COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby thought long and hard last winter about whether he wanted to jump into the NFL draft or come back for his fourth season with the Buckeyes.
He decided to return. Then a skirmish in an Indiana bar led to a one-game suspension.
Now the All-Big Ten performer is back with the Buckeyes as they prepare for Saturday’s game against San Diego State.
Coach Urban Meyer said it’s been a strange last nine months or so for Roby.
”Bradley Roby, who I have a lot of respect for, made a decision to come back. It was because he came in with a group of players and he wanted to finish (with them), which I think is very admirable,” Meyer said earlier this week. ”He catches a lot of people in his ear, people saying, ‘You could have done this, you could have done this.’ I believe that he went through a little bit of a funk of buyer’s remorse or whatever.”
Meyer meant that Roby perhaps had second thoughts about his decision to come back instead of taking a big paycheck as a high NFL draft pick. It’s a problem for a lot of kids who have to make that call after their third year in college. Many end up thinking back on what might have been instead of concentrating on what’s coming up.
Roby was charged with misdemeanor battery after an incident in Bloomington, Ind., when a bar bouncer said he was struck in the chest by Roby. Eventually, the charges were reduced to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and will be dropped from Roby’s record if he stays out of trouble for the next year.
Roby has not spoken to reporters since his arrest. But he apparently played an active role with the Buckeyes in the weeks leading up to last week’s 40-20 win over Buffalo in the opener.
Meyer stressed on Monday that there was no evidence that Roby did anything wrong.
”Once the (bar’s surveillance) videotape came out, (it was clear) there was no assault, there was no battery, there was no, whatever,” said Meyer, who still elected to bench Roby for the opener for being in a situation he shouldn’t have been in. ”But I think he learned a really strong lesson and he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and I’m anxious to get him back on the field.”
Continue Reading: Roles of Roby, Smith still uncertain at Ohio State
