Articles in Dispatch about Frosh
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Trio gets chance to play as freshmen
Redshirt seasons fast becoming thing of past
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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</td></tr> <tr><td class="credit" width="200"> FRED SQUILLANTE | DISPATCH </td></tr> <tr><td class="cutline" width="200">OSU fullback Dionte Johnson (49) saw his first playing time Saturday against Indiana. </td></tr> <tr><td align="center">
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Don’t punch the fire alarm. That smoke coming from the Ohio State football team is rising from the pyre of freshman redshirts.
Three more — those of offensive tackle Steve Rehring, fullback Dionte Johnson and linebacker Chad Hoobler — were tossed on the pile Saturday during the win over Indiana. That makes 11 members of the 2004 recruiting class who have seen action, compared with a mere five a year ago.
It’s obvious that with the team at 4-3 overall, and having just snapped a 0-3 start in the Big Ten, the OSU coaching staff has determined that the future is now. This week, the two-deep roster shows nine first-year players, including Antonio Pittman, who yesterday was listed No. 1 at tailback, ahead of senior Maurice Hall.
When senior tailback and co-captain Lydell Ross was suspended from the team Friday for using a fake currency at a local strip club, Pittman became the main man in the backfield. He responded by gaining 144 yards and scoring a touchdown in the 30-7 win.
But Pittman had proved himself capable of contributing before the season, as had fellow freshmen Ted Ginn Jr. (receiver) and Marcus Freeman (linebacker). Conversely, Rehring, Johnson and Hoobler seemed destined for a redshirt year — seeing no playing time and still having four more seasons of eligibility.
Now, make that three.
"It’s a big factor in a lot of those guys’ lives now to know they have to come in and fight harder and prepare a lot better than even what they were doing before," said sophomore receiver Santonio Holmes, who was redshirted in 2002. "Their mind-set is going to be a lot different.
"I know when I redshirted, I really didn’t focus on a lot of the things. I learned my plays, but it didn’t really matter to me until I was coming into that next season knowing I was going to get a lot of playing time."
Hoobler, listed as the backup to middle linebacker Anthony Schlegel, didn’t expect to play, considering veterans Mike D’Andrea and Schlegel were ahead of him. Then D’Andrea suffered a season-ending knee injury three weeks ago.
"I now have to step it up a little bit in everything that I do," Hoobler said. "I used to be like on the back burner, but now I’m up there."
Like Pittman and Freeman, Rehring left high school early so he could go through spring drills in April. But Rehring didn’t benefit from someone else’s fall. At 6 feet 8, 320 pounds, he just made his presence known.
"You go to practice every day with a positive attitude, and good things will happen for you," Rehring said. "Coach Tressel told me I was going to play, and I was just happy as can be."
Tressel said if a freshman proves he can help, he has a good chance of getting that call.
"What we’ve always said to people about redshirting from day one is you’re redshirted on a daily basis," Tressel said. "What the team needs is what you need to do."
Johnson had found a satisfying support role even before he found out he might play.
"The last couple of weeks had been great because we’ve got a scout team, the Marauders, and we’ve been playing against our No. 1 defense in practice, which we feel like is the best defense in the country," Johnson said.
He was making do, just as his father, former Ohio State captain and All-American linebacker Pepper Johnson, had suggested.
"He told me never to stop working, that just because I was redshirting, don’t use it as an excuse to take a year off and get lackadaisical," Dionte Johnson said.
With Stan White Jr. out with a recurring stinger injury, Branden Joe still not 100 percent after suffering a high-ankle sprain in preseason camp and Brandon Schnittker having to leave the Indiana game with a leg bruise, Johnson got the call. Holmes wasn’t surprised that Johnson was able to answer.
"A lot of those young guys, they have practiced their butt off," Holmes said. "They’ve gotten into the weight room, they’ve studied their plays, and they are ready to give it all they’ve got. It was just waiting for an opportunity from the coaches."
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OSU freshmen into the fray
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
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The
11 freshmen from Ohio State’s 22-player 2004 recruiting class who have played this season:
Marcus Freeman — Secondteam outside linebacker, special teams
Vernon Gholston — Secondteam defensive end
Ted Ginn Jr . — Second-team receiver, punt returner
Chad Hoobler — Second-team middle linebacker
Dionte Johnson — Secondteam fullback
Devon Lyons — Second-team receiver, special teams
Rory Nicol — Second-team tight end
Antonio Pittman — First-team tailback
Steve Rehring — Second-team left tackle
Curtis Terry — Reserve defensive end, special teams
Sirjo Welch — Special teams