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WR Ted Ginn, Jr. (Official Thread)

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Ginn on defense not secondary idea

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Buckeyes receiver might soon be playing both ways
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[SIZE=-1]By Marla Ridenour[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=-1]Beacon Journal sports writer[/SIZE]
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<!-- begin body-content --> COLUMBUS - Reading Jim Tressel's mind, especially when it comes to personnel changes and strategy, is a guessing game.
The Ohio State coach is evasive on nearly every subject. Connecting the dots between a ``You never know'' and Tressel actually putting sophomore flanker/kick returner Ted Ginn Jr. on defense might be a leap.
The timing does seem right, though, that day doesn't appear to be coming this week. It might be soon.
Tressel said Tuesday that senior cornerback Tyler Everett will miss the game Saturday at Indiana with a bruised neck and shoulder. Everett was knocked unconscious during last weekend's victory over Michigan State. Freshman Malcolm Jenkins, who moves up from nickel back, will replace him.
Junior Brandon Mitchell filled in for Everett against the Spartans, but he didn't receive glowing praise from the defensive staff.
Asked if Mitchell would be the nickel back at Indiana, Tressel said, ``As you look at this week, yes.''
Ginn, listed as 6-foot and 175 pounds, doesn't fit the physical profile of a nickel back, usually more of a safety type who plays inside. The former Cleveland Glenville star was recruited as a defensive back and didn't switch to offense until the 2004 preseason.
Tressel talked this summer about playing Ginn two ways, but he said that he had to be careful about fatigue and that he would wait until the weather cooled. He learned from 2002 with flanker Chris Gamble, now a starting cornerback for the Carolina Panthers.
Gamble started seeing action on defense in the fourth game of '02 against Cincinnati. He moved into the starting lineup in the ninth game against Penn State and stayed there for the final five regular-season games and the national championship.
When it was suggested in August that Ginn might start out as a red zone cornerback, Tressel said, ``Perhaps. That's the way we started Chris and that's the way we started Teddy in spring ball. There's only so many reps you can get.''
Ohio State (4-2, 2-1 in the Big Ten) has five regular-season games remaining, and Tressel said in three of those that the Buckeyes will play more nickel defense than base. One of those is Indiana (4-2, 1-2), which features the same spread offense that the Buckeyes saw in the first game against Miami University. Hoosiers coach Terry Hoeppner was Miami's coach the previous six years.
Ginn scored eight touchdowns as a freshman but hasn't shown the same fire this season. He broke through with a 57-yard receiving touchdown against Michigan State, just his second touchdown of the year (both on passing plays). He's caught 20 passes for 270 yards. He also is averaging 6.9 yards on 11 punt returns, 18.8 yards on 11 kickoff returns, and has netted 1 yard rushing on eight attempts.
Last week Ginn's father, Glenville coach Ted Ginn Sr., told the Dayton Daily News, ``I joke with Tress all the time that he should have Teddy playing defense.''
Ask about the possibility of seeing Ginn in the secondary Saturday, senior free safety Nate Salley said, ``Not that I know of. He hasn't been over there with us, but we'll see.''
Sophomore receiver Anthony Gonzalez wouldn't be surprised if that is on the horizon.
``As an athlete, (Ginn) probably thinks every week is a good week to see him in the secondary,'' Gonzalez said.
Another fact that could support the idea of playing Ginn on defense soon is the Buckeyes' lack of takeaways. They have only seven (four interceptions, three fumble recoveries), ranking next to last in the Big Ten. Illinois has six.
``The guy didn't throw bad passes. How are you going to get picks like that?'' middle linebacker Anthony Schlegel said of Michigan State quarterback Drew Stanton.
Said Tressel: ``We've got to make sure we take care of that football and knock their football loose a few times and come up with a lot better play on special units.''
The subject of playing Ginn on defense didn't come up until the traditional last question of his news conference Tuesday. Tressel hedged on whether to answer because it was a follow-up to what was supposed to be the last question.
He did relent, though, and, surprisingly, didn't respond with a quick no.
``You never know,'' he said.
 
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Cleveland PD

OHIO STATE INSIDER
Ginn could pull double duty during game against Indiana


Wednesday, October 19, 2005Doug Lesmerises
Plain Dealer Reporter
Columbus- Jim Tressel was coy. Defensive back Tyler Everett is out for Saturday's game with the neck and shoulder injury he suffered against Michigan State. The Buckeyes expect to play in their nickel defense for much of the game against Indiana's spread attack.
Looking for depth in the secondary? Is there anyone out there who has played a little defensive back and could help out? Say, sophomore Ted Ginn Jr.?
"You never know," said Tressel, ending his Tuesday news conference after first trying to duck the Ginn question.
The intrigue around Ginn ended there. Recruited as a defensive back out of Glenville High, Ginn focused on offense before his freshman season began, but the possibility of some playing time at cornerback still hangs in there. But safety Nate Salley said Tuesday that Ginn did not work with the defense at practice. And Ted Ginn Sr. knew of no plans to play his son on both sides of the ball this week, though he knows Tressel has often mentioned the possibility.
"He's gung-ho, so if he thinks he can get on defense and break on the ball and help the team win, so be it," Ginn Sr. said. "It's hard not to put him on offense, because he's a playmaker. He used to love defense more than he loved offense. He did hit people in high school. He'll bring you down, but his thing was covering and breaking on the ball. But now he loves offense because everyone made him an offensive player."
For now, it appears that's what he'll stay. But does his father think Ginn could see time at defense at some point this year?
"I'll say it like Tressel," Ginn Sr. said. "You never know."
 
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sounds like a great time to try it. Does IU run many spread formations? We aren't that deep at CB, in terms of experience. Mitchell seems like a better nickel back than second corner, tho I guess he would be playing the boundary. Should be interesting to see how he is utilized.
 
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hey, ADD boy refuses to read much at this time of the morning. If Everett stays down a week or two, I'd say the possibility is there. I'll believe it when I see it tho. Teddy just turned the corner with a huge individual play (and some other good first down possession catches)

Sure would be a good week to start working Teddy into that CB role, as Tressel said he wouldn't use him until the weather cooled off.

Does anyone remember his answers for "will teddy play CB" before any other specific games? Might be interesting to compare them to his "it's a possibility" & "no comment" (about practice reps).
 
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I seem to remember it being public that he wasn't getting that many reps on defense before tho... vs. the beautiful ambiguity of "no comment"

I don't know that I want to lose him on offense (I'd rather have him be the opposite of Gamble, spot duty at CB and full-time WR), I just really am curious what the kid can do at corner. I had wondered before the season if he might not have a better shot at the NFL at CB. I don't know that these early struggles prove that point, but they make you wonder what he brings to the table at that position.

Against IU, we should be fine with two WR sets with Gonzo instead of Ginn.
 
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jwinslow said:
I don't know that I want to lose him on offense (I'd rather have him be the opposite of Gamble, spot duty at CB and full-time WR), I just really am curious what the kid can do at corner. I had wondered before the season if he might not have a better shot at the NFL at CB. I don't know that these early struggles prove that point, but they make you wonder what he brings to the table at that position.

Against IU, we should be fine with two WR sets with Gonzo instead of Ginn.
Click to expand...

But why mess with a defense that has been playing so well? Especially if his future is not as a full-time DB? Wouldn't it be better to get some time for Amos, JamO, Lane, and Patterson?

We are all curious about Teddy, but I'd rather get real work for kids who are the future than some sideshow act just to please the fans.
 
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I'm not suggesting we should mess with the defense. Tho if there was ever a time where we could afford to mess with it for a game, and give Ginn a lift mentally as a result, it would be IU.

Are we sure he is 100% set on being just a WR? He seems to have been struggling this year, and his routes aren't the greatest. It might be a huge morale boost if he went out there and did a good job at CB, which may be a more developed skill for him.

Amos could be a waste of a redshirt, if that is how the staff looks at it. Isn't JamO projecting as a safety? He may make a fine nickel back, like Mitchell/Everett/Allen etc have done in the past. Isn't lane a RB?

IMHO that leaves us with JamO and Patterson. I can see Ginn being used in spot duty before Patterson (not saying he should, just seems feasible).

So based on extremely faulty logic, I see it as Ginn vs. JamO, if all of the above wild claims are true.
 
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Taosman said:
He's a work in progress at WR and people want to move him!
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Who knows with Lane anymore...seems he is switched weekly but I do think he was at RB at last report. Patterson and JamO are Safeties but if we are talking nickel back, its all the same. A redshirt is as fragile as the need for a player (ex. Boeckman in Alamo Bowl) so I don;t see Amos as a wasted RS if he is the best player available...same goes for Anderson Russell and BUnderwood.

As for his morale, what if he does not get it done at DB? Where is that morale then?
 
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Well, if Everett can return somewaht soon I see Amos as a wasted RS if the coaches hope to do so with him.

I don't know that Teddy should play corner, or should be given a chance to fail at CB and lower his morale. I'm just throwing out possibilities here, for discussion. They don't pay me to make these kinds of decisions for a good reason.

Is BUnderwood ready to go? He was in street clothes for the SDSU game and I didn't hear anything about an injury. I won't speculate, but it seems strange he hasn't been out there at all.
 
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jwinslow said:
Is BUnderwood ready to go?
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Is Ginn ready to go? Without knowing how many reps he has had in practice, any specualtion is basically moot. We all *assume* he would be exceptional at CB, but without seeing him in action in practice, that is simply wishful thinking.

I'm not saying he could not do well or would not do well, but to assume he would be better off than someone who has been working on the skill set of a DB everyday year round is probably asking a bit much.
 
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