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QB Troy Smith (2006 Heisman Trophy Winner)

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[FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Ohio State?s Smith fits the mold set by Texas? Young in 2005[/FONT]
Thursday, September 7, 2006 [FONT=Verdana,Times New Roman,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]By Todd Porter REPOSITORY SPORTS WRITER [/FONT]

COLUMBUS When the final pass is completed Saturday night in the Texas heat, Troy Smith doesn?t care if he?s the lone star standing. All the Ohio State quarterback wants to be judged on is winning.
That, Smith said, should be where the comparisons between himself and former Texas quarterback Vince Young start and end. Some of the hype leading up to the nationally televised game with No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas centers around Smith and whether he can lead his team past a vaunted defense ? as Young did last year at Ohio Stadium.
The quarterbacks are compared because both are tough, have a strong arm and could beat a team with his legs. Both also wear No. 10.
?I don?t see similarities,? Smith said. ?He?s 6-foot-6; I?m 6-1. I am myself. He?s a great guy, but I play for a totally different team. I?m my own man, and he?s his own man.?
Smith endears himself to OSU fans for two reasons: He is electrifying, and there is a hint in his tone that he isn?t much for fraternizing with the enemy. Smith spoke with Young a couple of times after last year?s Texas game.
?He had his season that he?s getting ready for, and so did I,? Smith said. ?That?s where we kept it.?
Young almost single-handedly led the Longhorns to a national title. He took his game to a higher level in crunch time. He did it against Ohio State. He did it against USC.
Smith has done it, too ? against Michigan twice, and Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The Glenville High School graduate didn?t really get the opportunity against Texas last year. He was coming off a two-game suspension and rotated with Justin Zwick.
Texas Coach Mack Brown said the comparisons between Smith and Young are valid.
?I watched Troy against Notre Dame two nights before we played (USC in the Rose Bowl), and he was amazing,? Brown said. ? ... The difference is confidence.
?Troy is as good a quarterback as there is in the country. Our two quarterbacks have very limited experience, and we can?t change that between now and Saturday. Troy ... is going to make his plays. We just hope we make as many as they do.?
Since last season?s Texas game, Smith has become one of the country?s best two-way threats. In last week?s opener, Smith ran just once. Instead, he stayed in the pocket. He threw long for Ted Ginn Jr. He threw short. He threw the long out route.
?(Smith and Young) both seem to have a sense about them that they?re in charge, they have command,? Ohio State Head Coach Jim Tressel said. ?They both have that ability to beat you run and pass. ... The most important similarity to a team is the one they both have, and that?s command.?
It didn?t take long for Smith?s offseason film study to become evident. On OSU?s first offensive play, Northern Illinois rolled its coverage away from slot receiver Brian Hartline in a four wide receiver set. The presnap read indicated Hartline would be open, although he was at best the third option.
Smith threw for Hartline right away, and the Buckeyes had a 31-yard gain.
?I wouldn?t say I?m that much better (than a year ago),? Smith said. ?I would say I?m more comfortable in the scheme. I think from the first days of game planning, there is more of a comfortable feeling. Once you start to get comfortable ... you assess everything you do in different ways.?
Smith said this game is similar to the Michigan game in terms of importance, build-up and passion.
?What I envision Saturday night are diehard fans who are wearing their colors,? Smith said. ?I envision a bunch of people who won?t like us, people who are not going to welcome us. When we get first downs, there?s not going to be a crowd roaring for us. ... I?m very confidence in the guys I line up in the huddle with. I know we will get the job done.?
 
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Sportsline also picks Troy smith as the leader
http://www.sportsline.com/collegefootball/heisman

CBS SportsLine.com's Experts
J. Darin Darst
Producer
Dennis Dodd
Senior Writer
Brian Hardy
CSTV.com
heis1.jpg

Overall
Consensus 1. T. Smith
Ohio St. QB1. T. Smith
Ohio St. QB1. T. Smith
Ohio St. QB1. T. Smith
(30 points)2. S. Slaton
W. Virginia RB2. J.D. Booty
USC QB2. K. Irons
Auburn RB2. S. Slaton
(11 points)3. B. Quinn
N. Dame QB3. T. Ginn
Ohio St. WR3. B. Quinn
N. Dame QB3. B. Quinn
(11 points)4. A. Peterson
Oklahoma RB4. S. Slaton
W. Virginia RB4. A. Peterson
Oklahoma RB4. K. Irons
(8 points)5. K. Irons
Auburn RB5. B. Quinn
N. Dame QB5. S. Slaton
W. Virginia RB5. J.D. Booty
(7 points)Others receiving votes: Peterson (6 pts), Ginn (5 pts). Totals are based on 10-7-5-3-1 voting structures.

:osu:
 
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DDN

OSU's Smith plays like former Texas star Young


By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Friday, September 08, 2006

COLUMBUS ? The University of Texas football team may not be able to concoct a plan that's sure to corral Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith, but it probably could throw out a few ideas just by watching last year's game films.
Longhorn quarterback Vince Young continually left foes feeling as helpless as lab rats, beating them either with his gifted legs or underrated arm on his way to a national title.
While the 6-foot-1, 215-pound Smith is four inches shorter and 13 pounds lighter than Young, the similarities are striking.
"He's the same guy. One's taller, that's about it," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "Both can make plays with their feet and are very accurate throwing the ball. Vince is going to make $50 million (as a pro) with Tennessee, and Troy's going to sign a similar contract at this time next year."
Smith still has some work to do before he can start thinking about NFL riches, but he displayed a rare ability to take over games while leading the Buckeyes to wins in their final seven outings last year.
He amassed a combined 642 yards passing and 103 rushing in victories over Michigan and Notre Dame. His career completion percentage of 61.2 is the best in school history, and he finished fourth nationally last season in passing efficiency, one spot behind Young.
But what worries Brown most is what happens when Buckeye receivers are smothered and the pocket is imploding.
"He's so strong in his legs that you can have him sacked, but he can still come out and make a big play," Brown said.
Young galloped to 1,050 rushing yards last year ? 439 more than Smith ? but the Maxwell Award-winner played in two more games and had just one more touchdown on the ground. And while Young will go down as one of the most lethal dual threats in college football history, OSU quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels believes Smith belongs in that class.
"I don't know speed-wise where they rank, but I know Troy has that kind of quickness and body control and athletic ability," Daniels said. "And I know he can throw the ball very well."
Each also has an abundance of another valuable commodity: unflagging competitiveness.
"You can talk about qualities quarterbacks need to possess, and I'm not sure I wouldn't put that at the top of the list," Daniels said. "With Troy, every aspect of practice is even a competition. When we go against the defense, whether for a five- or 10-minute period or a full scrimmage, that's the same as the Super Bowl or the Michigan game to him."
But Smith's career arc ? from a lightly regarded prospect out of Cleveland to Heisman Trophy front-runner ? hasn't exactly resembled a space-shuttle takeoff. There was a disorderly conduct arrest in 2003, an ill-advised outburst to the media about his second-string status in 2004 and a two-game suspension later that season for taking a $500 handout from a booster. But evidence of Smith's newfound maturity can be found in his having been voted captain by his teammates, his dogged commitment to film study and even in his view of those self-inflicted hard knocks.
Smith said he wouldn't change a thing.
"In the world, a lot of things don't go right all the time," he said. "You need to have some ups and some downs to level everything out. And I wouldn't be the guy I am or the quarterback I am without those things."


DDN



In Troy they trust: Bucks are Smith's team now

Quarterback started last season's Texas game on the bench, but has emerged as Ohio State's team leader.


By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Friday, September 08, 2006

COLUMBUS ? Ohio State made a confounding five quarterback switches in its 25-22 loss to Texas last year, starting with Justin Zwick and eventually ending with Troy Smith.
And while the argument could be made that instability at the position cost the Buckeyes a victory ? and perhaps ultimately the national title ? Smith doesn't see it that way.
"It was a team game all the way around," he said. "When Justin got in there, people forget that the pass that was bobbled in the end zone was the pass he threw. If we catch that pass, the game was over."
With about five minutes left in the third quarter and the Buckeyes leading, 16-13, Zwick threw a 5-yard lob that Ryan Hamby muffed twice before being clobbered by safety Cedric Griffin. OSU settled for a short field goal and never could give its staunch defense the two-possession lead it needed to put away the decision.
But Smith won't have to peek through the ear hole of his helmet for a possible sub Saturday at Texas. He's firmly established as the starter and has become the unquestioned team leader.
With still almost a full season ahead of him, Smith already has earned a place in Buckeye lore for his starring role in a pair of Michigan wins. And receiver Anthony Gonzalez, for one, is enjoying the ride.
"I have a feeling that, 25 years from now, people will say, 'You played with Troy Smith, didn't you?' " Gonzalez said. "In my opinion, he'll go down as the best quarterback in Ohio State history."


DDN

Quarterback Smith in control of Buckeyes

Troy Smith has become the unquestioned leader of the Ohio State football team.


By Doug Harris
Staff Writer

Friday, September 08, 2006

COLUMBUS — Ohio State made a confounding five quarterback switches in its 25-22 loss to Texas last year, starting with Justin Zwick and eventually ending with Troy Smith.
And while the argument could be made that instability at the position cost the Buckeyes a victory — and perhaps ultimately the national title — Smith doesn't see it that way.
"It was a team game all the way around," he said. "When Justin got in there, people forget that the pass that was bobbled in the end zone was the pass he threw. If we catch that pass, the game was over."
With about five minutes left in the third quarter and the Buckeyes leading, 16-13, Zwick threw a 5-yard lob that Ryan Hamby muffed twice before being clobbered by safety Cedric Griffin. OSU settled for a short field goal and never could give its staunch defense the two-possession lead it needed to put away the decision.
But Smith won't have to peek through the earhole of his helmet for a possible sub Saturday at Texas. He's firmly established as the starter and has become the unquestioned team leader.
With still almost a full season ahead of him, Smith already has earned a place in Buckeye lore for his starring role in a pair of Michigan wins. And receiver Anthony Gonzalez, for one, is enjoying the ride.
"I have a feeling that, 25 years from now, people will say, 'You played with Troy Smith, didn't you?' " Gonzalez said. "In my opinion, he'll go down as the best quarterback in Ohio State history."
 
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL NO 1 OHIO STATE AT NO 2 TEXAS
Football his lone focus

Off-field troubles light fire under Buckeyes' dynamic Heisman candidate Smith

By Teddy Greenstein
Tribune college football reporter
Published September 8, 2006

He watched the 2004 Alamo Bowl on TV, like some average Ohio State fan.

While his teammates celebrated a 33-7 victory over Oklahoma State, Troy Smith was in the basement of Ted Ginn Sr.'s Cleveland home about 1,500 miles away.

"I had to sit there and swallow it," Smith recalled.

Ginn Sr., who coached both his son and Smith at Glenville High School, keeps memorabilia in his basement. It's a shrine to a program that has produced recent Division I-A talents such as Smith, Ginn, former Michigan linebacker Pierre Woods and Donte Whitner, an All-America safety for the 2005 Buckeyes.

"Looking around and seeing what we've all done," Smith said, "I really got it in my head that there would not be a situation like this again."

Smith had created the situation because he took $500 from a booster. His two-game suspension cost him a trip to the Alamo Bowl, an appearance in last season's opener against Miami of Ohio and a starting job the next week against Texas.

It was in that game, against the Longhorns, when Ohio State's coaching staff turned to quarterback Justin Zwick to lead the team in the final two minutes. With Smith watching from the sidelines, Zwick fumbled on the first play of the penultimate drive, allowing Texas to eke out a 25-22 victory.

Now that he's the rock-solid starter and a Heisman Trophy candidate, Smith has been asked several times this week how he felt when Zwick trotted out on the field last year.

Each time Smith has answered with great maturity, insisting Zwick shouldn't shoulder an ounce of the blame. If Ryan Hamby had caught Zwick's 8-yard pass in the end zone late in the third quarter, he noted, the Buckeyes would have taken a 10-point lead. Instead they had to settle for a field goal.

"Some people don't give Justin enough credit," Smith said. "If our tight end catches that ball . . . the game is won."

Smith's life, just like his answers, can be unpredictable.

Asked if Saturday's game at Texas--college football's first No. 1 vs. No. 2 regular-season matchup since 1996--will be the biggest of his life, Smith replied: "I can't say that. Because if we beat Texas and lose the week after, then how big really was the Texas game?"

Smith's journey to stardom was anything but conventional or easy. He transferred to Glenville High only after getting kicked off St. Edward's basketball team for elbowing an opponent in the head. He chose Ohio State even though Zwick, also a fifth-year senior, was a far more decorated recruit with better size and a seemingly better pedigree (his brother, Jared, has played for Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel when Tressel was at Youngstown State).

The 6-foot-1-inch, 215-pound Smith didn't even take practice reps at quarterback his first fall.

"We told him: We have a guy (Zwick) we committed to early, and we have other guys who need to get ready," Tressel recalled. "We said: You'll have to wait till the spring to show us what kind of quarterback you are. His thing was: Whatever the team needs. That told me all I needed to know about him as a person."

That sounds nice, but Smith would continue to challenge Tressel in his early years on campus.

In 2003, he was found guilty of disorderly conduct after an off-campus fight. The next season Smith complained about his role, saying: "I'm not going to sit here and say everything is peaches and cream and that I have no feelings, because this is my life. . . . I'm not going to say they're playing with my life, but it's sort of like they have puppet strings with it."

Then came the booster incident, when Smith committed an NCAA violation when he accepted $500 from Robert Q. Baker for work he didn't perform at Baker's Columbus, Ohio, health-care company.

Ginn Sr. said in a telephone interview he had warned Smith repeatedly about boosters.

Of Smith, he said: "He has tested my heart and he has broken my heart. But you always kept the faith that he would understand."

Tressel and his staff, meanwhile, never were tempted to give up on Smith.

"We're a pretty patient bunch," he said. " I can never picture a time where anyone on our staff said: Hey, that guy can't win for us."

Smith's breakthrough game came against Michigan in 2004, when he produced 386 yards of offense in a 37-21 upset. A year later he stamped himself as a big-game player by throwing for 300 yards in a 25-21 comeback victory over Michigan and 342 in a Fiesta Bowl dismantling of Notre Dame.

Asked why he excels in big games, Smith replied: "I think about how lucky and fortunate I am to be in that situation. Just being humble the whole way around helps me."

What also helps is how Smith now spends his free time.

"The film room has become a second home to me," he said. "Any time you get an opponent coming up, you study, study, study, study, study. I'm probably in there 10-12 hours a week during the season."

Smith became a film buff over the summer. He was so relentless, he barely let offensive coordinator Jim Bollman rest after undergoing a bypass on three clogged arteries in May.

"Troy gave him a couple of days, I think, to get on his feet," Tressel said. "We sent Jim a video setup at home so he could use that time well. Troy heard about that and he went and knocked on the door and told coach Bollman he wasn't letting him off the hook."

Smith's dedication also has brought him closer to Tressel, and the two appear to have a trusting, jovial relationship.

Tressel joked after Ohio State's season-opening victory over Northern Illinois that Smith, on the only designed run called for him, "looked like me running out there."

Tressel, who played quarterback at Division III Baldwin-Wallace, clarified that Tuesday: "I saw it on film. He looked worse than me."

Smith said he never saw any film of Tressel running, but he believes his coach could move.

"Small guys," he reasoned, "have a low center of gravity."
 
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Ohio State's Smith in different position

Quarterback to play much bigger role vs. Texas this season
By Christian Ewell
Sun reporter
Originally published September 8, 2006





Beyond offering a defense of his current backup, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith considers his team's 2005 home loss to Texas a matter best left alone.

After all, tomorrow night's showdown between college football's top-ranked teams isn't in Columbus; it's in Austin. If Vince Young is in attendance, he won't be in pads, nor will A.J. Hawk, Bobby Carpenter or Anthony Schlegel, a trio of star linebackers from last year's Buckeyes defense. On the other hand, chances are that Smith will play a major role in his top-ranked team's fate, a change from the last meeting with the Longhorns, now ranked No. 2.
"What happened is what happened," Smith said in a teleconference earlier this week. "Everything happens for a reason."
To be specific, Smith violated NCAA rules by taking money from a booster, leading to a suspension for last year's season opener. That led to a quarterback rotation with Justin Zwick in the second game, against Texas in a battle of top 10 teams - an arrangement that left Smith on the sideline during the team's final drive.
If the senior from Cleveland believes that his presence on the field would have stopped Texas' eventual drive to a national title, he's not letting on.
"That was part of the game plan, and hopefully we would have been able to perform it to the best of our abilities," Smith said. "But people forget that it was a pass that Justin threw to one of the tight ends [Ryan Hamby], and the tight end didn't bring the pass in. If he pulls that in, it's a different ballgame."
Then again, perhaps Zwick and Smith would have shared the quarterback job for the rest of the season if Hamby had caught the ball. Instead, Smith took over, progressing from a strong finish in his sophomore season to a 2005 campaign that ended with him running a clinic on Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl - accounting for 408 of Ohio State's 617 yards of total offense.
With Smith behind center, the team's offense went from being an average operation to something un-Buckeyelike, averaging 38.2 points over the final seven games of the season.
So the normally defense-minded Ohio State will need the offense to carry most of the burden against opponents like Texas, because nine starters are gone from last year's defense.
But as Longhorns coach Mack Brown told The Dallas Morning News: "At Ohio State, they don't lose people, they just replace people. They reload just like we do, and they've got great players on defense."
Of course, Texas has its own issues to deal with on defense. Starting cornerback Tarell Brown is out for tomorrow's game after an arrest this week on drug and weapon charges.
 
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Ohio State's version of Vince

Quarterback Smith, once suspended, now leads by example.

By John Maher
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, September 08, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Not all of the Ohio State players are relishing the prospect of facing green Texas quarterback Colt McCoy on Saturday night.
"I wish Vince was still there so it could be an all-out battle," said Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith.

With his speedy running, accurate arm and uplifting presence on the football field, Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith has drawn comparisons to former Longhorns counterpart Vince Young. The Buckeyes' team captain hopes to make the most of his starting role in his senior season.


Although that sounds like something VY himself might say, Smith isn't a fan of comparisons between him and the former Longhorn star. Asked if there were any similarities Smith said, "He's a great guy, but I play for a totally different team. I'm my own man."
Like Young, however, the Ohio State players and coaches consider Smith "The Man," the kind of player who can make plays with his arm, his feet or his sheer will to win.
"I wouldn't trade Troy Smith for anybody," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. "If someone asked me where are Vince and Troy similar or different, I could probably speak more to the similarities. They both seem to have a sense about them that they're in charge; they have command."
Ohio State hopes that with his athleticism and his maturity Smith will lead the Buckeyes to a road win over Texas and beyond, the way Young carried Texas to a win in Columbus and a national championship last year.
"Troy Smith to Ohio State is what Vince has been to us," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "He's a leader. . . . He's a guy that can make plays with his feet. He's got a great throwing motion and very, very accurate."
But the Vince-Troy comparison is only part of Smith's story. Smith also has a dash of Major Applewhite. He was not anointed as the starting quarterback but had to beat out a far more heralded recruit for his job.
And, in his senior season, it looks as if Smith has finally buried any concerns that he might just have a touch of Maurice Clarett in him, the kind of player that has a knack for finding trouble as well as the end zone.
Smith might well go down as one of the greatest ever at a school where players have already won six Heisman trophies. Yet, when Smith started last week against Northern Illinois, it marked the first time he'd begun the season as Ohio State's starting quarterback.
Last year, when Ohio State opened against Miami University (of Ohio), Smith was on the bench serving a two-game suspension for accepting $500 from a booster. Because of the suspension, Tressel alternated a rusty Smith and starter Justin Zwick against Texas, and the Ohio State offense never really clicked until after another loss, to Penn State.
The booster incident was just one of several lapses in judgment in Smith's early career, starting with his involvement in a parking lot brawl that cost him $100 for disorderly conduct.
Smith isn't as freaky an athlete as Young, whose speed and elusiveness are almost unbelievable for a player his size. Still, Smith can run, and did so for 611 yards last year.
He can pass, and completed about 63 percent of his passes last year. "I think Troy can make all the throws," Tressel said.
He can also do a lot more. In the preseason, Playboy not only picks its All-America team, it gathers all the athletes together and lets them compete at everything from playing virtual baseball to driving golf balls. Northern Illinois running back Garrett Wolfe, who darted and dashed for 285 running and receiving yards Saturday against the Buckeyes, was on the winning team there. When the 5-foot-7-inch back was asked how he pulled that off he said, "I was on Troy's team. He won everything."
Gil Brandt, the talent scout who was instrumental in building the early Dallas Cowboys dynasty, agrees.
Brandt said that Smith was the most versatile athlete at the gathering of All-Americans, a guy who could beat you at anything from pingpong to bowling. One of the contests was a fast-pitch contest, which Smith won.
"He had an 86 mph fastball. That's not quite major-league, but still . . ." Brandt marveled.
It was his overall athleticism, not Smith's quarterbacking skills, that first got the attention of Ohio State recruiters.
Ohio State thought it had found its quarterback in Justin Zwick, the most heralded quarterbacking recruit they'd landed since Art Schlichter in the 1970s. The 6-4 Zwick had size. He also had the tradition, playing for Massillon Washington, which was Ohio's Odessa Permian long before Permian had Mojo. Zwick threw for 40 touchdowns as a senior.
Smith, meanwhile, tossed 12 while playing at Cleveland Glenville. But he also played basketball, high jumped, long jumped and could run 400 meters. He was the last player signed that year by the Buckeyes, who figured they could plug him in somewhere.
After a redshirt year, the Bucks used Smith sparingly as a slash back and a kick returner. In 2004, Smith seemed destined to back up Zwick for that season and maybe for the rest of his career. But Zwick didn't wow anyone and got hurt, so Smith got his chance.
He turned in a dazzling, 386-yard performance against rival Michigan, and suddenly he had star power, much the way that Vince was suddenly Vince. The difference was that Smith was promptly suspended for two games, defusing the chemistry the team was developing.
At that point it seemed as though Smith might be just another Buckeye gone bad at a school that has had more than its share of discipline problems. Smith, however, won't ever count against Ohio State's graduation rate because he's already been awarded his degree. Now, he's working on a doctorate in game film criticism. Smith can barely get through an interview without mentioning his work there.
"The more and more I game-plan and the more the coaches sit me down and not let me leave the room until I really, really understand it, the better off we'll be," he said.
Teammates can see the results.
"He gets better every day," receiver Brian Robiskie said. "He understands what we're trying to accomplish. He knows what everybody is supposed to do."
Especially the team leader. When Ohio State's heralded freshman running back Chris Wells killed a drive with a fumble last week, Smith sought him out.
"Stay positive. Everybody makes mistakes," he said, from first-hand experience. "It's how you bounce back."
 
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Dallas

[SIZE=+2]Ohio State's Smith is not beyond compare

[/SIZE] [SIZE=+1]Many look at Buckeyes QB and see another Vince Young
[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]01:42 AM CDT on Friday, September 8, 2006

[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]By CHUCK CARLTON / The Dallas Morning News [/SIZE] The comparisons have become unavoidable this week, no matter how hard Troy Smith tries.
He can't dodge or duck or fake or spin his way out of this predicament, as he has so many others as Ohio State's quarterback.
Vince Young's departure to the NFL has created an opening for an athletic multi-dimensional quarterback who can run, pass and carry a national championship contender on his shoulders. And Smith may be the closest thing to Young left in college. With the Saturday showdown between Ohio State and Texas, Young and Smith have become intertwined even more. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/colleges/texas/vitindex.html

The inevitable questions seem to have worn on the 6-1, 215-pound Smith, who lists Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick as his favorite players.
Ted Ginn Jr., Smith's favorite receiver and buddy since they played peewee football in Cleveland, understands Smith's discomfort.
"He's his own guy," Ginn said. "Troy Smith is Troy Smith, he's not Vincent Young. He doesn't like being like somebody else."
The problem is that he and Young share many key characteristics.
"Troy Smith is to Ohio State is what Vince has been to us," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "He's a leader. He's a senior. He's a guy that can make plays with his feet, but he's got a great throwing motion and is very, very accurate."
Ohio State quarterbacks coach Joe Daniels calls the comparison valid because each can create so many problems for a defense.
Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel sees more similarities than differences between the two.
"They both seem to have a sense about them that they're in charge," Tressel said. "We talk that a quarterback has to have command. They both seem to have that. And they both have that ability to beat you run and pass."
Cowboys rookie and former Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter doesn't particularly care for the comparison.
Yet when Carpenter recalled Smith rallying Ohio State over archrival Michigan last season, he described it as a Vince Young-type moment.
The similarities between Smith and Young go beyond the stylistic.
Each faced doubters and had to prove they could throw as well as run.
Smith pointed to Young's game-winning touchdown pass against Ohio State last season.
"As a friend of Vince, I was happy for him because he ended the game in a way they said he couldn't," Smith said.
The Texas game also marked a turning point for Smith, who had just finished a two-game NCAA suspension dating to 2004 for taking $500 from a booster. Tressel didn't start Smith against Texas, in part because Smith missed a class to work Steve McNair's football camp. He didn't go on the field after Texas' go-ahead score; fellow quarterback Justin Zwick did.
"Not one bit," Smith said, when asked if he would change anything. "You need to have some ups and downs to level everything out. I wouldn't be the guy I am or the quarterback without those things."
Something clicked after the Texas game when Tressel named Smith as his starter.
Since a loss at Penn State, Smith has led the Buckeyes to eight victories. He outplayed Notre Dame's Brady Quinn in the Fiesta Bowl with 408 yards total offense. In some ways, it was reminiscent of Young's breakout performance in the Rose Bowl.
While he remained a dangerous runner, it was more a last resort. He carried the ball only once in Ohio State's season-opening victory over Northern Illinois.
Meanwhile, his accuracy skyrocketed. During the winning streak, he has 16 touchdown passes and only two interceptions.
Other changes corresponded with the improved play.
He finished his degree in communications in four years and is working toward a second degree in African-American studies.
Smith paid regular visits this summer to Daniels, who is undergoing cancer treatment, and seems to have been touched by his coach's fight.
After once having his work ethic questioned, Smith became a fixture in the team's film room. He used the word "study" five consecutive times to underline his emphasis.
"The film room has become a second home and a necessity for me," said Smith, who can break down defenses in perfect coachspeak and estimates his weekly "study" at 10 to 12 hours.
All that remains is a Vince Young finish. It is one comparison that Smith accepts.
"He went undefeated and won a national championship," Smith said. "That's pretty much what every quarterback in college football wants to do."
 
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Smith dismisses comparisons to Young[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]BY JIM NAVEAU - Sep. 8, 2006[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]COLUMBUS ? Texas coach Mack Brown sees Vince Young when he looks at Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith.
So do a lot of other people. But Smith doesn?t.
For whatever reasons, Smith seemed uncomfortable when he fielded a question earlier this week about whether he could compare himself and Young, who led the Longhorns to the national championship last season and finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting.
?I try not to because it?s a totally different situation. My situation and his are head over heels different,? Smith said.
Asked what was different, Smith said, ?He was in Texas and I?m in Ohio.?
Smith completed 63 percent of his passes last season and rushed for 611 yards. He hit 18 of 25 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-12 win over Northern Illinois in Ohio State?s opener last week.
Young, the No. 3 overall NFL draft choice last spring, completed 65 percent of his passes and ran for 1,050 yards last season.
Brown said, ?I think they?re the same guy, one (Young) is taller. That?s about it. They make plays with their feet. Because they run so well, they don?t get credit for how well they throw it. But Vince just signed a contract for $50 million and I expect Troy to be doing the same thing next year.?
SEEING THE LIGHT: Ohio State has struggled with regular-season night games recently, losing four of them since 2003.
The Buckeyes lost to Penn State and Texas at night last season, to Northwestern in 2004 and to Wisconsin in 2003.
Ohio State practiced twice at night in the preseason, but Smith says there is no common denominator in the night losses.
?I don?t think that when night comes it?s like a switch turns on in our heads to play a certain way. There are just certain situations that have occurred in the course of games that just ironically happened to be at night. We will approach this game the same way we approach every game,? he said.
NUMBERS GAME: The matchup of No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas is the fifth time the Longhorns have been in a game between No. 1 and No. 2.
They have a 3-0-1 record in four previous 1-2 game. Ohio State is 2-0, winning the 1969 Rose Bowl over Southern California and the 2003 Fiesta Bowl over Miami.
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osugrad21;599576; said:
Link

Tressel, who played quarterback at Division III Baldwin-Wallace, clarified that Tuesday: "I saw it on film. He looked worse than me."

Smith said he never saw any film of Tressel running, but he believes his coach could move.

"Small guys," he reasoned, "have a low center of gravity."
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:slappy: Too funny.
 
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