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"For 13 classes it worked. It started to roll. Even if an elite recruit wasn't walking the Glenville halls, Tressel would save a spot for a Tarblooder, find one of Ginn's kids who could take a shot and maybe contribute."
- Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland.com
Troy Smith was recently released by the Montreal Alouettes up in Canada, but he still holds a warm place in the hearts of Buckeye fans everywhere. Here's an in-depth look at his landmark journey to Ohio State and the door it opened for some of the best talent to play for the Buckeyes.
In 2001, Ted Ginn Sr., the man and coach behind the Glenville football pipeline, set the stage with former coach Jim Tressel by convincing him to offer his last scholarship to Troy Smith the athlete, not Troy Smith the quarterback. Following in Smith's footsteps to Columbus were stand-outs like Ted Ginn Jr. and Donte Whitner.
The relationship between Glenville and Columbus grew stronger year after year, until 2015, when the influx of new talent from up North will stop for the first time in over a decade.
"Powell said he stepped up his work ethic to earn playing time because he did not want to be just another footnote in OSU football history."
- James Grega, Jr., The Lantern
Some players know from the start where they want to play; every year there is at least one player who notes they didn't need to be recruited because their heart was always in Columbus. This was the case for Tyvis Powell, who committed to Ohio State after "tattoo-gate" and during the Luke Fickell transition season in 2011.
Powell was redshirted his freshmen year, which filled his head with doubts and thoughts of transferring; until he spoke with his high school coach who reminded him of why he chose Ohio State in the first place. He may have had to sit out his first season, but he worked hard and proved to Urban Meyer and the new coaches that he was an asset to the Buckeye defense.
"Once again, whether one uses the NCAA's GSR or the Federal FGR, the data illustrate that the vast majority of Ohio State student-athletes are graduating"
Rivals can call Ohio State players a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. The NCAA released the latest graduation data and the Buckeyes have an excellent success rate. Even the players that are leaving early to play professional ball were still on par to graduate on time had they stuck around.
Big Ten schools already have some of the toughest guidelines for acceptance in the country; with the newly released data, Ohio State's graduation rate for student-athletes is even higher than the national average. There are very few players that will transition to professional ball after school, and for the rest of the students, they're at least getting a valuable education.
"Sure, it's easier to be gracious in victory (especially when you bulldozed a running back into his quarterback for the game-winning sack), but it's still a quality move by Bosa nonetheless."
The best and most replayed moment from Saturday's game has to be the game-winning sack by Joey Bosa; he literally ran right through Penn State's running back to get to Hackenberg. Nittany Lion fans flocked to Twitter to call Bosa a litany of names, including "dirty player", but Ohio State's resident defensive powerhouse knows he's just doing his job.
Players understand the chances they take every weekend when they suit-up, and Christian Hackenberg held no bad feelings against the Buckeye strongman, who made sure to apologize after the game.
STICK TO SPORTS:
- Columbus becomes top city for new opportunities.
- OSU students can no longer get hot dogs 5 days a week from Boss Doggs.
- Man disappears from stadium during the Broncos game.
- Amazon might be coming to Columbus.