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DB Antonio "Yao" Smith (official thread)

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jwinslow;623507; said:
Buckeye Picture Archive (mostly AP):
060930_forcedfumble-vi.jpg
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Up until the moment I saw this picture, I've never felt pity for an OSU opponent. That really, really hurts....

Way to go Antonio!
 
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Smith was all over the field today. Double figures tackles, forced fumble and a sack. He reminded me of Antoine Winfield today. I'm trying, unsuccessfully, to thing of a bigger impact Buckeye walk-on. I came into the season thinking Kerr was the "feel good" story of the year but clearly, it's Smith.
 
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TexasBuck;640270; said:
Smith was all over the field today. Double figures tackles, forced fumble and a sack. He reminded me of Antoine Winfield today. I'm trying, unsuccessfully, to thing of a bigger impact Buckeye walk-on. I came into the season thinking Kerr was the "feel good" story of the year but clearly, it's Smith.
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Are you trying to think of a current big impact Buckeye walk-on, or any walk-on in Buckeye history?

Terry Glenn was a walk-on.
 
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Dispatch

Smith moves into limelight
Cornerback?s 12 tackles top solid defensive effort

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

20061022-Pc-E15-0500.jpg

Antonio Smith and Larry Grant (6) combine to stop Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis in the second half.


Up to now Antonio Smith has enjoyed quasi-anonymity in Ohio State mechanical engineering classes.
"I get ?Maurice Wells?? a lot," the fifth-year senior cornerback said, referring to his fellow dreadlock-wearing teammate. "Some people know who I am, some don?t.
"I?m not a star or anything. I?m just an average player, an average guy in mechanical engineering just trying to fulfill my responsibility the best I can."
It?s likely that many more people, at least Buckeyes fans, will know Smith now after his dynamic blitzing, 12-tackle performance in a 44-3 win over Indiana yesterday.
"I don?t know what was wrong with him today, but he was mad at somebody," linebacker James Laurinaitis said, laughing. "No, he did a great job. It shows that hard work and preparation goes into every week, and today was kind of his day to show everyone."
A starting cornerback, Smith moves to the nickel back spot when the Buckeyes use five defensive backs, and Donald Washington takes his place at corner. The Buckeyes were in that alignment most of the game.
But what set off Smith?s big day was the play calling. Defensive coordinator Jim Heacock had Smith and occasionally another defensive back blitz.
"Those plays have been in since the summer," Smith said. "Sometimes we choose to run them, and we ran a couple of them today. It was in the game plan, but it?s been in the game plan the past few weeks, too, so ? "
The defense had been building toward that, cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said.
"I think we put a lot of emphasis on becoming better in blitzing from the nickel spot," Jenkins said. "Antonio really showed up and made a lot of big hits, a lot of big tackles for losses."
Smith had a sack and three other tackles for loss among his dozen, all but one of which were solo. That the Buckeyes would use Smith in such a fashion was not a surprise to Indiana coach Terry Hoeppner, but the frequency was.
"I would guess that maybe they blitzed (from the corner) more today than they had in the past," Hoeppner said. "We had seen it, but we saw it a lot more."
Smith and Washington did more than blitz, though. They also played physical against the run. Smith one time even took on quarterback Kellen Lewis and trailing back Demetrius McCray on an option single-handedly, forcing the pitch to McCray, then making the tackle for a 4-yard loss.
"Antonio had a great day, I?d say a career day," defensive tackle Joel Penton said.
Everyone noticed.
"Antonio has always been a good player, but I think people haven?t really seen it," defensive end Jay Richardson said. "He had the opportuinity today to make some big plays, and he made all of them:"
[email protected]
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ToledoBlade

BUCKEYES NOTEBOOK
Smith hits the books as well as opponents

By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER


COLUMBUS - Although Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith is receiving plenty of props for his role in leading the Buckeyes in their quest for a national championship, another Smith on the other side of the ball may garner the most respect from his OSU teammates and coach Jim Tressel.

That is fifth-year senior cornerback Antonio Smith, whose true calling lies within the academic realm at OSU.

An engineering major from nearby Beechcroft High School in Columbus, Smith, a genuine scholar-athlete, puts his demanding course load first. He had attended Ohio State on an academic scholarship until this season, his first as a starter and on athletic aid.

MORE? Game 1: OSU 35, N. Illinois 12
? Game 2: OSU 24, Texas 7
? Game 3: OSU 37, Cincinnati 7
? Game 4: OSU 28, Penn St. 6
? Ohio St. vs. Penn St. slideshow.
? Game 5: OSU 38, Iowa 17
? Game 6: OSU 35, BGSU 7
? Game 7: OSU 38, MSU 7
? Game 8: OSU 44, Indiana 3

? More OSU stories, scheduleYesterday, the 5-9, 195-pounder - who plays much bigger than those physical dimensions - had his best game as a collegian.

Smith topped the Buckeyes with 12 tackles, including 11 solo stops. He mixed in a couple huge hits while recording a 10-yard sack of Hoosier QB Kellen Lewis, plus three other tackles for losses totaling 12 yards.

"It seemed like every time I looked up he was making a hit in the backfield," Tressel said. "He's such a smart player. He's an amazing person. I don't know how many people quite like him you get to be around in your life. Just the character and the sacrifice he makes.

"He comes dragging into the Woody Hayes
about an hour late every day and makes up the film time because he was in lab or whatever it happened to be, and he [still] knows things inside and out. He's just a special human being and you appreciate it when good things happen to good people."

TOSSIN' TEDDY: Like most supremely gifted athletes, Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr., a likely All-American selection at wide receiver, fancies himself a quarterback on occasion.

He got the chance to test his arm yesterday on a reverse pass, which went for 38 yards and a touchdown to tight end Rory Nicol 5:56 into the third quarter of OSU's comfortable win.

"It felt great," Ginn said. "It is something we have had in the playbook for a while and, when we put it in the package this week, I got really excited. When I got the ball I just wanted to throw a good ball and put it in the right spot like Troy [Smith] does."

Ginn "added" five catches for 72 yards, including a 31-yard TD catch.

"We try to come up with trick plays, and we've been practicing, and practicing, and practicing [Ginn's reverse pass play], and watching duck, after duck, after duck," Smith joked. "Today, after I carried out the fake, I turned around and saw a perfect spiral. He always said, if he got the chance, he was going to throw a touchdown."

"He campaigns all the time to throw," Tressel said of Ginn.

"He thinks he should be lined up in the gun throwing the ball."

ODDS & ENDS: Ohio State's current 15-game winning streak is the third longest in school history. The Buckeyes won 22 in row (1967-69) sandwiched around their 1968 national championship season, and 19 straight starting with their 14-0 national title run in 2002 and 8-0 start in '03. ... OSU is now 59-8-1 when ranked as the nation's No. 1 team. ... The Buckeyes are 291-68-9 when carrying a top-10 ranking.

... With the win, Ohio State holds a 65-12-5 all-time record versus Indiana, and Tressel is 6-0 against the Hoosiers. ... The Buckeyes' 540 yards of offense yesterday represented the fifth time in eight games this season they have topped 400 yards.​
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​
 
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I think I saw that yesterday he had 5 tackles for loss. That is awesome !!
(I had to listen on the radio). Some of you are right this is a great OSU story. The way this kid has progressed and grown over the years is amazing.
:osu:
 
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