An
O-Zone Chat with Ben Hartsock There is a trend in college football recruiting toward early commitments, so it is not surprising that OSU got tight end Ben Hartsock to commit to be a Buckeye extremely early in the recruiting season. What did surprise some people was that Hartsock was even offered by Ohio State. He was not a big-name, high profile recruit that was on all the lists, a fact that is not lost on Hartsock himself. "I know that people have doubted me always," said Ben Hartsock in an exclusive O-Zone interview. "They say I'm from too small a school or I'm not fast enough or big enough. It seems like every time somebody is doubting me I've been able to come through and I've been able to manage." What Buckeye fans need to keep in mind is the last part of that statement. Hartsock has indeed, in every case, been able to come through and excel. Maybe he is from a small school, but last summer when he was at the OSU summer camp with lots of other players from big schools, it was Hartsock that stood out in the eyes of the OSU coaching staff, and it was Hartsock that got the scholarship offer after the coaching staff saw him up close and personal. Hartsock also has something that counts no matter what size school you come from, that being physical tools. He stands 6-5 and currently weighs in at 260 pounds, plenty big for a big-time college tight end. Hartsock also bench presses a very respectable 340 pounds, up around 30 pounds since starting Dave Kennedy's lifting program, and runs an acceptable 4.85 in the 40. That is a full 10th of a second less than his time a year ago, a trend toward quickness that Hartsock is trying to maintain with a running program this summer. "I've been running several times a week with my high school football coach, and been just trying to keep in shape, playing in some open gyms, just trying to keep in shape for the next step," Hartsock told us. Hartsock was recruited by Ohio State as a tight end, but don't be surprised if you see him lined up at a different position before his college career is over. As a high school player, Hartsock played all over the field. "I played tight end, a little bit of slot back, a little bit of fullback in the power I formation, and on defense I played defensive end." He was a do-everything performer on his high school football team, including some things that were a bit out of his realm of skills. "Actually, I was also a kicker this year. It was kind of a running joke. I was about 50-50 for point-after attempts. This year, I didn't play on kickoff returns, but I played it every year before then," said Hartsock. At 6-5, 260 pounds, you would expect that Hartsock would be one of those guys known for punishing blocks and that's about it. Not so. Hartsock actually was Mr. Touchdown for his team. He had a real knack for scoring TDs and his high school coach lined him in positions that allowed him to find the end zone. "We ran a straight "I" and a little bit of pro formation. We didn't throw the ball often. This year even less than previous years. My sophomore I caught 25 passes, last year 22 and this year 25. I actually got most of my scoring touchdowns this year out of the slot back position. We ran a scissors action play that just tore 'em up. We had a big lineman that would pull and he'd clear them out and I got better as the year progressed. I had around 300 yards rushing, around 300 receiving, 25 catches, and coach said every 6th time I touched the ball, I scored." Hartsock is coming to OSU ticketed for a shot at tight end, but his versatility could put him into a number of positions on offense. Fullback, or even offensive line a la Mike Gurr, are a couple of possibilities. Another possibility is for him to play a little D with Fred Pagac and the boys who make up the Silver Bullets, because Hartsock proved last year that he can be a real force on the defensive side of the ball as well. "The side of the ball I really shined on this year was the defensive side of the ball," said Hartsock. "I committed to Ohio State before the season, and that immediately puts a big bullseye right on your chest. I think I was able to excel more defensively this year because on the offensive side of the ball it is easier put a guy on you, put a guy like a corner and a free safety on you and make sure you're not going to catch that pass." Hartsock's numbers on defense bear out his observation. "They can always stack to your side of the ball on defense, but if you're on the defensive side of the ball, they can put two, but they can't put three and they can't put four guys, so I had 19 sacks this year, 16 tackles for loss, 100 tackles total playing defensive end. This was my first year playing defensive end, actually. The year before I played linebacker." Could Hartsock end up on defense? "Right now I'm focusing in on offense and I'd like to play tight end, but if they need me at defensive end I'd be happy to play there too if I'm good enough," he said. Hartsock has the size, and showed the coaches he has the skills at the summer camp, but there is an old clichi in football that much of the game is played from the eyebrows up. If that is so, then that is where Ben Hartsock might have his greatest advantage. Hartsock is a 4.0 student and scored a whopping 27 on the SAT. The night we spoke to him he was studying for a math test that was pretty important to him. "Actually, tomorrow I have a very big math test. If I get that, I've got a shot at being Valedictorian of my class," he told us. Physical tools and intellect are two key ingredients that make a good football player. The third is attitude, and that is an area that Hartsock says he has improved in tremendously. "I think my game has developed a lot over the past year. I think it's changed a lot. We've gotten a new coach this past year that has really helped me step up my intensity level," he said. Hartsock says he likes the thinking side of the game of football, but the physical side of it is really where the payoff is. "I would consider myself more of a cerebral type of player. I like playing on offense because I know I get to call the shots. Whenever I'm running a pattern, whenever I'm running a blocking scheme, I like to think 'what can I do to get this guy a little off balance so I can hammer him?'. Outthink them, then hammer them. Sounds like a great formula. For Hartsock, both ends of that equation are important. "It's gratifying to me to see that I can outsmart him, but also I enjoy being very physical and driving that guy in the ground and knowing that I have physically beat him. That's both just a great feeling. You've got to love hitting if you're going to play football." That competitive attitude is probably what caught the eye of the OSU coaches and led to his scholarship offer. When that offer came, Hartsock knew exactly what he wanted to do. "That was simple. That was the easiest decision I ever made through high school it seems. My parents, mom and dad, both graduated from Ohio State. My brother will be a graduate. My parents have always been big fans, I've always been a big fan, we've had season tickets for years." Hartsock has been a long-time Buckeye fan. "I'd say I saw my first Ohio State when I was in the 6th grade. The most memorable Ohio State state for me was the first year we played Penn State and it snowed. Dad took me to that game. We sat up in C deck and watched that game in the snow, and that was a memorable game, watching them beat Penn State that day, because that was a big deal, because Penn State was a good team that year." For Hartsock, the offer from Ohio State was a dream come true. "When Ohio State came calling, it was a no-brainer for me. I was worried that they wouldn't. I wanted to play in college, but I really, really wanted to play for Ohio State. They've got such a tradition there, and that stadium is something amazing." Hartsock seems to have an appreciation for the total Buckeye experience. "Watching that band come out of the tunnel is something that's amazing to me. That really excites me. I'm still thinking about what I'm going to do the first time I get to run out. I hope I don't trip or get all choked up or whatever. That is something I really look forward to doing." When he is not playing football or studying to maintain that 4.0 GPA, Ben Hartsock finds a little time to play some hoops. He was a standout center on his high school basketball team, and as in football, was a scorer, averaging 18 points per game to go with his 10 rebounds per game. He was good enough to be named special mention all state in basketball. It was football,however where he really excelled , and garnered plenty of post-season accolades to prove it. "As a football player I was a Bigger, Faster, Stronger All American, first team all Ohio, district defensive player of the year, and I was league lineman of the year," Hartsock told us. Hartsock's father, Tim, is a grain farmer, farming over 4000 acres in Southern Ohio. He also is engaged in reforestation, acting as a contract tree planter for the past 12 years. "We do it on land that Mead Paper own and on land like American Electric Power strip mine land over in eastern Ohio. We plant 1000 acres per year of trees all over southeastern Ohio and a little bit over into Kentucky and West Virginia," Tim told us. According to his father, helping out in the family farming business has probably helped to make Ben the kind of person he is, though there is a healthy dose of good example coming from his older brother as well. "I think there is a certain work ethic on a farm. These kids work, they've always worked, yet we do not work at the level of kids that work on a dairy farm or livestock farm. We work long hours periodically, but not all the time. The work ethic certainly comes from the farm. I think that is part of it. Part of it is also we've always had a disciplined family, and yet we've given our kids lots of leeway as they've grown up," said Tim Hartsock, but quickly added that his oldest son, Nathaniel, also has had a great influence on Ben. "He's always been a good student. All three of our kids have. One, Nathaniel, graduates from Ohio State this year in Agronomy, and he was always a good student. He has a 3.8 and is going to graduate school at the University of Kentucky. He was always a good student and kind of sets the pace for the rest of our family." Hartsock committed early to OSU, but did get attention from other major programs such as Purdue, West Virginia and Pittsburgh, as well as MAC schools such as OU and Toledo. He was recruited for Ohio State by OSU quarterbacks coach Tim Salem, whom Hartsock says made a real impression on him. ""He is a very energetic and enthusiastic coach. If you've met him, you know exactly what I mean. He's a funny guy to be around because you just kind of sit back and watch. With him it's almost a show in itself. I went up to several practices this year, and the amount of information that he throws at Mohorman and Bellisari is just mind boggling. Lots of times he says it so fast that as soon as Bellisari turned around, he was just shaking his head going 'what in the world?', but it must work, because he coached a good one there in Germaine." Hartsock will be coming to Columbus as soon as possible to begin working out with the Buckeyes, but will take a couple of breaks this summer from the summer running program. "I'm not sure if the incoming freshmen can come in during Spring quarter or not. I'll be graduating on May 30th, so I could be up as soon as May 31st, but coach Kennedy has said there might be a little question with that, so I'm waiting to hear back from them. I want to get up there as soon and quickly as possible to get into the swing of things, because I and many of the freshmen are going to do both of the all star games (North/South and Big 33) this summer. Those are almost looked upon as a burden by the coaching staff is seems, because that's a week here and there that you are going to miss of running, but it's accepted that this is a once in a lifetime thing, and I'm very excited about playing in those," said Hartsock. Hartsock is a ten year member of 4H, and is active in student government. He was vice president of his class, and was also a member of the National Honor Society. That doesn't leave much time for much else, but Hartsock says he has discovered the internet, and one of the sites he visits is the O-Zone. "My brother got me turned on to it, and I check it a lot. I read all the way through on your bus trip to the final four and that was pretty entertaining," said Hartsock. It was for us that went, too, Ben. What can we expect from Ben Hartsock? Who knows. It will be interesting to see how the next four or five years unfold for him. You can probably depend on one thing though, and that is that he will do what is right. In his own words: "I think that what I want people to see when they see me in the upcoming years is a guy that is dependable, that is going to be giving his all every time he is out there he's going to be giving 110%, a guy you can depend on and trust to make the right decision both on and off the field." That is about as much as you can ask. |