Posted on Sat, Oct. 07, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Small victory for Buckeyes
Freshman receiver delivers on promise. OSU rolls to win over Bowling Green
By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal sportswriter
COLUMBUS - Top-ranked Ohio State's 35-7 victory over Bowling Green on Saturday provided a glimpse of the future, an early peek at a passing of the torch.
Probably after this season, OSU junior flanker Ted Ginn Jr. will slip the baton to Ray Small, a former high school teammate who has been expected to follow in his footsteps for years. Even while Ginn was gaining the reputation as one of the most dangerous players in college football, Cleveland Glenville's Ted Ginn Sr. was telling people Small was the most talented receiver he has coached.
Ginn Jr. and Small displayed their amazing skills, but the Buckeyes (6-0) showed only flashes of brilliance against Bowling Green (3-3). Even with a blocked field goal by freshman cornerback Kurt Coleman in the first quarter to set up a touchdown and the Buckeyes' 12th interception of the year by sophomore defensive end Vernon Gholston, OSU led only 21-7 with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
Then Troy Smith, whose 85 percent completion percentage (17-of-20) was the third-highest in a game for OSU, got the Glenville gang going. He tossed a swing pass to Small and the fellow Tarblooder swept around the corner for an 11-yard touchdown that was the first of the freshman's career.
With 12:13 to play, Ginn pulled in a 57-yard touchdown pass from Smith, Ginn's longest reception since a 58-yard touchdown in the first quarter of the opener against Northern Illinois. Ginn had a career-high 10 receptions for 122 yards. He has caught 17 passes in the past two games against Bowling Green and Iowa.
``I was especially pleased with that last one because we had a couple home-run opportunities in the last couple games and didn't connect,'' Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said. ``We need people to know we're going to go deep. That's part of who we are and who we need to be.''
Ginn said he saw Bowling Green sophomore cornerback Antonio Smith playing off as he had all afternoon. Ginn had about 2 yards on Smith when he caught the ball.
``Once out of 10 I might get it, sometimes (Anthony Gonzalez) might get it,'' Ginn said. ``I'm glad coach called it.''
After finishing with four receiving touchdowns in 2005, Ginn has six this season despite being the focus of opposing defenses. It's a role that has taken some adjustment.
``It's not that I like it, it's something I've got to do now,'' Ginn said. ``I've got to get used to it. I go into games thinking, `If I catch five balls, I've got to make it the best five balls in the whole wide world.' ''
Asked if it has been frustrating, Ginn said, ``Yeah. How would you like it for somebody to double-team you all night? You can't let anybody know. You've got to take it in stride and play the play.''
Last week, fellow receiver Gonzalez prasied Ginn for how he handled some taunting at Iowa. Ginn said he must take that in stride, too.
``Everybody in this world is going to try to taunt you no matter who you are, if you're a football player or a regular person,'' Ginn said. ``You've got to be able to ignore people and keep walking.''
Waiting in the wings and learning from what Ginn is going through is Small, ranked the No. 7 receiver in the nation in the recruiting class of 2006. Small said he struggled in fall camp until he caught a pass in practice and took it the distance.
``Everybody was, `Wow, I didn't know he could do that.' Ever since then, I've been rotating in,'' Small said.
Last week Small predicted he would score against the Falcons. After he came through, Tressel jokingly called Small ``a soothsayer.''
``At first, it was a play-around thing,'' Small said. ``Then I went to coach Tressel and told him, `Coach, if I have an opportunity I'm getting in the end zone.' He kind of brushed me off. But I was real confident.
``I'd never gone this long without scoring a touchdown. It was kind of a low-grade team we were playing, so I'm going to score.''
Small said in high school he clocked a 4.25 in the 40 at a Nike camp. But running track with Ginn frustrated him.
``Usually in practice I would win the 100s,'' Small said. ``But when we would run 300s, he would win every race. I would be right behind him.''
And what does the soothsayer see in his future?
``I'm predicted to be just like him,'' Small said of Ginn. ``Hopefully I'll be better than Teddy.''
