OHIO STATE FOOTBALL
Second line gets firsthand lessons
Thursday, November 02, 2006 Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus -- One series each week, Ohio State hands the responsibility of protecting the most valuable player in college football to a bunch of backups.
Out come monster youngsters Alex Boone and Steve Rehring and veterans Doug Datish, T.J. Downing and Kirk Barton and in come five offensive linemen even the most diehard Buckeye fans might have trouble naming.
And there stands quarterback Troy Smith, his health in their hands. The plan was implemented the second game of the season against Texas and has continued in every game since then, other than at Iowa.
What is Jim Tressel thinking?
"It's crazy," said Jim Cordle, who shares the center spot on Ohio State's No. 2 line. "They told us the week of the Texas game, and we were like, Wow.' If that doesn't make you practice hard, nothing will."
"I thought it was nuts," said Ben Person, the right guard on the second line. "They told us we were going in the third series, and then we didn't score on the first series or second series, and I didn't really think we were going in, to be honest. I thought it was going to be one of those, you know, Forget it.' And then they put us in."
On that series against the Longhorns, filled with simpler plays and great individual efforts from Smith and receiver Anthony Gonzalez, the Buckeyes scored their first touchdown on the way to a 24-7 victory. So, offensive line coach Jim Bollman continued with the idea he first talked about with Person during his recruitment four years ago. As the offensive line coach at Virginia 15 years ago, Bollman was forced by head coach George Welsh to play his backup line, and he'd always wanted to try it at Ohio State.
"This is the first year we had this kind of depth here," Bollman said. "There are 11 guys that practice with us on the varsity field. At times we make ourselves stick them in there. Those guys are getting some valuable experience, more than you may realize."
None of them are rookies, all six backups having earned an extra year of learning by redshirting. The group includes fifth-year senior Tim Schafer at left tackle, sophomore Kyle Mitchum at left guard, either freshman Cordle or sophomore Tyler Whaley at center, sophomore Person at right guard and sophomore Jon Skinner at right tackle.
Downing and Datish will be graduating, so at least two of them will have to start next season. And Schafer, who has started at left guard this year, may have to start at left tackle against Illinois on Saturday because Boone missed practice on Tuesday and Wednesday with a knee injury.
Nothing prepares a player like the promise of action.
"At a place where the starters play the whole game, maybe the backups aren't quite as into the meetings," Whaley said. "This forces you to know what you're doing."
Said Person: "Knowing I'll get into the game, I watch more film than I would if I wasn't going to. I work harder in practice and harder in the weight room."
But is gaining experience for the backups worth the potential risk to Smith? On the backups' first play against Minnesota last week, Smith was sacked and fumbled.
"That's hard, because you want to get back out there and make up for it," Skinner said.
What if something worse than a sack and fumble had occurred?
"Certainly if he got hurt, I'm sure I'd get asked that question," Tressel said.
But the head man figures he'd be in trou ble, too, if the backups never played, an in jury happened on the line, a second-stringer went in unpre pared and Smith got slammed as a result.
"You just hope you're not at the wrong end of those discussions," Tressel said.
Also:
Receivers coach Darrell Hazell said Gonzalez, who suffered a mild concussion Saturday, is taking part only in non-contact drills in practice this week, but he will play Saturday. . . . Hazell on Ted Ginn Jr.'s continued recovery from a broken little toe: "Teddy with nine toes is better than most guys with 10."
