Football
Sabino to the Rescue
By Brandon CastelAs trainers rushed onto the field at Ohio Stadium Wednesday, Luke Fickell must have asked himself what he had done to anger the universe.
After three peaceful seasons of consistency under James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman, the Ohio State linebacker coach and co-defensive coordinator watched as his only returning starter, Ross Homan had to be helped off the practice field.
It has been that kind of fall camp for the Buckeyes, and it's less than two weeks old.
Although Homan's injury does not appear to be serious, it marked the third time this fall that Fickell and Heach Coach Jim Tressel have had to contemplate the loss of a starting linebacker.
"It's a little scary," Fickell said. "I think we have a lot of good football players, some young kids that are really going to be able to play, but time will tell."
Etienne Sabino Just recently, the Buckeyes lost senior Austin Spitler to a calf injury that could sideline him for a portion of the preseason, but even that is nothing compared to the loss of junior Tyler Moeller, who was listed as the starter at the Sam linebacker position coming out of spring practice.
"Without Tyler here, that's a great loss for our defense," junior Brian Rolle said. "A wonderful guy as well as a player."
Coming off a big spring, the 6-0, 216-pound junior out of Cincinnati Colerain suffered a serious head injury while on a family vacation in Florida that will keep him out for the entirety of the 2009 season. The injury opens the door for Rolle – who also had a big spring while Homan was out with a leg injury – to move into the starting lineup on a permanent basis, but the Buckeyes will need someone else to step up to help off-set the absence of Moeller.
"We have Etienne Sabino," Rolle said.
"He's a big rangy kid, a south Florida guy from down at Dr. Krop, who can play some football. He's going to be a sophomore this year and he's a guy that can step in and pick up the slack and you wouldn't notice a difference."
With Moeller unavailable and Spitler out of the lineup for the short-term, Sabino should see more reps with the first-team defense in practice and the sophomore realizes the opportunity that is in front of him.
"My team needs me and I need to step up," Sabino said. "I've been working at it, studying film and all that, and I feel like I've been coming along good."
Listed at 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, Sabino is tremendous athlete who plays with both power and speed. He easily looks the part of a future professional at the linebacker position, but it's the mental aspect of things that has been the biggest adjustment for the Miami native during his first full year in Columbus.
"Coming from high school, you think you have a good understanding of football, but you don't know football until you get to college and you really have to study the game," he said. "I think last year I was still kind of iffy on it because we put in a lot of stuff. Right now that's the key for me and I've been picking it up pretty well."
Although he came to the Buckeyes as a highly-touted middle linebacker in the class of 2008, Sabino experimented with playing some outside linebacker in the spring at the Sam position. Ultimately Fickell and the defensive coaching staff felt he was better served getting reps in the middle, but the experience has paid off huge with all the injuries, as Sabino is able to provide depth at more than one position.
"With me, Ross, him and Spit in the lineup – him backing up the Mike and the Sam – that really gives us an edge with a guy that can play two positions also," Rolle said.
Despite the fact it was classmate Andrew Sweat who replaced Homan following his injury Wednesday, Rolle says the Buckeyes are counting on Sabino to be their unofficial fourth linebacker this fall. Of course, that's assuming linebackers 1-3 are going stay out of the training room between now and the season-opener against Navy on Sept. 5.
"He does a great job of playing the Sam and the Mike," Rolle said. "If I need a break he can come get me in the middle and if Spit needs a breather, he can play the outside."
Already a contributor in just his second season at Ohio State, Sabino has big goals for himself but even bigger goals for his team in 2009.
"Obviously I want to start," Sabino said. "That's been a goal of mine since I committed here. I want to start; I want to contribute to the team as much as possible. I want to win the Big Ten Championship and a National Championship."
Along with Sabino and Sweat, the injuries should create more opportunities for freshmen Storm Klein and Jordan Whiting along with Dorian Bell, who has impressed Sabino in his first week and a half as a Buckeye.
"He can definitely play football," Sabino said of Bell.
"He definitely has a nose for the ball. It all comes down to him picking up the defense, but he's in the right direction."
Return to the-OZone Front Page
(c) 2009 The O-Zone, O-Zone Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.