -- far from it. In fact, no true freshmen are starting for Ohio State as the 7-0 Buckeyes prepare to host Indiana today. But seven of them are playing, all having found their niches on the nation's No. 1 team. From a short-yardage running back (Chris Wells) to a second tight end (Jake Ballard), from a late-game sack master (Robert Rose) to field-goal-blocking expert (Kurt Coleman), any one of them could make the one play that keeps the Buckeyes on track for a national title.
"Our goal is to win a national championship now, not next year," said cornerbacks coach Tim Beckman, who's been working Coleman into the secondary. "If they can help us be a better football team, we're going to get them on the field."
At the same time, head coach Jim Tressel has made much of the leadership that Ohio State's 14 fifth-year seniors have offered the team. You don't become a fifth-year senior without redshirting. So Tressel shoots for a 50-50 balance in each recruiting class between those who play and those who sit.
But his perfect world would include a proposal pushed by some coaches to give all players five years of eligibility and eliminate redshirting.
"Sometimes when you redshirt, there's a natural level of, I'm not playing, I can maybe not compete as much, what's the use, I'll wait until the spring,' " Tressel said. "I think it creeps into their academic habits and their social habits and it becomes a kickback year."
So it might pay to get a player on the field, even in small doses -- especially those freshmen with the most pro potential. A player like receiver Santonio Holmes redshirted as a freshman in 2002, but then gave up his final year of eligibility to enter the NFL draft after last season. A redshirt year could be pointless, which might be why a super recruit like Rose, who's earned praise since he hit campus, is playing in blowouts though the Buckeyes are deep at defensive end.
Other players, especially at running back, receiver and defensive back, can fill needs quickly, even if they don't know fully what they're doing.
"It's really hard to play as a freshman," Wells said. "Just dealing with the plays and where to be at certain times on the field. I know there are a lot of things I can improve on that would make me a lot more comfortable, like knowing what to do at all times on the field. Sometimes I'm hesitant to do certain things."
But at 6-1 and 225 pounds, he has enough skill and size to serve as the Buckeyes' go-to guy on third-and-1.
"Anyway I can help the team, I'm willing to do it," Wells said. "I didn't think I was going to redshirt. I knew I was going to come in here and work hard to play."
Other players, though, admit sitting out was best for them.
"Coming in through all that high school recruiting, you kind of develop that ego," said receiver Brian Hartline, who sat out last season and is playing as a redshirt freshman. "You want to remain in the spotlight. I felt I could play if I just learned what I've got to do. I got really frustrated. But looking back, it was the best thing for me."
Tressel said he's terrible at predicting which freshmen will play and which will redshirt. Malcolm Jenkins, far from the mostly highly recruited player in his class, ended up starting some games as cornerback as a true freshman last season. The guys who do get in might not be stars immediately, but they're out there for a reason.
"We all take pride in it," Wells said. "We talk about it all the time, how excited we are just to be on the field."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
[email protected], 216-999-4479
