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Dispatch
4/8/06
4/8/06
OSU FOOTBALL
Nicol hopes to become key element in offense
Tight end coming back after sitting out season because of foot injury
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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On the night before Ohio State football games last season, John Peterson thought about Rory Nicol.
"He called me every week to make sure I was in bed at the right time, and I’d say good luck to him," said Nicol, a sophomore tight end.
But the purpose of the tight end coach’s call was not to verbally tuck Nicol in. It was more head check than bed check.
Nicol was sitting out the season because he suffered a torn foot ligament in August.
Redshirt players do not accompany the team on trips or to its Columbus hotel the night before home games.
It can leave the player feeling melancholy.
Peterson, the tight ends coach, knew that.
He had to sit out a season with shoulder injuries during his Buckeyes playing career.
"I had gone through some of those kinds of things," Peterson said, "so I was able to talk to him. I’d give him a call every Friday night and Saturday morning just to kind of touch base. That’s tough to deal with when you’re injured and not part of that travel squad, that Friday night and Saturday morning pregame."
Nicol appreciated the gesture. He may have been gone, but the calls reassured him that he was not forgotten.
"He did a great job, he really did," said Nicol, a native of Beaver Falls, Pa. "He kept in touch with me a lot and never really just overlooked me. He was like a father away from home."
Last season, while Nicol was absent, the tight end position was missing from the OSU offense.
Injuries played a large part — not only Nicol’s but also a knee injury that kept starter Ryan Hamby out of the last part of the regular season. Hamby also struggled mentally with the fallout from a dropped pass in the end zone against Texas.
At times, the Buckeyes had no legitimate, experienced tight end. Defensive end Marcel Frost was converted and contributed toward year’s end, and offensive tackles were used as second tight ends in power formations.
It all added up to a hole in an otherwise potent offense. OSU tight ends have caught just one touchdown pass in the past 23 games, and that was Nicol’s garbage-time grab in a 33-7 loss at Iowa in 2004.
"We didn’t have a really healthy guy at the time, so we didn’t really do too much with the tight ends," said Frost, who had seven catches for 70 yards. "But if everybody stays healthy, I think we can do a lot."
If so, Nicol could play a large role. At 6 feet 5, 260 pounds, the rangy player showed good hands and speed in 2004.
"I think the tight end role will expand this year," he said. "We’re doing some new things with us. I really think we’ll see a lot more play."
Personally, Nicol has endured the pain of a career interrupted and is straining at the ropes, ready to get going.
"To come in and redshirt (right away as a freshman) may be a little easier," Nicol said. "Just the fact that you’ve never played, you don’t really know that you can do it. But I got a taste of it as a freshman, and (then) to sit there, man, it killed me.
"But God does everything for a reason, and I’m going to find that out in a couple of years, I hope, or maybe sooner."
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