Follow the leader
JASON LLOYD, Morning Journal Writer
10/19/2006
COLUMBUS -- He's always enjoyed talking. And he's been good at it his whole life.
So when Troy Smith stood before his teammates last week during their preparation for Michigan State, no one was surprised when he delivered another powerful speech to the rest of his teammates.
''Since I've met him, he's been one of the best leaders I've ever been around,'' right tackle Kirk Barton said. ''He gives great speeches. The biggest thing is when he gives those speeches, he backs it up. He's the kind of guy you want to follow in a war.''
Smith's speech before the Michigan State game dealt with all the talk surrounding the 1998 team, which had its national championship hopes destroyed with a loss to Michigan State. Smith's message was simple: ''That's not us.''
''He basically said we're not those teams. It's a different era,'' Barton said. ''If that's what's in our mind, if the thought of failure is in your mind, you might fail. We just wanted to take it to them from the beginning and erase their hopes early.''
And that's exactly what the Buckeyes did.
Players are a reflection of their coach, which is why Ohio State players are so calm and confident in pressure situations. But teammates are often a reflection of their quarterback. To that end, Smith loves being out front.
''None of the guys on this team think we are the hunted,'' he said. ''We do the hunting. Hopefully that ranking lets everyone else know we set the bar. We have to be on top of everything. We're not hunted. We come out every game and play with the same mentality -- dominate, dominate, dominate.''
It's why the Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 in all the polls and the BCS. It's why Troy Smith is considered the franchise and the clear favorite to win the Heisman.
''For me, he's probably the best player in the country,'' Barton said. ''Some of those plays he makes are incredible.''
Like the escape against Penn State on the touchdown pass to Robiskie. Like last week against Michigan State, when Smith wiggled away from a hard charging Ervin Baldwin and fired a touchdown strike, again to Robiskie, before getting hit again by David Herron Jr.
And Smith is doing it as a quarterback who barely clears 6 feet. He doesn't have the linebacker size of Vince Young, Ben Roethlisberger or Daunte Culpepper, otherwise he'd already be considered the No. 1 prospect for the NFL draft next year.
But despite his small stature, Smith continues to make plays. He's thrown a touchdown pass in nine straight games, dating back to last year. He's been responsible for a touchdown -- either running or throwing -- in his last 21 games since the Penn State game in 2004.
That game, which Ohio State won, 21-10, remains the only game in his career where Smith did not have either a rushing or passing touchdown as a starter in his career. Heading into Saturday's game against Indiana, it's a streak that now spans 25 games.
''I don't know if I'm amazed anymore. I almost expect it out of him,'' Barton said. ''You've come to expect that he's not going to fade in a big game. He's not going to have a bad game when we need him. He's going to be there. He's a guy you can count on to hold the rope for the team.''
Now it's a matter of protecting the hands that hold the rope.
The broken collarbone suffered by Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson last week illustrated the danger of playing stars after the outcome of games has been decided. Yet Smith went back out with the starters late in the third quarter on Saturday and the Buckeyes up, 31-0.
Coach Jim Tressel sent him back out because he didn't feel comfortable with the lead, even though the Spartans never proved they could consistently move the ball and there were three minutes left in the third quarter.
''Coach (Earle) Bruce used to always tell us that if you're up by 28 points with less than three minutes and you've got the ball, maybe substitute,'' Tressel said. ''Do I hope nothing unfortunate happens like what happened with Adrian? Of course. But we can't run scared. We've got to make sure we do what we've got to do to get better. I didn't feel comfortable in East Lansing until we scored that last touchdown.''
As Smith enters the final five games of his career, plus a bowl game, comparisons with some of the all-time greats at quarterback have already started. The argument could be made Smith will leave as the best quarterback to ever play at Ohio State.
''That's the thing about playing here is you're always playing with guys who are legends,'' said Barton, who used Mike Nugent at kicker, A.J. Hawk at linebacker and Ted Ginn on special teams as recent examples. ''If we get the title, he's going to be in the argument. It's not premature to talk about it, but it's premature for it to be a consensus. We have to take care of business first the rest of the season.''
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