Ginn suffering 'growing pains'
Father says Heisman expectations weren't realistic; son is making progress with every play
By
Doug Harris
Dayton Daily News
COLUMBUS | By any measure, the sophomore season of Ohio State's Ted Ginn Jr. is turning into the biggest bust since Eddie Murphy's box-office disaster,
The Adventures of Pluto Nash.
<!--endtext-->Ginn has gone from being known as Teddy the Touchdown Maker to Teddy the Touch-Deprived.
He's made 16 uneventful catches through five games and has been bottled up on special teams.
But his father and former coach at Cleveland Glenville High School hasn't found the lack of production all that surprising.
To Ted Ginn Sr., the expectations for his son had become impossibly high.
"It all started with that Heisman hype," he said. "I didn't buy into that — no way. He didn't buy into it, and I didn't buy into it. That was just people's opinions.
"He's going through growing pains. The more he plays, the more he develops on the field."
But Ginn Jr., who created a stir nationally with a Big Ten-record four punt-return touchdowns last year, appears to be regressing.
He scored eight TDs in 2004, all in the final eight games, but he's reached the end zone only once this year — a 42-yard reception at mop-up time in the opener against Miami.
A
Sports Illustrated cover boy after the first week of the season, Ginn led the nation with a 25.6-yard punt-return average a year ago, but he's picking up just 7.6 yards per try this season. And his confidence seems to be eroding.
He appeared tentative against Penn State last week, looking for the sideline instead of barrelling forward and tapping into his wondrous speed.
"Teams are doing a great job of staying in their lanes," Ginn Sr. said. "I watch the tape of every game. And basically, he needs to keep hitting it up in there and getting what you can get. Nobody is letting him turn the corner. He's going laterally and looking for something, but it's not there."
Ginn Jr. has fared no better in his first year as a kick returner, averaging just 18.8 yards on a team-high 11 attempts. In other words, the Buckeyes would be better off settling for touchbacks.
But OSU coach Jim Tressel, who wouldn't let Ginn Jr. speak to the media this week, doesn't see evidence that the player is slipping into a shell.
While he may look hesitant to outsiders, Tressel thinks Ginn is simply being choosey while looking for an opening to pop one.
"I think Ted is a guy who believes he can find a way to hit the home run, and he did hit the home run many times (last year)," Tressel said. "He didn't Saturday, but I think sometimes that's the risk you take to hit a home run — to cut back and that type of thing.
"I don't know if I call that hesitancy. ... To me, hesitancy is you go up and you stop. He doesn't stop. He tries to sidestep and all that, and I think we've all seen that work."
But Ginn Sr. believes the Buckeyes probably should abandon their experiment at turning his son into a kick returner.
"I would leave him on punts, but I might take him off kickoffs," Ginn Sr. said. "It's something that's new to him. He's never had to do that before."
Ginn Jr. has turned to his father often for reassurance this season. And the coach has preached the same message: Don't lose sight of the big picture.
"I tell Ted, when you can't score, work on cheering your teammates, work on blocking. Motivate the players, motivate the team," Ginn Sr. said. "He's doing other things. People are saying, 'Ted threw another good block and Santonio Holmes was open. Ted is contributing to the cause.' That's what I want out of him.
"Of course, I'm selfish. But I want to see Ted grow as a team player and become a humble young man. As a coach and a dad, I want (Tressel) to help me raise my child. I'm not as interested in what he does at 20 years old as I am in what he's going to be like at 28, 29 or 40."
