No offensive awards were given out by the Ohio State football coaching staff this week after Saturday's 27-6 victory over San Diego State.
"There really was no grade consistent enough to say, 'Hey, this person was player of the week,'" coach Jim Tressel said. "It was a lack of consistency, not that anyone did horribly, but no one did out of this world."
"It's disappointing," said senior wideout Roy Hall, who garnered the Jack Tatum Big Hit Award for his block during a first quarter punt return by Santonio Holmes. "But you shouldn't award people that don't deserve it. Hopefully, we can get it rolling this week so everyone gets one next week.
Each week, a number of awards are presented, including Offensive Player and Offensive Lineman of the Week.
Haw returns to action
Redshirt freshman Erik Haw was supposed to compete with sophomore Antonio Pittman for the starting tailback spot. Though Tressel denies having Haw, who was cited in May on drug possession charges, in his doghouse, it was evident something was up after Haw saw no game action in the Buckeyes' first two games.
Haw finally saw the field for the first time this season in Saturday's fourth quarter, rushing once for six yards. He also caught two passes for six yards.
"I thought (Haw) did a pretty good job," Tressel said. "It was good to see him. You can never have enough tailbacks, that's a truism."
Haw is currently third on the depth chart behind Pittman and senior Brandon Schnittker. True freshman Maurice Wells is also seeing action.
Jenkins notches first start
With OSU opening the game in a nickel package, true freshman cornerback Malcolm Jenkins made his first collegiate start Saturday.
"I expected for me to come out and be real nervous and looking at the crowd all the time," Jenkins said. "After the first drive, all the butterflies were gone and I think I executed pretty well."
During the winter, Cleveland Glenville High School star Jamario O'Neal was the Buckeyes' marquee recruit in the defensive backfield, but he has not seen nearly as much early playing time as Jenkins. Tressel said he saw something in Jenkins, the Piscataway, N.J., native that predicted his early success.
"We felt coming in ... he was a guy that was really into the game of football and you could just tell as he got here that he was maybe further advanced than the normal guy." Tressel said. "Now he's got to obviously take the next step as we go into the Big Ten, but I think he's done a nice job."
Quick Slants
Senior linebacker Mike D'Andrea should be back for the Oct. 8 game at Penn State. D'Andrea is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. ... Sophomore receiver Devon Lyons, battling an ailing ankle, will sit out Saturday's Big Ten Opener with Iowa. ... Troy Smith is 5-1 as a starting quarterback after Saturday's win. ... OSU is 60-29-3 in Big Ten openers. Last season, the Buckeyes dropped the conference opener 33-27 in overtime to Northwestern.
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