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Small makes it through in long run
Thursday, November 12, 2009
By Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
FAST COMPANY: Ray Small (82) burned Penn State with two long punt returns las week in a 24-7 victory. Though his on-the-field speed has never been at issue, Small has been slowed by off-the-field problems during his Ohio State career. (Neal C. Lauron, Dispatch)
Ray Small will get a polite round of applause today, but probably nothing more.
Along with the rest of his classmates, the Ohio State receiver will be introduced to the Ohio Stadium crowd and run across the field to the waiting arms of his family.
In between, he will share either a handshake or a hug with coach Jim Tressel. And that brief moment will symbolize something more meaningful than most people realize.
Naturally, the crowd will cheer loudest for the best players. But a muted response to Small would minimize an unlikely accomplishment:
Ray Small made it. Against the odds, because of his perseverance and Tressel's forgiveness, Small is here for Senior Day.
"Oh, man, that's going to mean everything," Small said. "I made it four years here. That's going to be my Senior Day message: Everybody thought I wasn't going to make it because of my little issues, but everybody needs issues to grow as a man."
Small has had issues at Ohio State - in fact, he's had almost nothing but issues, a string of disciplinary problems and resulting penalties that drove a wedge between his family and the coaching staff and nearly drove him out of school.
But he survived.
"Ray has grown and hung in there and taken it right in the nose," Tressel said. "He took the long road."
That road began on Cleveland's east side, where Ray was the youngest of Ken and Veda Small's four children.
Ray's parents have been married for 34 years, and maybe that's where Ray inherited his perseverance. They stuck with each other even as Ken served three stints in prison in the 1990s, for drug trafficking, theft and receiving stolen property.
Ray came to OSU as a speedster with much hype. He worked his way up to the No.3 receiver spot as a sophomore in 2007 and also led the team in punt and kickoff returns.
He seemed poised for stardom, but that's when the trouble started. He struggled academically at times, and he was habitually late to class.
That didn't fly with Tressel, who in the spring of 2008 stripped Small of his uniform number (No.4) and replaced it with No.82.
"It was like, 'I'm late two minutes to class, Coach, what's the deal? I'm in college,'" Small said of his feelings at the time.
The problems continued, and last November, Tressel suspended Small for two games. That prompted Ken Small to speak out, saying that Ray was not guilty and that Tressel was trying to ruin his son's career.
It was awkward and ugly. Ken now regrets causing a flap.
"I put (Ray) in a Catch-22 situation," Ken said. "I was mad at myself for doing it."
Ray seriously considered leaving OSU after last season. He explored the NFL and the possibility of transferring, but decided against it.
He then had one more self-induced obstacle - a summer-quarter history class he needed to stay eligible. It went down to the wire, and he missed the first few days of preseason practice.
But this year, finally, he and Tressel saw eye to eye.
"Coach Tress taught me a lot in my four years here," Small said. "If I would've known that coach Tressel is so big on time and accountability, you all would've seen a lot more of Ray Small, but this year I basically learned the concept of coach Tress's coaching, and we sat down and we talked to each other.
"It's not the two minutes (late to class), it's the accountability. You can't get 3 yards when we need 4 yards for a first down, so I kind of understand that concept now, and me and Tress are on real good terms."
Small said that if he were truly a bad person, he wouldn't have lasted four years.
Receivers coach Darrell Hazell agreed, saying that Small is, "a very likeable guy. Guys really like being around him. He's a happy guy and he has a big heart."
GameDay+
http://www.cantonrep.com/osu/x2087397131/Tressel-touts-senior-leaders-including-Small
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