July 23, 2004
Ginn Ready To Roll Come Aug. 9
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Chris Nida
BuckeyeSports.com Staff Writer
Several months ago, it was believed that at this point of the summer former Cleveland Glenville standout Ted Ginn Jr. would be training for a potential spot on the U.S. Olympic track team.
Ginn decided to forgo that dream for the time being. A sprinting and hurdles standout who was rated the nation’s No. 2 prep football player in the class of 2004 and the top cornerback nationally last year, Ginn opted to stick with the gridiron for now, and he hasn’t looked back so far.
Rivals.com
Ted Ginn Jr. will line up on both offense and defense for the Ohio team Saturday night in the Big 33 Football Classic.
“I’m pretty focused on football,” Ginn told BuckeyeSports.com while in Hershey, Pa., preparing for the Big 33 Football Classic with his Ohio teammates.
He’s been focused on football for quite a while now. Prior to heading to Hershey, Ginn spent approximately three weeks in Ohio with his future teammates, working out and participating in 7-on-7 drills.
“It was cool,” Ginn said. “I had fun. It was a great experience to see who I would be going up against. I just tried to have fun.”
Ginn may have been underplaying his experiences in Columbus just a bit. These July practices are run strictly by the players, and his more experienced teammates had no problem throwing Ginn directly in with the first-stringers.
“I was hanging in okay,” he said. “They were subbing and putting me in with the first team, just putting me in there and having fun.”
It is believed that Ginn will eventually play on both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes. Doing that as a true freshman might be difficult, even for a presumed future superstar such as Ginn, but his experience at both wide receiver and defensive back gives him a good perspective on who he thought the 7-on-7 standouts were on both sides of the ball.
On offense, Ginn singled out former Glenville teammate Troy Smith and receivers Santonio Holmes and Bam Childress. Defensively, Ginn liked what he saw out of cornerbacks E.J. Underwood and Dustin Fox and another former Tarblooder, safety Donte Whitner.
After the Big 33, Ginn will return to his Cleveland home for a quick breather until it’s time report on Aug. 9, but he’ll hopefully get one last chance to shine all over the field at the high school level tomorrow in the Big 33.
“I’m going to play on both sides of the ball,” he said. “I’m having fun, just learning the system we have for this week and just playing.”
