RECRUITING WATCH
Buckeyes mine loads of talent from Cleveland
Saturday, September 19, 2009
By BY TIM MAY
Not only will the atmosphere for Toledo's "home" game with Ohio State today in Cleveland Browns Stadium likely have a decided scarlet-and-gray hue, it will be a homecoming of sorts for roughly one-fifth of the Ohio State roster.
Under coach Jim Tressel, in his ninth season, the Cleveland area has become a pipeline for talent. Fifteen current scholarship Buckeyes hail from high schools within 40 miles of Cleveland Browns Stadium, including seven from Cleveland Glenville, just east of downtown.
"Having them play a game up here, that's a special moment, and I have been talking with some of the kids about us all trying to go together, as many of us as we can," Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr. said. "We've got players on both teams, a quarterback playing for Toledo (freshman reserve Terrance Owens), and of course my other kids who are playing for Ohio State."
And, of course, there are his "other kids" who used to play for the Buckeyes, including his son, Ted Ginn Jr., now a receiver with the Miami Dolphins, and quarterback Troy Smith, who in 2006 became the sixth Ohio State player to win the Heisman Trophy. Those are some of the reasons why his school has gained the nickname "The Glenville Pipeline" to OSU.
"I feel like we have contributed over the years, and that was a goal, to be part of Ohio State and the state of Ohio," Ginn Sr. said. "I always tell my kids, 'Put your name on something.' You want to be known for that."
