Football
Will He or Won't He? Should He or Shouldn't He?
By John Porentas

The Michigan game is fast approaching. Any other year, the speculation this week would center solely on who's going to win the big game. This year, however, there is a sidebar that is close to taking center stage.

Following his arrest for DUI last week before the Illinois game OSU quarterback Steve Bellisari was suspended "indefinitely" by Head Coach Jim Tressel. In a statement this week Tressel revealed the Bellisari would practice with the Buckeyes but that sophomore quarterback Craig Krenzel would be the starter in the Michigan game. The announcement set off an avalanche of questions, the two most prominent of which are 'Will Steve Bellisari play in the Michigan game?' and 'Should Steve Bellisari play in the Michigan game?' A third question, 'Should Steve Bellisari even be on the football team?' has also gotten more than its fair share of play.

At his press luncheon last Monday, Tressel spent considerable time trying to explain his position on those questions.

Answering the Questions

"To clear up any question in anyone's mind about that, Steve Bellisari is and will be a member of the Ohio State football family," began Tressel.

"In terms of where are we and where do we go from here, I think the most important thing we can do is make sure that Steve Bellisari understands how we feel about him within. I think our young people did a good job of doing that. I think Steve did a good job of visiting with our team and talking about how he felt," he said.

"Craig Krenzel will be the starting quarterback at Michigan. Steve will be with the team. We all thought that was very, very important for him and for us. He obviously is going to not have all of the privileges from a football standpoint that he has had in the past. But he will have an opportunity to be with us," Tressel said.

Those comments of Tressel centered on the needs of Steve Bellisari. On the one hand, that is admirable. That is what families (teams) do. They stick together, particularly in time of need. On the other hand, Tressel is the leader of that family (team) and has a responsibility to the larger group that supersedes the need of any individual. Would the presence of Steve Bellisari prove to be a distraction to his team? It appears that not only Tressel, but Bellisari as well, considered that last week before the announcement was made.

"I think you have to make decisions that way," said Tressel.

"One of the things I appreciated as I sat down and visited with Steve, the first thing that Steve said to me is 'Coach whatever you think is best for the team is what I want to do.' And he went on to say, 'If that means not be with the team, if you think that would help, I would live with that. It's not what I would want but I would live with it. Or if you would like me to have any part in the team, I would like to be there,'" said Tressel.

"So you have to make those decisions. I don't know how you evaluate whether those distractions impact you. I don't know how you know for sure when you make decisions of that sense, that's the decision we made," he said.

OK, now what?

On the issue of whether Bellisari will play, Tressel would not give an absolute answer, but hinted strongly that he would not. What seemed to come through is that the OSU football family (team) wants to support Steve while not minimizing the ramifications of his actions.

"We are going to be there for Steve and we are going to try to bring to him any and all services that are available. Now as far as what is he going to bring to our team and will he be available to play, in the Big Ten you are allowed to bring 64 people on the road. You are not allowed to take 65 and have one of them stand on the sideline in street clothes or whatever it happens to be. He would be available to play and I can stand here and quite honestly and tell you I have mixed emotions. I have part of the process in my own mind and my heart, just like all of our guys do, and I'm sure they would tell you that they have mixed emotions as they shared a little bit yesterday, as I stand here today I tell you that my plans are to get Craig and Scott thoroughly prepared to play the game against Michigan. That's the way I feel as I stand here on Monday."

Tressel's statement, however, did not close the door on changing his mind. Reporters in the room were not satisfied with the answer, and pressed Tressel.

"Is he #3 on the depth chart?" asked a writer.

"Well Rick McFadden will be there as well so we'll have four quarterbacks there," responded Tressel.

"Is Steve #3 or #4," persisted the writer.

"As I stand here today I guess he'd be number four," Tressel said.

"Could he jump up from #4 this week in practice?" the writer continued.

"Unfortunately I don't think there are those numbers of repetitions available, especially with the thought in mind that Craig and Scott need significant repetitions. So I'm not sure it would be one of those situations where you say well so-and-so is playing better than so-and-so so we'll on his practice merit move him forward," Tressel said.

The reporters persisted, posing another tough question to Tressel.

"Many would say that if you were playing SDSU or Akron, Steve wouldn't be a part of this team. The reason he is is because you are playing Michigan," was the question.

"There would be many who would say lots of things. We are not in one of those other weeks. We happen to be in the final game of his senior year. In my mind the circumstances are such that I think it's darned important for him and for us that he be a part of our group," persisted Tressel.

Tressel was consistent. He steadfastly insisted that his decision would be based on what was best for the team and Steve Bellisari, and not on how anyone else perceived it. He also related that he decision on what to do with Bellisari was solely his, and that he had agonized over it as soon as the Illinois game had ended.

Agonizing Over the Decision

"Well the moment the game ended, I tried to do a good job of keeping my focus and stay away from those distractions on Saturday. I don't know if I did as good a job as I could have but I'm sure some of the guys would say that maybe they didn't. From the moment that game ended your mind goes a million miles per hour. Your heart is sick when there is someone that you care about that's got a problem. Your stomach is not in great shape and it was that way from the time one task was done and the other I guess became the forefront," said Tressel.

"I visited in the afternoon with the athletic administration and then later in the afternoon with the seniors and then we had our practice and so forth. I think the guys left a little bit before 7:00 and then I met with the staff after that. Then (OSU director of sports information) Steve Snapp went to see Harry Potter that night. Normally it's not an early night on Sunday but Steve did not walk back through the door until about 10 after 11:00. I had by that point certainly made my...had my thoughts collected and felt that I had shared them with enough people to come to a decision that I'm certainly willing to take ownership for," said Tressel, describing the timing of his decision.

"I'm very comfortable with the fact...because I believed from the git-go that I have a hard time thinking anyone else that's ever had a child would think any differently. When there is someone in your family who has a problem the last thing you do is push him out of the family. So no, that was not even...that would have been a real struggle if someone had told me I had to to be honest with you," said Tressel.

Ignoring the Din

Tressel's decision to allow Bellisari back on the team has been met with applause in some quarters and indignation or even outrage in others. Tressel revealed that at no time in the decision making process did he even consider what public reaction might be.

"Very seldom in decision making do I sit back and think about what I have an argument for. I try to sit back and say 'What is the right thing for the individual involved and the group?' That's the way I usually approach things. It's not until I'm riding over to my press conferences that I start thinking about how it might be scrutinized. Hopefully you do things for the right reasons," he said.

"I'm sure there will be lots of perceptions as to whys and wherefors. I don't remember one person in our discussions yesterday saying 'Hey, this is the Michigan game. We've got to have him back in the lockerroom.' The discussions were more about what does Steve need and what does the team need? Not what does the team need this week if you know what I mean?" he said.

That seems to sum up the "why" of Tressel's decision. Why? Because it's the best thing for Bellisari within the confines of what is best for the team. What remains to be seen, however, is "Will he participate?" Tressel had this to say on that topic.

What About the Game?

"Steve has good grasp on the game. I know this, Steve will, as he said from the outset, he'll accept any role that he's given. He's just hoping to have a role. Steve I'm sure was agonizing and rooting and everything else as his buddies played as hard as they could on Saturday," he said.

Does that leave the door open for Bellisari to play? Follow this question/answer exchange and decide for yourself.

Q: Can you envision a circumstance Saturday short of three QBs going down, where you would play Steve at QB? As if in the fourth qtr you need him to win the game?

Tressel: Have I envisioned that? No.

Q: Can you?

Tressel: You know I haven't...one hasn't popped up in my mind but it's Monday.

Q: Given that, what is his role?

Tressel: I think his biggest role right now is to get back with his teammates, confront his situation, work as hard as he can to study the film of Michigan and then see what happens from there. I suppose like any other guy that hopes he gets an opportunity and ought to be prepared if he does get one. I'm just saying that might be going through his head. I'm not sure.

That, as Tressel said, was Monday. It'll be interesting to see where all this ends up on Saturday.