Like a lot of kids, Josh Huston came to Ohio State with high hopes and a plan. One of the top kicking recruits around, he was going to be the Buckeyes' star kicker.
Six years, a lot of setbacks and innumerable detours later, he's right on track.
"When I had those injuries, I was like, 'Oh, no. Not again!' But now I look at it and it's all worked out well," said Huston, in the middle of preseason workouts with the Buckeyes. "Of course, I would like to have played for four years, but two's going to have to be enough for me."
Huston is 231/2 years old and said he feels twice that age as he looks at the freshmen run through their paces in anticipation of another season.
In some ways, however, he shares their anxiety as they get ready for the Sept. 3 opener.
"There's more excitement," he said, asked to compare this season with the five seasons he's already worn an Ohio State uniform. "I'm ready for that Miami (Ohio) game. I go to bed at night just ready to get going. (Preseason) camp's going to take forever."
Huston, an All-Ohio kicker at Findlay High School (where he was a teammate of Pittsburgh Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger), came to Ohio State in 2000. After a redshirt year, he shared the job with true freshman Mike Nugent at the start of 2001. Nugent was considered the long-range kicker, Huston the more dependable kicker from inside 40 yards.
But Huston connected on just 3-of-10 field-goal attempts. Nugent wasn't much better, hitting 7-of-14 as the Buckeyes stumbled to a 7-5 record -- and one of the reasons was their erratic kickers.
"When I got out there my freshman year, I was saying, 'Oh, crap! If I don't make this, it's not my job anymore.' I had the wrong mental thought going out there," Huston said.
The contest between the two officially ended the next August. Huston had a hip injury, and Nugent was on his way to becoming a folk hero in Ohio. All Nugent did was become a first-team All-American, converting 25-of-28 field goals, setting Ohio State kicking records for points (120), field goals and consecutive field goals made (24).
Over the next two years, Huston stepped on the field just twice while "Nooge" -- as the fans now shouted in unison each game -- continued to add to his legendary career.
Huston, awarded a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA because of his nagging hip injury, is not bitter or angry because he had to wait so long to finally become the Buckeyes' top kicker.
"You know what? I learned a lot," he said. "Mike was a very good guy and very concerned about his style and what he does to get prepared for a game. So I picked his brain. I got to learn from the best. Hopefully it shows this year."
Coach Jim Tressel says he is concerned about the kicking game because the long snapper, holder and kicker all graduated. But he has faith in his elder statesman doing the kicking.
"Well, those are big shoes to fill," Tressel said. "(Josh) is anxious to show that he's up to the challenge. Obviously, I can't answer what the results will be. But he's got as much leg as Mike Nugent and is as accurate as Mike Nugent. Will he have the consistency? That's what Josh has got to try to prove."
Huston is out to enjoy his long-awaited moment in the spotlight.
"Now it's just have fun, do what you know how to do and get it through" the uprights, Huston said. "That's what Mike got to do for his four years. He got past the first year and then he was a beast. Hopefully I'll have a good year and we get 'em all through."
