Should OSU coach Jim Tressel have handed down a more severe punishment for Doug Worthington, or is his case-by-case approach fair? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
COLUMBUS (AP) — What’s brewing today with the 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes …
BUCKEYES BUZZ: DL Doug Worthington won’t start but may get to play when the Buckeyes meet Youngstown State on Saturday. Worthington was arrested July 26 on charges he was driving while drunk, two weeks shy of his 21st birthday.
He has not been suspended from the team, even though a smattering of schools across the nation have suspended players heading into their season-openers.
On Thursday, Jim Tressel was asked why.
“Doug Worthington has done a tremendous job here at Ohio State,” Tressel said. “He did have an issue, and we’ve resolved that issue to the agreement of how we’re feeling about what we ought to do next. So he’s going to have an opportunity to play. How much? Tune in.”
He added, “It’s a big-picture thing. It’s a whole body of work, the total time that a young man has been here.”
Backup QB Antonio Henton was held out of several games last year while facing charges he solicited a Columbus police officer posing as a prostitute. Tressel was asked if Worthington’s DUI charge was somehow less serious than Henton’s.
“If it were that simple, it would be an interesting discussion,” Tressel said.
He said each case should be handled separately, based on the circumstances.
On Tuesday, Tressel had ignored a question about why Henton was held out of games last year and Worthington is not this year.
SPLIT ALLEGIANCE? In July 2007, Tressel, his wife Ellen and her parents Frank and Norma Watson presented Youngstown State with million to fund a multimillion-dollar indoor athletic training facility.
Dubbed the Watson and Tressel Training Site (W.A.T.T.S.), the facility got another boost on Thursday when Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who won five Super Bowls while he was owner of the San Francisco 49ers, donated 0,000. The practice field will bear his name.
In a statement issued by YSU, Tressel said, “As a first-time head coach at YSU, it was Edward DeBartolo Jr. that gave me the confidence, guidance, and friendship that I needed to be successful. I still have every piece of correspondence that we have shared for these 22-plus years, and I cherish them. To be able to partner with Mr. DeBartolo to positively affect the school we both love and the community that we call home is extraordinary.”
Just imagine the reaction if Tressel had come from Michigan and was donating money to help out the Wolverines athletic department the week of The Big Game.
MISSING FROM ACTION: Starting SS Kurt Coleman is unlikely to play against Youngstown State after injuring his ankle in practice on Monday.
Coleman, a junior from Dayton, was the Buckeyes’ third-leading tackler a year ago.
“We’ll probably hold him (out),” said Tressel, who pointed to Jermale Hines as his replacement. “You have to think about the long haul.”
Coleman’s absence adds to a shortage of players in the secondary. Starting cornerback Donald Washington and backup safety Jamario O’Neal are serving two-game suspensions for breaking unspecified team rules. Eugene Clifford, a backup safety, left the team over the summer after being disciplined last year. Another defensive back, sophomore James Scott, was not one of the 105 players invited to preseason camp, again for an unspecified reason.
