Published: Wednesday, December 6, 2006
OSU's Smith stiff-arms competition
The senior quarterback is expected to be landslide winner this Saturday.
COLUMBUS (AP) — Having come so far in such a short time, Troy Smith knows there is no time to rest just yet.
There is one more game to go in his college career, one more chance to show a lot of people that they were wrong about him, one more chance to prove that he truly is a quarterback and not just an "athlete."
The chance to win a Heisman Trophy this weekend is just another step along the way to the next challenge.
"This is the beginning of the end, but no one is looking at it like that," he said of No. 1 Ohio State's impending date with Florida in the national championship game on Jan. 8.
At 22, Smith has moved on from a tough childhood and has overcome several personal trials to become one of the top players in the nation.
The talent was always there for Ohio State's 6-foot-1, 215-pound run-pass star who has a sterling 25-2 record as a starter. His numbers mark him as the best ever at his position at the school — a record 30 touchdown passes and 67-percent completion rate this season with only five interceptions.
Best in big games
More than that, he's at his best in the biggest games, becoming only the second Ohio State quarterback (Tippy Dye, 1934-36) to go 3-0 as a starter against archrival Michigan. In those games, plus showdowns with No. 2 Texas this year and No. 6 Notre Dame in last year's Fiesta Bowl, Smith has averaged 50 yards rushing, 294 passing yards and has 11 TD passes with one interception.
His defining moment came earlier in the season when he avoided two pass rushers, doubled back and pinpointed a long pass for a 37-yard scoring strike to Brian Robiskie in a 28-6 win over Penn State.
"That play that Smith made when we almost had him, he threw that ball on the button in the end zone," Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno said. "That was a super play."
Smith, who graduated last spring with a degree in communications and is working on another bachelor's degree in Black Studies, is a bundle of paradoxes off the field: The very epitome of a team player, he has often made egregious mistakes that have hurt his teams.
But he has also shown an ability to overcome those missteps.
"His determination, he had that all his life, whether that was on the good end or the bad end," says his high school coach and father figure, Ted Ginn Sr.
Tough upbringing
Things didn't come easy for Tracy Smith and her three kids. Sports were a welcome respite from the rigors of a hard-scrabble life. Troy, her youngest, thrived from the very beginning on the field and the court.
Smith, whose father wasn't in his life, was just another scrawny, whippet-fast kid growing up on the streets, parks and sandlots of Cleveland when he first started dreaming of being a big-time quarterback.
He wanted to be the quarterback of his pee-wee team because that position had the biggest effect on winning. Back then, he befriended a fellow pee-wee quarterback. The two still took turns woofing at each other when they weren't hanging around together after the games.
That enemy quarterback became his teammate in high school and also at Ohio State, Ted Ginn Jr. Now Ginn — a breath-takingly fast wide-out and kick returner — is one of Smith's favorite targets, best friends and boosters.
Both of their names popped up on Heisman watch lists earlier this year.
"If I had a vote, I'd vote for him," Ginn said with a grin.
Off the field, Smith likes to spend time mentoring children and seems to take personal interest when signing autographs.
In interviews, he continually talks about football, but there is a less sober side, like having fun when hanging out with his friends, mostly teammates.
Baggage
Smith carries a lot of baggage.
During a high school basketball game in December of 2000, witnesses said Smith purposely elbowed a white player and knocked him unconscious.
Years later, Smith told Sports Illustrated that he lashed out because racial slurs were thrown at him during the game.
The private St. Edward High School in suburban Lakewood dismissed him from the team and he soon transferred to inner-city Glenville, where he became a star in football and basketball.
"You have to remember what the perception of Troy was," Ginn Sr. said.
"It was, 'You don't want him on your team.' A lot of people shied away. But I said, this is a good kid."
After he blossomed as a quarterback for him, Ginn Sr. told all recruiters that Smith was a quarterback and shouldn't be considered just an athlete who could be shifted to another position.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel agreed.
Early in his college career, Smith was involved in a fight outside an Ohio State dormitory in the fall of 2003 and was found guilty of disorderly conduct.
Then an NCAA investigation determined he took $500 from an Ohio State booster in the spring of 2004. He had to repay the money, sit out the Buckeyes' bowl game and the 2005 season-opener.
Smith doesn't like to talk about those problems but he credits his family and friends for helping him get through them.
"I have a stable group of people around me to help me stay even-keeled and everything," he said. "That group of people helps me get back to reality."
Getting his chance
Midway through his redshirt sophomore season over two years ago, he failed to play in three straight games while watching big-name recruit Justin Zwick, who was the same age. Smith could read the handwriting on the gray walls at Ohio Stadium.
Hurt and seemingly forgotten, he hinted that he might transfer.
But then the Buckeyes fell into a three-game swoon, Zwick sustained a shoulder injury and Smith stepped in.
Except for the two games he was compelled to sit out, he's been in charge of the offense ever since.
"Some kids when they're in high school, they walk with their heads down," Glenville athletic director Gretchen Taylor said. "They don't have enough confidence in themselves. Troy, you never see his head down."
It's not just coincidence that he equates quarterbacking with being the head of a family.
"You've got 10 other guys looking at you," Smith said. "I think probably the most — how can I put this — the most family-oriented or team-oriented portion of a football game is when everybody's in the huddle. There can be 105,000 screaming fans and everybody in the huddle is all centered and focused on one thing. That's a beautiful thing."
Smith is looking forward to taking Tracy to Saturday's Heisman announcement. Neither has been to New York.
"Just taking my mother to a situation where she's never been is great," he said.
He doesn't want to leave empty handed. Five other Ohio State players have won the coveted statuette, including the only two-time winner, Archie Griffin.
The two most recent winners — Griffin and 1995 winner Eddie George — have bumped into Smith several times in the past year.
They don't discuss the Heisman for fear they might jinx Smith.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
The senior quarterback is expected to be landslide winner this Saturday.
COLUMBUS (AP) — Having come so far in such a short time, Troy Smith knows there is no time to rest just yet.
There is one more game to go in his college career, one more chance to show a lot of people that they were wrong about him, one more chance to prove that he truly is a quarterback and not just an "athlete."
The chance to win a Heisman Trophy this weekend is just another step along the way to the next challenge.
"This is the beginning of the end, but no one is looking at it like that," he said of No. 1 Ohio State's impending date with Florida in the national championship game on Jan. 8.
At 22, Smith has moved on from a tough childhood and has overcome several personal trials to become one of the top players in the nation.
The talent was always there for Ohio State's 6-foot-1, 215-pound run-pass star who has a sterling 25-2 record as a starter. His numbers mark him as the best ever at his position at the school — a record 30 touchdown passes and 67-percent completion rate this season with only five interceptions.
Best in big games
More than that, he's at his best in the biggest games, becoming only the second Ohio State quarterback (Tippy Dye, 1934-36) to go 3-0 as a starter against archrival Michigan. In those games, plus showdowns with No. 2 Texas this year and No. 6 Notre Dame in last year's Fiesta Bowl, Smith has averaged 50 yards rushing, 294 passing yards and has 11 TD passes with one interception.
His defining moment came earlier in the season when he avoided two pass rushers, doubled back and pinpointed a long pass for a 37-yard scoring strike to Brian Robiskie in a 28-6 win over Penn State.
"That play that Smith made when we almost had him, he threw that ball on the button in the end zone," Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno said. "That was a super play."
Smith, who graduated last spring with a degree in communications and is working on another bachelor's degree in Black Studies, is a bundle of paradoxes off the field: The very epitome of a team player, he has often made egregious mistakes that have hurt his teams.
But he has also shown an ability to overcome those missteps.
"His determination, he had that all his life, whether that was on the good end or the bad end," says his high school coach and father figure, Ted Ginn Sr.
Tough upbringing
Things didn't come easy for Tracy Smith and her three kids. Sports were a welcome respite from the rigors of a hard-scrabble life. Troy, her youngest, thrived from the very beginning on the field and the court.
Smith, whose father wasn't in his life, was just another scrawny, whippet-fast kid growing up on the streets, parks and sandlots of Cleveland when he first started dreaming of being a big-time quarterback.
He wanted to be the quarterback of his pee-wee team because that position had the biggest effect on winning. Back then, he befriended a fellow pee-wee quarterback. The two still took turns woofing at each other when they weren't hanging around together after the games.
That enemy quarterback became his teammate in high school and also at Ohio State, Ted Ginn Jr. Now Ginn — a breath-takingly fast wide-out and kick returner — is one of Smith's favorite targets, best friends and boosters.
Both of their names popped up on Heisman watch lists earlier this year.
"If I had a vote, I'd vote for him," Ginn said with a grin.
Off the field, Smith likes to spend time mentoring children and seems to take personal interest when signing autographs.
In interviews, he continually talks about football, but there is a less sober side, like having fun when hanging out with his friends, mostly teammates.
Baggage
Smith carries a lot of baggage.
During a high school basketball game in December of 2000, witnesses said Smith purposely elbowed a white player and knocked him unconscious.
Years later, Smith told Sports Illustrated that he lashed out because racial slurs were thrown at him during the game.
The private St. Edward High School in suburban Lakewood dismissed him from the team and he soon transferred to inner-city Glenville, where he became a star in football and basketball.
"You have to remember what the perception of Troy was," Ginn Sr. said.
"It was, 'You don't want him on your team.' A lot of people shied away. But I said, this is a good kid."
After he blossomed as a quarterback for him, Ginn Sr. told all recruiters that Smith was a quarterback and shouldn't be considered just an athlete who could be shifted to another position.
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel agreed.
Early in his college career, Smith was involved in a fight outside an Ohio State dormitory in the fall of 2003 and was found guilty of disorderly conduct.
Then an NCAA investigation determined he took $500 from an Ohio State booster in the spring of 2004. He had to repay the money, sit out the Buckeyes' bowl game and the 2005 season-opener.
Smith doesn't like to talk about those problems but he credits his family and friends for helping him get through them.
"I have a stable group of people around me to help me stay even-keeled and everything," he said. "That group of people helps me get back to reality."
Getting his chance
Midway through his redshirt sophomore season over two years ago, he failed to play in three straight games while watching big-name recruit Justin Zwick, who was the same age. Smith could read the handwriting on the gray walls at Ohio Stadium.
Hurt and seemingly forgotten, he hinted that he might transfer.
But then the Buckeyes fell into a three-game swoon, Zwick sustained a shoulder injury and Smith stepped in.
Except for the two games he was compelled to sit out, he's been in charge of the offense ever since.
"Some kids when they're in high school, they walk with their heads down," Glenville athletic director Gretchen Taylor said. "They don't have enough confidence in themselves. Troy, you never see his head down."
It's not just coincidence that he equates quarterbacking with being the head of a family.
"You've got 10 other guys looking at you," Smith said. "I think probably the most — how can I put this — the most family-oriented or team-oriented portion of a football game is when everybody's in the huddle. There can be 105,000 screaming fans and everybody in the huddle is all centered and focused on one thing. That's a beautiful thing."
Smith is looking forward to taking Tracy to Saturday's Heisman announcement. Neither has been to New York.
"Just taking my mother to a situation where she's never been is great," he said.
He doesn't want to leave empty handed. Five other Ohio State players have won the coveted statuette, including the only two-time winner, Archie Griffin.
The two most recent winners — Griffin and 1995 winner Eddie George — have bumped into Smith several times in the past year.
They don't discuss the Heisman for fear they might jinx Smith.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Having come so far in such a short time, Troy Smith knows there is no time to rest just yet.
There is one more game to...
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