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DT Dexter Larimore (official thread)

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Speaking of Defensive Linemen

Although their game with Oregon is still more than three weeks away, the Buckeyes hit the practice field this week and they are expecting to be in excellent health come New Year?s Day. That includes junior defensive tackle Dexter Larimore.

?He?ll definitely be full strength. Just in the light couple practices we had this week, he looked good, he looked full speed and I?m excited to get him back on the field,? said senior defensive tackle Todd Denlinger, who started the last seven games of the year after Larimore went down with a leg injury against Indiana.

Larimore, who did play in the last two games of the year, but certainly not at 100 percent. And while Denlinger and freshman John Simon did a nice job filling in, the Buckeyes could not have picked a better game to have their 300-pound nose tackle back at full-strength as they face an Oregon team that ran for more than 231 yards per game this season.

?It?s big for us, being a big run stopper that he is, especially playing a big running time like Oregon. It?s going to be nice to have Dex in the middle clogging up the run,? Denlinger added.
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The-Ozone, Ohio State Football, Wrestling, Softball, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and More
 
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Merrillville's Dexter Larimore, Buckeyes hope to end bowl slump at Rose Stadium
Larimore, Buckeyes hope to end bowl slump at Rose Stadium
BY AL HAMNIK - [email protected]
Posted: Friday, January 1, 2010

50465059-ca52-5fae-8906-f9069958731c.image.jpg

Elaine Thompson | Associated Press Washington quarterback Jake Locker (10) throws a 23-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Russo, foreground, as Ohio State's Dexter Larimore applies pressure in the final moments of the first half of a game Sept. 15, 2007, in Seattle. Blocking for Washington is Ryan Tolar (65).

Admiring Ohio State football is like visiting the Vatican. You immediately want to remove your hat and genuflect.

In nine seasons, Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel boasts a 93-21 record featuring five Big Ten titles, nine bowl appearances, a 2002 national championship and Bowl Championship Series National Championship game losses in 2006 and 2007.

But instead of oohs and aahs, the Buckeyes are constantly reminded of their lopsided defeats to Florida (41-14) and LSU (38-24) in the BCS title games, followed by last season's last-minute loss to Texas (24-21) in the Fiesta Bowl.

Today, No. 7 Oregon hopes to add to the No. 8 Buckeyes' postseason grief at the Rose Bowl.

"We haven't won a bowl since I've been there, so that really hurts," said Buckeyes starting nose tackle Dexter Larimore, a Merrillville grad. "Even before the season started, we were thinking of ways we could win a bowl game instead of coming up short. We're definitely excited. Ohio State hasn't been there for a while (1996). Oregon hasn't been in it since 1995, so it'll be fun for them, too.

"We shoot for the national title every year, but if we can't get that, this is a bowl game you definitely want to be in. It's one of those true rivalry games: Pac-10 vs. Big Ten."

Ohio State's last bowl victory was a 34-20 triumph against Notre Dame at the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.

Larimore, a redshirt junior, started four of the first five games this season before being sidelined with a right knee sprain. He returned in November to become an integral part of a defense that has allowed only 11 touchdowns in the last 43 quarters and ranks among NCAA top 10 leaders in five categories including run defense (5th, 83 yards a game) and scoring defense (5th, 12 points a game).
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Merrillville's Dexter Larimore, Buckeyes hope to end bowl slump at Rose Stadium
 
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Breaking the mold
January 1, 2010
BY JOHN O'MALLEY, POST-TRIBUNE CORRESPONDENT

When Dexter Larimore wants to relax, unwind and decompress from the eons of preparation hours he puts in as a starting nose tackle for Ohio State's football team, he heads for the pottery wheel.

The pottery wheel?

fbc-larimore-0101_1_pt_feed_20100101_00_33_35_22141-268-400.imageContent

Making an impact: Merrillville graduate and Ohio State defensive lineman Dexter Larimore has 18 total tackles in eight games played this season. the associated press


Surely, the former Merrillville three-sport star athlete would rather play X-Box 360 games, take a nap, watch TV, listen to music, or maybe get caught up on some classwork.

"It's something that soothes my mind and helps me relieve stress and tension," said Larimore, who'll anchor the defensive line for the No. 8 Buckeyes (10-2) when they meet No. 7 Oregon (10-2) in the 96th Rose Bowl game today (ABC, 4:30 p.m.).

"My favorite thing to do, probably, is to throw stuff (clay) on the wheel and create something I really want like an abstract vase."

At 6-foot-3, 305 pounds, it's hard for most people to fathom Larimore as an accomplished ceramics artist. Yet, that's definitely a title he's earned.

"Dexter has never fit a mold that you'd ever think an athlete would fit," said his mom, Theresia Larimore. "It's something that's made him different and somewhat special in some ways. It's great to see him enjoying himself and getting recognized for his work."

Larimore was one of 20 NCAA athletes -- and the only football player -- to have their artistic work selected -- in his case abstract ceramics -- displayed at the NCAA Convention in Washington, D.C., last January.

"The NCAA showcase was a great honor for me, my mom, who really got me started, and my teachers," Larimore said. "It's a great thing that my stuff is being recognized. To get recognized nationally is good. It gives me even more confidence to continue to display my work."

Since being so talented and gifted in the arts isn't something you'll see every day from football players, Larimore was asked if he'd ever been teased or ridiculed for enjoying his unique hobby.

"Nobody's going to make fun of me about that kind of stuff -- at least not to my face," he laughed.

Theresia, who taught classes for a decade and also spent time working as a commercial artist, said Dexter started forming things with clay when he was 6 or 7 years old.

"I'd give him broken off pieces that were dried and he'd wet them down and make things," she said. "He'd make things like little dice, small balls, or just form figures. Then he'd run a car across what he'd made or bash it with some wrestling figures or something. But he had a lot of fun playing with it and doing it."

Larimore was later inspired by his high school art teacher, Terry Pratt.

"Dexter was a very good inspiration to all the students around him," Pratt said. "He was always willing to help other kids. He had the ability to make everyone else more focused on what they were doing.

"Dexter is very intelligent. When he was in high school, I always thought his work was at a college level."

"Mr. Pratt was one of my favorite teachers," Larimore said. "I took a class with him at least once a year -- sometimes twice."

Twice?

"Yeah, I loved art so much that I volunteered to be his teaching assistant, so I could go back to the art room to work on things, or make things," he explained.
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Breaking the mold :: Sports :: Post-Tribune
 
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Is this Big Dex's first game back from his injury? If memory serves me correct he was playing very well when he got hurt, even though his stats don't show it. When he is eating up blockers, then that frees our other players up. Hopefully he has a big impact today along with our "no name" defense.
 
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CentralMOBuck;1629766; said:
Is this Big Dex's first game back from his injury? If memory serves me correct he was playing very well when he got hurt, even though his stats don't show it. When he is eating up blockers, then that frees our other players up. Hopefully he has a big impact today along with our "no name" defense.
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No, he played at less than 100% at the end of the season. He is a difference maker at 100% though.
 
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The Forgotten Man
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS ? The 2009 Ohio State defensive line was full of big names.

Thad Gibson was the feared assassin, Doug Worthington the larger than life captain and Cam Heyward the NFL legacy. Even freshman John Simon was already being called the next big thing.

Yet the biggest guy in the group happened to have the smallest name: Dex.
Larimore.gif

Photo by Jim Davidson

At 6-foot-2 and 310 pounds, Dexter Larimore was the cog in the middle of OSU?s defense for much of last season. As the Buckeyes? starting nose tackle, his job was to clog up the line of scrimmage and free up the linebackers behind him, but it?s not just the length of his name that was overshadowed on last year?s defensive line.

A former high school state wrestling champion who sculpts in his spare time, Larimore is not short on personality, only on words.

?I think Dex has really stepped up. Dex is not much of a talker and has not been over the years, but I?m really happy with the leadership on this team,? said defensive coordinator Jim Heacock, who coaches the defensive line.
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The-Ozone, Ohio State Football, Wrestling, Softball, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and More
 
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I see Dex ALL the time in the Fisher computer labs doing his business homework. He even sat next to me one day. You really don't know how big those guys are until they are right next to you. His forearms are as thick as my quads.
 
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