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Coldwater's Homan reaches first goal[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Sep. 3, 2006[/FONT]
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COLUMBUS — This was always the plan for Ross Homan. But for a little while it looked like the plan might be derailed.[/FONT]
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The 6-1, 237-pound Ohio State freshman linebacker got into OSU’s football opener early, hitting the field for the first time nine minutes into a 35-12 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.[/FONT]
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He finished with 2.5 tackles, including a tackle for a loss, and had the look of someone who was well-studied in his football assignments.[/FONT]
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The All-Ohio player from Coldwater passed up the final five months of high school to enroll early at Ohio State to get a head start on his college career.[/FONT]
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He impressed coaches and teammates during spring practice. Everything went according to the plan until he felt a twinge in his hamstring while running sprints on the final day of summer conditioning the first week of August.[/FONT]
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It wasn’t until last week that he got back to practicing at full strength. But once he got through practice with no problems, the plan was back on track.[/FONT]
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“There was a thought I might miss a couple games. With a hamstring it could be 100 percent one day and the next day it could be 50 percent. There was a little doubt in my mind,” Homan said. “But I came into this game knowing I was ready to play.”[/FONT]
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Playing in the opener accomplished the first goal Homan set for himself at Ohio State.[/FONT]
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“It was the No. 1 goal, to come in during the spring and work hard and get some playing time in this first game,” he said.[/FONT]
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He had no indication before the game of whether he would play on Saturday.[/FONT]
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“Coaches don’t really tell you that stuff,” Homan said. “I didn’t have a clue (before the game) when I would rotate in or if I would get any playing time at all.”[/FONT]
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His best memory, the one he will remember 10 or 20 years down the road, was “just the game atmosphere – all the fans, my teammates. I’ll never forget that,” Homan said.[/FONT]
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Notes: [/FONT] [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: Ohio State has won 40 of its last 41 non-conference games in Ohio Stadium. The only loss in that stretch was to Texas last season. Ohio State has won its last 28 home openers.[/FONT]
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BIG DAY: The 171 yards rushing by Northern Illinois tailback Garrett Wolfe was the most given up by an Ohio State defense since Penn State’s Eric McCoo ran for 211 yards in 1999.[/FONT]
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INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS: The battle between kickers Aaron Pettrey and Ryan Pretorius remains an open question.[/FONT]
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Pettrey was the first-string kicker on Saturday. His kickoffs averaged five yards per kick more than Pretorius, but each was 0 for 1 on field goals. Pettrey missed from 44 yards and Pretorius was off target on a 51-yarder.[/FONT]
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FIRST SACKS: Defensive end Vernon Gholston’s two sacks were the first of his career. Safety Brandon Mitchell and defensive end Lawrence Wilson each got their first sacks at OSU. [/FONT]