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RB Roderick Smith (Official Thread)

Smith getting close?

Would-be freshman running back Roderick Smith is getting close to satisfying the pre-enrollment academic requirements and could join the team soon, according to Tressel.

Smith, from Fort Wayne, Ind., thought earlier this month that he had accomplished the necessary work in summer school, but apparently the NCAA academic clearinghouse wanted to take a look.

OSU notebook: Coach predicts 'greatness' for Pryor | BuckeyeXtra
 
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I saw Rod getting on the players bus after the game last night. I asked him if he'd been cleared yet and he responded "Yes." :)

I don't know if that means everything is completely done or that they're still waiting on some paperwork, etc. (I didn't press him for details). But I'll say this: He had on a visitors badge so I took that to mean he's not enrolled just yet in school, but as I said before, he got on the players bus with the rest of the team, and I don't recall any other recruits/commits/visitors jumping on the team bus in the years I've been working there, so they must be confident enough to included him in as many team functions as possible under the unusual circumstances.
 
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This kid has a chance now to have the opportunities for success in life that come to college grads. The chance to say, "I graduated from Ohio State, where I played on the Buckeye football team" is available only to a few.

Sure, playing for Ohio State and possibly the pros is a big deal, but I am sure that this kid doesn't realize the full implications of what he has done for himself.

Well done, Mr Smith!
 
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No Automatic Redshirt for Smith Despite Late Arrival
By Brandon Castel

COLUMBUS ? It took him a little longer than anyone involved would have hoped, but Rod Smith is finally a Buckeye.

The freshman tailback out of Fort Wayne, Ind. had fans in Columbus questioning his existence when he failed to report to Ohio State, first in the summer and again during fall camp.

Despite Jim Tressel?s insistence that Smith would arrive ?any day,? the Buckeyes practiced 29 times during the month of August without him while he straightened out his academic affairs, but that won?t mean an automatic redshirt for the 6-foot-3 running back.

?He's not an automatic redshirt,? Tressel said Tuesday during his weekly press conference previewing the Miami game.

?I think conventional thinking, because he missed all of preseason, would be I don't know if he could get enough reps now to be able to earn the right to go in before someone else, but you never know with injuries and so forth.?

One of the highest-rated prospects in Ohio State?s class of 2010, Smith was on the sideline for OSU?s season-opener against Marshall, but didn?t officially hit the practice field for the first time as a Buckeye until Sunday.

?I thought he looked good,? Tressel said of his first impressions of the young back.

?Now, maybe it was because he had fresh legs and everyone else has training camp legs and so forth, but Sunday I thought he was flying around. He caught the ball in the back field once or twice on Sunday and I'm anxious to see him.?

The-Ozone, Ohio State Football, Wrestling, Softball, Basketball, Hockey, Baseball and More
 
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Freshman running back Roderick Smith is a little late to the party, but that doesn't necessary mean that he won't play for Ohio State this season.

Even though the Buckeyes appear stocked at running back, with five playing Sept. 2 against Marshall, Smith was considered an elite prospect out of Fort Wayne, Ind., and his power running style is different than the others.

His enrollment was delayed while his scholastic record was reviewed by the NCAA academic clearinghouse, so he didn't practice until Monday.

Is he in good shape?

"We haven't really done a whole bunch of conditioning things, so I couldn't answer that," coach Jim Tressel said. "But he seems very attentive. He is really glued in to watching and learning. He's chewing Doc's ear all the time (referring to running backs coach Dick Tressel), catches the ball well, willing to do whatever you ask of him, so I've been pleased with him."

Bob Hunter commentary: Rumblings ... Clippers, Buckeyes, Jackets and more | The Columbus Dispatch
 
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