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Football
Heyward Hopes to Elevate His Game in 2010...and Everyone Else's.
By Tony Gerdeman

If the Ohio State Buckeyes are playing for the BCS National Championship on January 10, 2011, it will be in large part because of what took place on January 5, 2010. It was on that day - to the delight of Buckeye fans, players, and especially coaches - that junior defensive lineman Cameron Heyward made his intentions known that he would be returning for his senior season at Ohio State.

Cam Heyward
Photo by Jim Davidson

Heyward posseses he ability to disrupt every single snap which caused offenses to focus on his whereabouts constantly last year. Now- unfortunately for them - his whereabouts will be in Columbus for one more season.

Heyward is coming off of a year in which he led the team in sacks (6.5) and finished second in tackles for loss (10.0). Many believed Heyward to be a first-round NFL draft pick. Heyward, however, didn’t think too much about it.

“I wouldn’t say I was really close to leaving,” he admitted. “I have a great family here and I love these guys. I want to help them in any way possible and help them get what they want - a National Championship.”

He knows that championships don’t just happen. It needs to be the singular, solitary focus of an entire football team. Now that he’s a senior, he’s looking to lead by example.

“You’re a senior now,” he said. “You feel that entitlement of ‘This is your baby and you’ve got to raise it.’ These seniors, we come out here every day and we’re trying to push every guy. We want them to go out right. It’s a big challenge for the seniors coming up. You want to live up to that reputation. You don’t want to be the first team to not win that Big Ten Championship.”

If there’s anybody suited to live up to the reputation of defenses past, it’s Cameron Heyward. His versatility is on par with anything the Swiss Army could ever come up with. He can play all four positions on the defensive line if needed - and play them well.

Cam Heyward seemed to live the Penn State backfield.
Photo by Jim Davidson

There were times when he absolutely victimized opponents last year. He essentially controlled the entire Penn State game, helping to limit the Nittany Lions to just seven points and 201 total yards. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise to walk into a State College post office and see Heyward’s picture hanging on the wall with everybody else they‘ve deemed a criminal.

Heyward had other moments like that as well, but not enough for his liking. When asked what he’s focusing on for 2010, the answer was a simple one.

“Be more consistent,” he said. “You see all of these guys who have breakout years, but I want to be the guy that’s known for dominating every game.”

There’s little doubt that he has the ability. When he is playing on the interior, he has the speed and burst of few players before him. When he is on the perimeter, his strength is virtually unmatched.

There will be times when the only thing asked of him will be to destroy one side of an offensive line. And like Ralphie when given the task of writing a theme about his beloved Red Ryder Carbine-Action BB gun, he takes to his assignment with a certain sadistic joy.

But then when you’re a leader, that’s how you have to approach everything asked of you.

“You’re looked at as if you’ve got to lead your guys,” he said. “I was used to staying in the back of the lines, but now I’ve got to lead these guys and push them even harder.”

If we know anything about Cameron Heyward in his previous three years at Ohio State, he has a certain knack for pushing people in his own unique way.

This, however, is a push of a different color.

Cam Heyward celebrates a touchdown after recovering a fumble against Michigan.
Photo by Jim Davidson

“It’s coming with time. I tried to stay back a couple of years ago,” he said, when asked how his new role as team leader is coming.

“It’s my time to step up, so I’m going to keep trying. I’ve just tried to go out there and lead as much as I can.

"Some guys need some more push, some guys need a little less talking.

"I’m just trying to push them in the right direction.”

That direction, obviously, is towards a sixth-straight Big Ten Championship, and whatever else may follow.

For Heyward, being a leader may not have been something that he set out to do, but when you do what he does on and off the football field, others are naturally going to follow.

Dwight Eisenhower once said, “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

In Cameron Heyward’s case, leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because you, yourself, are doing it as well.

The incentive behind the hard work and the expanded role is clear.

“We want to go out there and go out right,” he said.

“It’s not given to us. It’s going to take everybody to be vocal and be honest with each other.”

How fortunate the Buckeyes are to have a leader who understands such things.

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