SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Most Ohio State players insist their familiarity of the area offers no tangible advantage.
Phooey, says Troy Smith. The other teams, the ones that haven’t headed to the Valley of the Sun for four of the past five years, don’t know the area’s dining landscape.
For Smith, home is where the burger is – the best damn burger in the land, that is.
“The first thing that I’m most familiar with is In-N-Out Burger, which is right around the corner from our hotel,” Smith said. “Probably the height of my day everyday is getting to go to In-N-Out Burger. I love those cheeseburgers.”
Like a polished pitchman, he continued:
“For the folks back in Ohio, they need to understand first and foremost, it is a fresh burger,” Smith said. “The lettuce and tomatoes are extremely fresh. And they toast the buns. That’s huge. That’s key. They use a special kind of sauce, too. The sandwich is incredible.”
Not bad for an amateur, though he clearly has designs on becoming the next Peyton Manning of advertising.
“It doesn’t get much better than that for us,” said In-N-Out Executive Vice President Carl Van Fleet to The Plain Dealer. “We’re kind of a small company, and we don’t have any celebrity endorsers. But I think we just got the best one we could have. Not just a college football player, but the best one in America. I’d say he’s a very observant and excellent food critic.”
Smith in, Kerr out
Antonio Smith didn’t pass on several scholarship offers, walk on to the football team and work his way into the starting lineup to miss his team’s final act on the game’s grandest stage.
So even when the fifth-year senior fell “awkwardly” on his left shoulder in practice last month – the injury is only known because Smith was seen wearing a sling at a recent basketball game – Smith knew he’d be on the field tonight. No matter that he hasn’t taken part in any hitting drills since mid-December.
“There was never any concern of [not] playing,” Smith said.
Meanwhile, John Kerr’s status is doubtful after the senior linebacker suffered an undisclosed injury during practice last week. As for the rest of the bunch, no significant injuries have been reported.
“Nope. Knock on wood, we’re doing good,” coach Jim Tressel said.
Academically, too. Every player was eligible for this game and Tressel said the team’s cumulative fall grade point average was 2.93 with 61 players notching at least a 3.0.
For those players who graduated, they were forced to sign a special waiver allowing them to play tonight, rather than go through the charade of signing up for winter classes.
One last hurrah?
Three Buckeye stars could be donning the scarlet and gray for the final time tonight.
Ted Ginn Jr., Antonio Pittman and Anthony Gonzalez are all believed to be considering skipping their junior seasons and jumping to the NFL.
Ginn seems most likely to leave. He is projected as a first round pick and has made no comments hinting at a return for his senior season.
Pittman, who would likely be the third running back drafted, said earlier this season he’d return, but has since changed his tune.
“I want to come back, but like anyone else I have a family to take care of,” Pittman said. “I don’t think it’s an easy decision at all. For the last three years, this is all I’ve known. These guys here are like family. To walk away from your family is a hard thing.”
Finally, Gonzalez looks to be back next season.
“What I want to do is come back, that’s for sure,” Gonzalez said. “That’s easy because it’s fun here. The vast majority of the people I know in the NFL are miserable.”
When asked if the trio are ready for the NFL today or if they could benefit from another year in school, Tressel performed his usual dance.
“I know you probably hate this, but I would answer yes to both things,” he said. “I think they are both viable. They are going to play in the NFL. Will they be better a year from now? Yes. But unfortunately, it’s not that simple. So I have told all our guys that I don’t think there is any wrong decision.”
The Vest talks vests
As there became less and less to dissect last week in a game that’s been ceaselessly scrutinized, the media’s questions became lighter and lighter.
Until someone finally asked Tressel the question we all need answered: Exactly how many sweater vests are hanging in the closet?
Sadly, however, such information is classified.
“How many vests? Sweater vests? Gosh, I don’t know,” Tressel said, somewhat surprised by the question.
“100?” the reporter said.
“Whatever is in my locker,” Tressel said. “They put them in and I put them on.”
Bucks on familiar ground
The Buckeyes will christen a field’s turf tonight for the third time this season.
Following Monday’s Fiesta Bowl, West Coast Turf workers rolled a fresh layer of an inch-thick Bermuda hybrid grass onto University of Phoenix Stadium.
This was no surprise, considering local officials are looking to show off the new $455 million stadium that BusinessWeek called one of the 10 “most impressive facilities on the globe.”
What’s interesting is the new turf is simply being laid on top of the old turf. Turns out, though, that this is a somewhat routine practice in warm climates, as the turf’s weight keeps the footing firm.
Tressel a god?
In Ohio, Tressel is “considered as a god,” defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock rightly observes.
Outside Ohio, he is sometimes seen as, well, whatever’s opposite of the Almighty. The perception is of a pious phony who’s well aware of the shady dealings associated with big-time college athletics.
Heck, even his fellow coaches have called him out. Most recently, when Tressel refused to vote in the final coaches poll to avoid the appearance of favoritism, Texas Tech coach Mike Leach called the move “sanctimonious bunk” while Michigan’s Lloyd Carr described it as “slick.”
Antonio Smith disagrees.
“Outside Ohio, I mean he is an idol, I guess you could say,” Smith said.
And he’s apparently the man this generation looks to for sartorial advice.
“People are talking about his trend and fashion,” he said.
Yeah, Pee Wee Herman maybe.
Ohio’s real pro football team
Ohio State’s football franchise – er, program – is worth $71 million, according to a recent Forbes magazine report.
And though they somehow trail Michigan and Florida, this makes the Buckeyes the sixth most valuable team in country, based on a formula that takes into account a program’s contribution to the university, non-revenue sports, conferences and area communities.
So it was on this note that wideout Anthony Gonzalez made the remark that “one of the most exploited groups of people in the country – not the world but in the United States – are college athletes.”
That this comes from one of the Buckeyes’ most financially well-off members and just before the season’s biggest game is interesting, but it has rekindled a national debate.
There’s the players side: “We should be paid like an allowance or something,” said Florida defensive end Joe Cohen. “Heck, give me a couple hundred bucks a month because I’m broke.”
And then the side of the college brass, who are quick to douse such statements.
“If that would be the case, maybe 18-year-olds should start a professional league and we’ll see how they do,” Tressel said of Gonzalez’s exploitation claim.
“The reality is you just can’t do it,” said Athletic Director Gene Smith. “When you get to a point where you’re paying athletes, then you’re getting into a true employee-employer relationship.”
Bucks extras
Among the swag received by the title game participants include an XM satellite radio and a commemorative Tourneau watch… Perhaps the most surprising name on the list of Buckeyes heading to post-season all-star ga
mes was quarterback Justin Zwick, who will play in the Jan. 14 Hula Bowl in Hawaii. “I just think it shows the respect they have for him,” Tressel said. “He’s got the measurable that the pro scouts want to see. And there have been some backup quarterbacks taken in the NFL.” … Ohio State will wear their white uniforms tonight. They are 3-0 in their road jerseys.
Quotable
“Just like being here is being in paradise, coaching college football is like being in paradise. You have great kids. They are at a time in their life when they are really growing. So there is no question, it would be hard to imagine anything better than this,” – Tressel on how difficult it would be to leave Ohio State for the NFL.
David Briggs can be reached for comment at [email protected].
