Ohio State football: Nicol has learned to focus on team
Tight end accepts that he won't be piling up catches
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 3:16 AM
By
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Every Friday, on the eve of a game, Ohio State offensive coordinator Jim Bollman mentions a favorite quote to his players: "He talks about, 'Forgetting yourself in the service to others,' " tight end Rory Nicol said. "Basically, he's saying to forget about yourself and do what's best for the team."
It's not easy to adopt that point of view. Like many young players, Nicol came into the program hoping to play a starring role, which in his mind meant catching passes and scoring touchdowns.
That hasn't happened at Ohio State in recent years. Not since 2003, when Ben Hartsock had 33 catches, has a Buckeyes tight end been heavily involved as a receiver.
Since then, the high-water mark for an Ohio State tight end is 16 catches. This season, the tight ends have caught 10 passes -- six by Nicol and four by Jake Ballard.
With one game remaining in his career, Nicol has 38 receptions in 46 games.
At some point toward the tail end of his five years in Columbus, Nicol realized that if he wasn't going to beat the system, he might as well join it.
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