ohiostate=life
Still Workin Hard...
With all the talk about next year already, I thought it would be good to look back. Found some good articles about different players reflecting on their careers at OSU:
TEMPE, Ariz. - The sun is beginning to fade behind Sun Devil Stadium on this warm Monday afternoon in Tempe, Ariz. It is a poignant scene for Ohio State fans who have made the trek to the Valley from Columbus. And it is not because another day of their mid-winter trip to Arizona is about to come to an end.
A.J. Hawk has just taken the field for the last time as a Buckeye.
In this, the last of a four-part series highlighting Ohio State's four captains, the two-time All-American linebacker reflects back on his four years as a Buckeye.
"I will miss my teammates the most," Hawk said. "Especially the guys I came in with and the guys I'm leaving with."
Those guys have helped Ohio State win 42 games during the last four years. Another win would tie the school record for wins by one class. Among those 42 wins are three victories over Michigan and three bowl wins, including two here in the Fiesta Bowl.
A win today over Notre Dame would mark just the second time the Buckeyes have won four consecutive bowl games and the first time they have done it in four consecutive years.
Looking back on those wins, Hawk identified a few that he will always remember, but was quick to name the game he hopes he will remember most.
"Hopefully this game," Hawk said. "And I'll always remember my first start my freshman year against Penn State and the triple-overtime game against N.C. State when I was a sophomore."
It does not seem that long ago that he was a freshman at Ohio State from his hometown of Centerville, Ohio.
"Back then we still had freshman camp," Hawk said. "I remember trying to learn as much as I could before the older guys got there. I'm sure I was just running around trying to figure out what I was doing."
Not only did he figure out what he was doing, but he has done it so well that he is among the best linebackers to ever play for the Buckeyes. His 382 career tackles are fifth-most in school history. It is the victories, however, in which Hawk takes most pride. And the fact he won those games along side his teammates is what he will always remember.
"It would be huge to win all my bowl games and beat Michigan three times," Hawk said. "When this class came in there was a lot of talk about us and to have the success we have had hopefully puts us up among the best." No doubt his class will, indeed, be ranked among the best in Ohio State history. With guys like A.J. Hawk in their midst, they were destined for it.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A lot of what Buckeye offensive lineman Rob Sims will remember about his senior class was built long before the 6-foot-4-inch senior co-captain from Macedonia, Ohio began his career at Ohio State.
"The first memory I ever had at Ohio State was when I came to a game when I was being recruited my junior year," Sims said.
Seeing guys like LeCharles Bentley, Adrien Clarke, Bryce Bishop, Shane Olivea, Tyson Walter and Alex Stepanovich at that game made him want to be a part of Ohio State football and that offensive line.
"Those guys were the world to me," Sims said. "I thought they were all great players and I emulated a lot of them, even in high school. I used to love watching Adrien play and pull and I wanted a chance to play with all of them."
Sims would get his chance after earning first-team All-Ohio honors at tackles his senior year at Nordonia High School. He joined a recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the nation by most recruiting services.
But it was tough when he got to Ohio State.
"It really wasn't a good thing," Sims said when asked about his first memory as a Buckeye. "It was the first conditioning test. Coming in as a freshman, you don't really know what to expect and all the other guys do. You go out there and it is the worst. It is terrible, but we all got through it. We all didn't pass it, but we all got through it." It served as a wake-up call for Sims and his fellow freshmen about how different college football was from their days of glory in high school. Sims went on to make five starts that season, including a memorable one against Penn State.
"The game that sticks out for me the most was the Penn State game my freshman year just because those guys were so good; Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Haynes, all four of those guys went on to the NFL. That was my big start and I played so well in that game, being so young. It propelled my confidence and made me feel like I was on top of the world for a little bit. It helped me play well my whole career here."
The game Monday against Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will be the 40th start for Sims. He is part of a class that is 42-8 in the last four years and is in search of win No. 43 which would tie the school record for wins by a senior class. To go along with a national championship and two Big Ten championships, the class has a chance to win its fourth straight bowl game in its third appearance in the Fiesta Bowl.
"The national championship game is a very legendary game and something I was so proud to have been a part of," Sims said. "The weirdest memory I have from that was giving up a sack on the goal line against Jamal Green. I felt I was playing so well against him the whole game. He got me. We went into overtime and I thought, `man, I just lost the game for us.' We battled back and got it done, though.
"The next year against K-State, we went out there and it was my last time to play with Adrien, Alex and Bryce and those guys. We went out there and I was playing as hard as I could for those guys, who were playing their last game. I knew it would be the last time we all played together as a unit."
The Buckeyes are back in the Valley of the Sun yet again.
"People say the Fiesta Bowl is the best bowl around and they have proven it time and time again," Sims said. "They take care of us. The resort we stay in is the best place I have ever seen. I can't imagine too many places being better than that. The people are so nice and want to take care of you. The stadium is really nice and we always have a good opponent. It is the BCS, so it is a huge game and I am happy we had the chance to come here and finish up.
Time and time again Ohio State football players say their time flies and they need to slow down to enjoy it. For Sims, though, it seems like he knew all along he was part of something special. "It has been great," Sims said. "For the most part, we all knew each other before we got here. We knew what we had. We knew we were special. We knew we were going to come here and have great times. We all had so much fun together and that only grew. It blossomed into something that will be a legacy here at Ohio State.
TEMPE, Ariz. - It will be a bitter sweet Fiesta Bowl Monday for Nick Mangold. The Ohio State senior center and co-captain has immensely enjoyed his third trip to the Valley, but he knows it will not only be his last BCS game, but his last time to suit up in the scarlet and gray.
As the game draws near, so does the end of Mangold's career. When asked what he will miss most, Mangold did not reply with any of the 42 games he has helped the Buckeyes win during the last four years.
"More than anything I'll miss being around my teammates on and off the field," Mangold said. "There is nothing like the family we have here now."
When it comes to specific games, Mangold pointed to three that stick out in his mind - all three of which he listed for very good reasons.
"First, the national championship game here in 2002," Mangold, who was a true freshman that season but played most of the title game against Miami, said. "That was an unbelievable experience. Then the past win over Michigan. Beating them up in Ann Arbor was great and I'll hold onto that forever. And third the Illinois game my freshman year. That was the first game that I got significant playing time."
A win Monday over Notre Dame would put Mangold and his senior class in rare company. It would mark the 43rd win for the class, which would tie the school record for wins over a four-year period with the 1998 seniors. It would also mark the second time Ohio State has won four consecutive bowl games and the first time to do it in four consecutive years.
As with most accomplishments of that magnitude, it is usually the first step of the journey that is toughest. Such was the case for Mangold, who had a very specific memory of the moment that unlocked the door to his journey that lay ahead.
"When Coach Bollman gave us our playbook my freshman year, that really opened my eyes," Mangold said. "I had to understand that it wasn't just about who I block, but who everyone else blocks, too, and how it all fits together." <!-- STORY AD BEGINS HERE -->
With Mangold as the focal point of the Ohio State offensive line, that puzzle has fit together nicely.
<CENTER>### Go Bucks! ###</CENTER><CENTER></CENTER><CENTER>Nate Salley</CENTER><CENTER></CENTER>
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - It seems like a long time since Buckeye safety Nate Salley first stepped on the Ohio State campus. Actually, those initial foot prints came long before Buckeye fans saw him take to the field.
His official visit to campus was an eye-opening experience.
"The first thing that caught my eye was when I saw the `Shoe," Salley, then a multi-sport athlete in football, basketball and track at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., said. "I had never seen anything that big before. After hearing all the great stories about the stadium and seeing it on TV every once in a while, seeing it in person, kind of opened my eyes like crazy."
When Salley eventually matriculated to Ohio State prior to the 2002 season, it was a big deal for him. He was the first person in his immediate family to attend college and that first week of fall camp brought good feelings.
"Going to those first few practices, I was happy and grateful that I was in college," Salley said. "It was a real happy feeling because none of my immediate family had ever gone to college. That was a huge thing for me; to graduate (from high school) and get to Ohio after coming from Florida and being able to say I'm in college and doing something positive with my life. It just felt great to be doing something with my life."
Part of a highly regarded recruiting class, Salley made an immediate impact, playing mostly on special teams all 14 games in a season that culminated with a national championship after a 31-24 double-overtime victory over defending titlist Miami (Fla.) in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
"Definitely winning the national championship was a huge memory while I was here," Salley said. "That, along with being with all my teammates, those are some great memories; all the fun times we had on and off the field. We had a lot of fun. We had great camaraderie." The most memorable game for him personally, though, came the next year. It was the season opener against Washington in a primetime game at Ohio Stadium.
"I didn't start, but that was the first time I really played," Salley said. "I had a big hit in that game near the sideline and had a chance to hear the crowd go crazy. That was one of the most memorable things. That is when I realized it was my time to play after watching (Michael) Doss and Donnie (Nickie) for a whole year when I was a freshman. That was kind of the point when I found out it was my time, along with Tyler (Everett) and all of us, it was our time to step up."
His class leaves quite a legacy and the group, now totaling 16 members, will be trying to tie the school record with its 43rd win in four years on Monday when it leads the Buckeyes in a meeting against Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The group head coach Jim Tressel brought to campus his second season at the helm of the Buckeye program has won a national championship, two Big Ten championships, has won three of four games from Michigan and is in search of its fourth straight win in a bowl game.
"It shows the type of character that coach Tress wants here; the type of guy he recruits, guys like us, our class," Salley, now one of four co-captains, said. "We have been persistent and haven't given up. We've been through ups and downs. We had people who left the team that were in our class, but we kept on pushing and moving forward and we kept believing in one another and this team and our coaches. We had changes to the coaching staff and all kinds of things have gone on, but we remained optimistic and stayed positive through everything."
Salley's eyes are now set on his final game in the scarlet and gray, the matchup with Notre Dame in a bowl he and his teammates have come to know well. The third trip to the Fiesta Bowl in the last four years has a familiar feel. "My big memory from the Fiesta Bowl is winning the national championship, but the people here have treated us really nice," Salley, a first-team All-Big Ten pick as a senior, said. "We always have great weather and that reminds me of home. With this being our third time out here, it is like a second home for us. It feels like in January this is our place to be."
Also there is an end of season slideshow at coachtressel.com I suggest everyone check out.
A.J. Hawk
TEMPE, Ariz. - The sun is beginning to fade behind Sun Devil Stadium on this warm Monday afternoon in Tempe, Ariz. It is a poignant scene for Ohio State fans who have made the trek to the Valley from Columbus. And it is not because another day of their mid-winter trip to Arizona is about to come to an end.
A.J. Hawk has just taken the field for the last time as a Buckeye.
In this, the last of a four-part series highlighting Ohio State's four captains, the two-time All-American linebacker reflects back on his four years as a Buckeye.
"I will miss my teammates the most," Hawk said. "Especially the guys I came in with and the guys I'm leaving with."
Those guys have helped Ohio State win 42 games during the last four years. Another win would tie the school record for wins by one class. Among those 42 wins are three victories over Michigan and three bowl wins, including two here in the Fiesta Bowl.
A win today over Notre Dame would mark just the second time the Buckeyes have won four consecutive bowl games and the first time they have done it in four consecutive years.
Looking back on those wins, Hawk identified a few that he will always remember, but was quick to name the game he hopes he will remember most.
"Hopefully this game," Hawk said. "And I'll always remember my first start my freshman year against Penn State and the triple-overtime game against N.C. State when I was a sophomore."
It does not seem that long ago that he was a freshman at Ohio State from his hometown of Centerville, Ohio.
"Back then we still had freshman camp," Hawk said. "I remember trying to learn as much as I could before the older guys got there. I'm sure I was just running around trying to figure out what I was doing."
Not only did he figure out what he was doing, but he has done it so well that he is among the best linebackers to ever play for the Buckeyes. His 382 career tackles are fifth-most in school history. It is the victories, however, in which Hawk takes most pride. And the fact he won those games along side his teammates is what he will always remember.
"It would be huge to win all my bowl games and beat Michigan three times," Hawk said. "When this class came in there was a lot of talk about us and to have the success we have had hopefully puts us up among the best." No doubt his class will, indeed, be ranked among the best in Ohio State history. With guys like A.J. Hawk in their midst, they were destined for it.
Rob Sims
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - A lot of what Buckeye offensive lineman Rob Sims will remember about his senior class was built long before the 6-foot-4-inch senior co-captain from Macedonia, Ohio began his career at Ohio State.
"The first memory I ever had at Ohio State was when I came to a game when I was being recruited my junior year," Sims said.
Seeing guys like LeCharles Bentley, Adrien Clarke, Bryce Bishop, Shane Olivea, Tyson Walter and Alex Stepanovich at that game made him want to be a part of Ohio State football and that offensive line.
"Those guys were the world to me," Sims said. "I thought they were all great players and I emulated a lot of them, even in high school. I used to love watching Adrien play and pull and I wanted a chance to play with all of them."
Sims would get his chance after earning first-team All-Ohio honors at tackles his senior year at Nordonia High School. He joined a recruiting class ranked No. 2 in the nation by most recruiting services.
But it was tough when he got to Ohio State.
"It really wasn't a good thing," Sims said when asked about his first memory as a Buckeye. "It was the first conditioning test. Coming in as a freshman, you don't really know what to expect and all the other guys do. You go out there and it is the worst. It is terrible, but we all got through it. We all didn't pass it, but we all got through it." It served as a wake-up call for Sims and his fellow freshmen about how different college football was from their days of glory in high school. Sims went on to make five starts that season, including a memorable one against Penn State.
"The game that sticks out for me the most was the Penn State game my freshman year just because those guys were so good; Jimmy Kennedy, Michael Haynes, all four of those guys went on to the NFL. That was my big start and I played so well in that game, being so young. It propelled my confidence and made me feel like I was on top of the world for a little bit. It helped me play well my whole career here."
The game Monday against Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl will be the 40th start for Sims. He is part of a class that is 42-8 in the last four years and is in search of win No. 43 which would tie the school record for wins by a senior class. To go along with a national championship and two Big Ten championships, the class has a chance to win its fourth straight bowl game in its third appearance in the Fiesta Bowl.
"The national championship game is a very legendary game and something I was so proud to have been a part of," Sims said. "The weirdest memory I have from that was giving up a sack on the goal line against Jamal Green. I felt I was playing so well against him the whole game. He got me. We went into overtime and I thought, `man, I just lost the game for us.' We battled back and got it done, though.
"The next year against K-State, we went out there and it was my last time to play with Adrien, Alex and Bryce and those guys. We went out there and I was playing as hard as I could for those guys, who were playing their last game. I knew it would be the last time we all played together as a unit."
The Buckeyes are back in the Valley of the Sun yet again.
"People say the Fiesta Bowl is the best bowl around and they have proven it time and time again," Sims said. "They take care of us. The resort we stay in is the best place I have ever seen. I can't imagine too many places being better than that. The people are so nice and want to take care of you. The stadium is really nice and we always have a good opponent. It is the BCS, so it is a huge game and I am happy we had the chance to come here and finish up.
Time and time again Ohio State football players say their time flies and they need to slow down to enjoy it. For Sims, though, it seems like he knew all along he was part of something special. "It has been great," Sims said. "For the most part, we all knew each other before we got here. We knew what we had. We knew we were special. We knew we were going to come here and have great times. We all had so much fun together and that only grew. It blossomed into something that will be a legacy here at Ohio State.
Nick Mangold
TEMPE, Ariz. - It will be a bitter sweet Fiesta Bowl Monday for Nick Mangold. The Ohio State senior center and co-captain has immensely enjoyed his third trip to the Valley, but he knows it will not only be his last BCS game, but his last time to suit up in the scarlet and gray.
As the game draws near, so does the end of Mangold's career. When asked what he will miss most, Mangold did not reply with any of the 42 games he has helped the Buckeyes win during the last four years.
"More than anything I'll miss being around my teammates on and off the field," Mangold said. "There is nothing like the family we have here now."
When it comes to specific games, Mangold pointed to three that stick out in his mind - all three of which he listed for very good reasons.
"First, the national championship game here in 2002," Mangold, who was a true freshman that season but played most of the title game against Miami, said. "That was an unbelievable experience. Then the past win over Michigan. Beating them up in Ann Arbor was great and I'll hold onto that forever. And third the Illinois game my freshman year. That was the first game that I got significant playing time."
A win Monday over Notre Dame would put Mangold and his senior class in rare company. It would mark the 43rd win for the class, which would tie the school record for wins over a four-year period with the 1998 seniors. It would also mark the second time Ohio State has won four consecutive bowl games and the first time to do it in four consecutive years.
As with most accomplishments of that magnitude, it is usually the first step of the journey that is toughest. Such was the case for Mangold, who had a very specific memory of the moment that unlocked the door to his journey that lay ahead.
"When Coach Bollman gave us our playbook my freshman year, that really opened my eyes," Mangold said. "I had to understand that it wasn't just about who I block, but who everyone else blocks, too, and how it all fits together." <!-- STORY AD BEGINS HERE -->
With Mangold as the focal point of the Ohio State offensive line, that puzzle has fit together nicely.
<CENTER>### Go Bucks! ###</CENTER><CENTER></CENTER><CENTER>Nate Salley</CENTER><CENTER></CENTER>
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - It seems like a long time since Buckeye safety Nate Salley first stepped on the Ohio State campus. Actually, those initial foot prints came long before Buckeye fans saw him take to the field.
His official visit to campus was an eye-opening experience.
"The first thing that caught my eye was when I saw the `Shoe," Salley, then a multi-sport athlete in football, basketball and track at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., said. "I had never seen anything that big before. After hearing all the great stories about the stadium and seeing it on TV every once in a while, seeing it in person, kind of opened my eyes like crazy."
When Salley eventually matriculated to Ohio State prior to the 2002 season, it was a big deal for him. He was the first person in his immediate family to attend college and that first week of fall camp brought good feelings.
"Going to those first few practices, I was happy and grateful that I was in college," Salley said. "It was a real happy feeling because none of my immediate family had ever gone to college. That was a huge thing for me; to graduate (from high school) and get to Ohio after coming from Florida and being able to say I'm in college and doing something positive with my life. It just felt great to be doing something with my life."
Part of a highly regarded recruiting class, Salley made an immediate impact, playing mostly on special teams all 14 games in a season that culminated with a national championship after a 31-24 double-overtime victory over defending titlist Miami (Fla.) in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
"Definitely winning the national championship was a huge memory while I was here," Salley said. "That, along with being with all my teammates, those are some great memories; all the fun times we had on and off the field. We had a lot of fun. We had great camaraderie." The most memorable game for him personally, though, came the next year. It was the season opener against Washington in a primetime game at Ohio Stadium.
"I didn't start, but that was the first time I really played," Salley said. "I had a big hit in that game near the sideline and had a chance to hear the crowd go crazy. That was one of the most memorable things. That is when I realized it was my time to play after watching (Michael) Doss and Donnie (Nickie) for a whole year when I was a freshman. That was kind of the point when I found out it was my time, along with Tyler (Everett) and all of us, it was our time to step up."
His class leaves quite a legacy and the group, now totaling 16 members, will be trying to tie the school record with its 43rd win in four years on Monday when it leads the Buckeyes in a meeting against Notre Dame in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The group head coach Jim Tressel brought to campus his second season at the helm of the Buckeye program has won a national championship, two Big Ten championships, has won three of four games from Michigan and is in search of its fourth straight win in a bowl game.
"It shows the type of character that coach Tress wants here; the type of guy he recruits, guys like us, our class," Salley, now one of four co-captains, said. "We have been persistent and haven't given up. We've been through ups and downs. We had people who left the team that were in our class, but we kept on pushing and moving forward and we kept believing in one another and this team and our coaches. We had changes to the coaching staff and all kinds of things have gone on, but we remained optimistic and stayed positive through everything."
Salley's eyes are now set on his final game in the scarlet and gray, the matchup with Notre Dame in a bowl he and his teammates have come to know well. The third trip to the Fiesta Bowl in the last four years has a familiar feel. "My big memory from the Fiesta Bowl is winning the national championship, but the people here have treated us really nice," Salley, a first-team All-Big Ten pick as a senior, said. "We always have great weather and that reminds me of home. With this being our third time out here, it is like a second home for us. It feels like in January this is our place to be."
Also there is an end of season slideshow at coachtressel.com I suggest everyone check out.
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