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K Ryan Pretorius (official thread)

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DaytonBuck

I've always liked them
Kicker battle is pretty quiet going into camp. Could he be in a 01 Nuge/Huston style rotation with Pettrey? Anyone know how Ryan ended up at Ohio State? Who is the last non US-Canadian player we had?
 
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Something we might all think about. Ryan is from Durban, a subtropical city on South Africa's east coast that is one degree closer to the equator than Austin, Texas.

Texas hot in September?

It is the equivalent of the first week of February in the northern hemisphere. This week in Durban the average high will be 79F and the average low 55F.

People in Durban deal with 80%+ humidity and temperatures near 100F throughout summer. When I lived there twenty years ago, I couldn't sleep at night it was so hot. Oh, and he will have grown up without air conditioning, which people don't like here. So, he shouldn't be overcome by heat on the night of the game.
 
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DaytonBuck said:
Kicker battle is pretty quiet going into camp. Could he be in a 01 Nuge/Huston style rotation with Pettrey? Anyone know how Ryan ended up at Ohio State? Who is the last non US-Canadian player we had?
Click to expand...

Ryan Pretorius came to the States via Europe where he was playing Rugby professionally. He came to the States to play football and was told by Gary Anderson, former NFL kicker (and friend of Ryan's wife's family) that he needed to go to college. Ryan made a kicking video and sent it to OSU. He and his wife came to visit OSU and Ryan was asked to be a recruited walk-on. After his Freshman year, Tressel placed Ryan on a full scholarship.
 
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Steve19 said:
Something we might all think about. Ryan is from Durban, a subtropical city on South Africa's east coast that is one degree closer to the equator than Austin, Texas.

Texas hot in September?

It is the equivalent of the first week of February in the northern hemisphere. This week in Durban the average high will be 79F and the average low 55F.

People in Durban deal with 80%+ humidity and temperatures near 100F throughout summer. When I lived there twenty years ago, I couldn't sleep at night it was so hot. Oh, and he will have grown up without air conditioning, which people don't like here. So, he shouldn't be overcome by heat on the night of the game.
Click to expand...

This is a little silly.
As was pointed out.
Not busting ya! :wink2:
 
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DaytonBuck said:
Who is the last non US-Canadian player we had?
Click to expand...

Ashton Youboty. He was born in Liberia but moved moved to Philadelphia when he was 4 years old. He then moved to Klein, Texas at age 8 where he went on to attended Klein High School.

Note: Since this is Ryans official page, I will note that age 27, he is the oldest of all the Buckeyes and will be 29-30 years old when he graduates...Wow! When he leaves college, he will be almost near NFL retirement age. :tongue2:
 
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Taosman said:
This is a little silly.
As was pointed out.
Not busting ya! :wink2:
Click to expand...

Actually, not so silly as you may think. Although the effects of heat and dehydration are usually discussed for their effects on stamina and muscle movement, even for kickers, extreme heat affects concentration and cognitive skills. The mechanism by which this effect works has been traced to core body temperature and to dehydration.

A typical study, this from the Journal of Athletic Training, a scholarly, peer-review journal in the field...

Zuri, RE; Cleary, MA; Lopez, RM; Jones, LC (Florida International University, Miami, FL).


Abstract

Limited research suggests that cognition may be impaired by active dehydration induced by exercise in a hot, humid environment. We used the latest technological advances in computerized neuropsychological testing to identify the effects of acute active dehydration on cognitive response times. The research design consisted of a test-retest design with one experimental group. Ten healthy male participants (25.6 ±1.6 years, 80.3 ±4.3 kg) were assessed in euhydrated and dehydrated conditions using the Headminder<SUP>™</SUP> Cognitive Stability Index® test. Participants were actively dehydrated by 3.27 ±.08% body mass loss via heat stress trial of treadmill exercise in a hot, humid environment (33.1 ±3.1°C, 55.1 ±8.9% relative humidity) followed by rest in a thermoneutral environment until core (rectal) body temperatures returned to baseline (50.2 ±17.05 min, range = 28 – 80 min). Prior to both cognitive performance tests, participants rated motivation (on a 13 cm visual analog scale) and fatigue severity (on a 9-point Likert scale). Dependent t-tests were used to identify differences between the euhydrated and dehydrated conditions on all measures. Motivation ratings were not significantly different (t<SUB>9</SUB> = 2.181, P = .057) between conditions; however, ratings did reveal a 17.86% decrease from the euhydrated (8.4 ±1.8 cm) to the dehydrated (6.9 ±2.9 cm) condition. Fatigue severity ratings were significantly (t<SUB>8</SUB> = −5.774, P = .001) increased 62.48% from the euhydrated (2.00±1.41) to the dehydrated (5.33 ±1.73) condition. Cognitive testing revealed that the composite processing speed factor raw scores were significantly (t<SUB>9</SUB> = −3.329, P = .009) decreased 8.33% in the dehydrated (2.78 ±.43) compared to the euhydrated (3.03 ±.32) condition. No other composite scores were significantly different. Of the subtests, the symbol scanning response time was significantly (t<SUB>9</SUB> = 6.692, P ≤ .001) decreased 16.16% in the dehydrated (3.16 ±.57 ms) compared to the euhydrated (3.76 ±.17 ms) condition. The response direction 1 response time was significantly (t<SUB>9</SUB> = 6.692, P ≤ .001) increased 4.59% in the dehydrated (.54 ±.01 ms) compared to the euhydrated (.51 ±.01 ms) condition. Although not significant (t<SUB>9</SUB> = 2.257, P = .051), the response direction 2 response time was decreased 5.05% in the dehydrated (.63 ±.08 ms) compared to the euhydrated (.66 ±.10 ms) condition. Other non-significant findings revealed that response speed of several subtests increased in the dehydrated condition. Our preliminary findings indicated that response speeds may be impaired when dehydrated thus potentially increasing susceptibility to injury or reducing athletic performance.
 
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A picture of Ryan checking in for training camp, from Jim Davidson at the Ozone.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width="95%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=body align=middle>
12371.jpg
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=body align=middle>Kicker Ryan Pretorius was one of the first to arrive at the team hotel.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
 
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ABJ

Ohio State report

Kicker's march to OSU unique

Ex-pro rugby player Ryan Pretorius vies to kick for Buckeyes

By Zach Silka

Beacon Journal sportswriter

<!-- begin body-content --> COLUMBUS - Ryan Pretorius might have one of the most accurate kicks on the Ohio State football team, but the redshirt sophomore's route to joining the Buckeyes is a little crooked.
A native of Durban, South Africa, Pretorius played professional rugby for five years after high school in six different countries.
That detail alone makes Pretorius a unique figure at Ohio State, but there's more to the story.
It's not every day you find a college kicker with a legendary NFL player as his mentor or who has the guts to walk into his coach's office and request one of the most hallowed numbers at his position.
Pretorius also happens to be the oldest member of the Buckeyes at 27 years old and will celebrate his three-year wedding anniversary with his wife, Amy, in December.
``It's a pretty long story,'' Pretorius said with a wry smile.
The story begins at Westville Boys High School in South Africa, where Pretorius starred in soccer and rugby, and football wasn't even an afterthought.
From there, Pretorius went on to play for rugby teams in Australia, England, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Spain.
A chronic rotator-cuff injury derailed what otherwise could have been a promising professional career, though.
``It wasn't as glamorous as everyone makes it out to be,'' Pretorius said. ``Basically, I was wet behind my ears as a young South African playing with men.''
While vacationing in France late in his rugby career, Pretorius discovered football. He got in touch with another Durban native, 24-year NFL kicker Gary Anderson, who advised Pretorius to get his start at the college level.
Pretorius then moved to Colorado, where he worked on his kicking for two years and made a video of himself to send to colleges across the nation.
At the height of his training, Pretorius could kick the ball 65 yards.
``I decided I wanted to go to a big college or nothing,'' Pretorius said, ultimately deciding on an offer to be a walk-on at Ohio State. ``I looked at the tradition of kicking here left behind by (Mike) Nugent and... decided it would be the best fit for me.''
During the offseason after his freshman year, Pretorius was called into coach Jim Tressel's office for a fateful conversation.
``He said, `Pretor, we're changing your number,' '' Pretorius said. ``I said, `Oh really?' He said, `What number do you think you're wearing?' I said I would have guessed the old number, and he started laughing.
``He said, `No.' I said, `No. 1 because of Gary Anderson?' He said, `No, 85.' ''
Nugent is known as one of the greatest kickers in Ohio State history, with 22 school records, and earned the Lou Groza Award in 2004 as the nation's best college kicker.
``Hopefully, I can keep the tradition of the number,'' Pretorius said.
Before that, Pretorius must win the kicking job from his competitor, redshirt freshman Aaron Pettrey.
So far during training camp, though, signs point to Pretorious becoming the Buckeyes' kicker with Pettrey handling kickoff duties. In the Buckeyes' latest depth chart, both were listed as No. 1 at those respective positions.
The final test for both will be Ohio State's annual kick scrimmage today.
``I thought both had good springs,'' Tressel said. ``Now, when it gets closer and closer to 100,000 people being there, as opposed to 70,000 that were there for the spring game, we'll see. I thought they held their own, but it's going to be a good battle.''
Although he worked with Nugent for only one season, Pretorius is confident he can topple the bar of excellence Nugent established in his illustrious career with the Buckeyes.
``I want to have a career on par with Nugent's, if not push myself a little bit better,'' Pretorius said. ``I know I can do anything inside my own heart, and I expect myself to do that.''
For now, Pretorius is just enjoying a life he thought he'd never have a chance to experience.
``There's nothing like college life,'' Pretorius said. ``Honestly, high school I thought were the best years of my life, and college is just the cherry on the top.''
 
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Being a rugby coach and having met Ryan I actually felt bad when I heard them replay this conversation...this doesn't do it justice.

In defense of Pretorius

Pretorius seems to have many fans in his corner, but none more so than his wife. Yesterday afternoon, when WBNS radio talk show host Bruce Hooley invited listeners to offer questions they would have posed to Tressel at his media luncheon, she called in. At first she identified herself as "Molly" and said she would ask what Ryan Pretorius did that kept him from winning the job.

She came clean, though, saying her husband "is actually handling (being named No. 2) much better than I am. … He is working his butt off. He is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met. And he really, really deserves to show what he’s done."
Click to expand...
 
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