Football
The-Ozone Note and Quotebook
By John PorentasCool Dude: Justin Zwick will get the nod as the starting quarterback against Miami, but backup Todd Boeckman will also see action in the season opener. According to Zwick, that's the way is should be.
"They did that when I was there, when Troy (Smith) and I were redshirt freshmen, they threw us into games early on," said Zwick.
"That's just something you've got to do to get that guy experience, because you never know what can happen in a game."
OSU center Nick Mangold says that when Boeckman enters the game, he'll bring more than just the ability to execute the playbook.
"He (Boeckman) brings and air of calm to the whole situation," said Mangold.
"He's a fun guy. He has a good time out there. He has a good time out there. He's kind of goofy in his own way, which bring about a sense of calm," Mangold says.
As for Zwick, he says he is ready to go against the RedHawks despite an ankle sprain in fall camp.
"Everything is good," said Zwick.
"I'm still rehabbing. It's just going through the 'being fat part' right now. The pain is gone but it's still swollen a little bit. Other than that, it's good to go.
"I've got a good brace they gave me so I'm good to go. It's more a preventive thing that keeps my ankle in there tight."
Making a Move: Cornerback was a bit of a question mark this fall. When the dust settled, Ashton Youboty and Tyler Everett were listed as the starters. That's pretty much as expected, but the backups are both somewhat of a surprise.
Freshman Malcolm Jenkins has played his way into the two-deep, as has redshirt freshman Brandon Underwood. Neither was a favorite to end up in the two-deep coming into camp.
"Brandon made a move," said safety Donte Whitner.
"He's tackling well, he's not making mistakes, he's getting turnovers and PBUs (pass break ups), so he's making plays, so they had to move him up on the depth chart," Whitner said.
"Brandon Underwood is a good player. E. J. was a good player. You see a lot of the things in Brandon that you see in E. J. He can cover well, he's a big corner, he can run, he knows what the he's doing," Whitner said.
"Brandon has natural ability just like his brother E. J. With Brandon, once he got himself going and woke up and knew what was going on, I knew he was going to be good," said Tyler Everett.
"He had shoulder injury and couldn't participate in camp at first, but once he came back I knew he would start rolling."
Second Chance and 8000 Calories: Offensive lineman Doug Datish was a starter at guard when the 2004 season began, but lost that position as the season progressed. Datish has earned a new starting position this fall, this time at left tackle where he nose out Steve Rehring for the starting nod.
"He (offensive line coach Jim Bollman) said on the rehearsal scrimmage that I'm starting today, and that if anything changes he'd let me know. Nothing has changed thus far as far as I know of," said Datish.
Datish is appreciative of his second chance. and his experience last season has taught him not to take that position for granted.
"A lot of people kind of counted me out, but I knew, and our team knew, that I'd be in the mix," said Datish.
"I felt that way and I had to work hard to get back to where I'm at right now. I know I'm on a short leash, because there's plenty of good guys on the team and I have to keep performing to keep a spot," Datish said.
Datish is now up to 300 pounds. He started last season at 295, but had trouble keeping his weight up as the season progressed. He's hoping to avoid that this season.
"Last year during the season I couldn't keep weight on to save my life.
"I was down to about 275 pounds by the end of the year. I lost about 25 pounds during the year.
"Now I'm on this diet where I just eat where I can't eat anymore. I'm up to about 300. If I miss a meal I lose a pound or two. I'm eating until they have to put me in the hospital for eating too much.
"I don't eat breakfast too much, but I get a bar or a shake in. I eat a big lunch, then a snack after practice. I eat a big dinner, then a bar or a shake and a sandwich or something at night. I try to eat about 8000 calories a day."
RedHawk Trash Talk: The Buckeyes are giving the RedHawks plenty of respect coming into the game this weekend, but it turns out that a few of the RedHawks have been doing some talking prior to the game.
"We have a freshman from Middletown, Andre Amos, he said when he went back home they were just talking a lot of trash, a whole bunch of Miami football players," said Tyler Everett.
"They were already talking about what they were going to do in the game."
Handyman: Nadar Abdallah has played his way into the two-deep, earning a backup position at defensive tackle. According to fellow defensive lineman Quinn Pitcock, there is a very good reason for Abdallah's ascendancy in the depth chart.
"Nadar, as I watch him on the field and on film, has great hands," said Pitcock.
"He'll hit, disengage real quick, and be open to make a play.
"He's a natural football player. In pass rush he's great making moves, but the biggest advantage he has is his hands. He's worked so well with that," Pitcock said.
Bring on the RedHawks: The Buckeyes are anxious to get to the weekend, if for no other reason than they are real tired of having collisions with their teammates.
"I'm really sick of hitting Quinn (Pitcock) and Marcus (Green) all the time," said offensive lineman Rob Sims.
"The first week of camp hitting your teammates is all right. The second week it's a little shaky, the third week, you don't want to hit your teammates anymore," said safety Donte Whitner.
"This week you're ready to hit another team," Whitner said.
The Buckeyes are ready for a change of scenery as far as the hitting goes, but they're also anxious to put on display what they think is an improved OSU football team.
"Anytime you come out and it's your first game, you want to show everybody how hard you've been working and that you do have good players and that you deserve to be ranked as high as you are preseason," said Whitner. "We just want to come out show everybody that we are a good team and we can contend for a national championship."
"I think we've made vast improvement since then (last three games of last season)," said Sims.
"I think we have the opportunity to be one of the best offensive lines to come through here in a while, one of the best in the country. The chemistry that we have out there playing together is the best really that I've ever been around."
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