Sunday, January 03, 1999
Buckeyes aim to keep squad intact
NFL beckons for key juniors
BY JOHN ERARDI
The Cincinnati Enquirer
NEW ORLEANS — Rob Murphy was one of the first Ohio State players to run off the field and head for the section of OSU fans closest to one of the end zones in the Superdome after conclusion of Friday night's Sugar Bowl.
OSU had just beaten Texas A&M 24-14, and Murphy jumped up toward the stands to slap hands with the fans. He was one of the last players to head for the tunnel leading to the Buckeyes locker room, and he exchanged hand slaps with more fans before he disappeared from view.
As one watched Murphy, a junior, one had to wonder: Is this the last Buckeye fans will see of him in scarlet and gray? Will the consensus first-team All-American leave school early for the NFL draft?
What about junior split end David Boston, who made an OSU bowl-record 11 receptions (for 105 yards) Friday night and is regarded as a lead-pipe first round NFL selection?
What about junior middle linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer, another sure first-rounder, who made some sternum-slamming hits Friday night?
What about junior Michael Wiley (16 carries for 90 yards), who everybody automatically assumes is coming back because this was his first year as a starter, but who some scouts think could be the first running back taken after Texas' Ricky Williams?
College juniors have until Jan. 8 to announce if they're coming out for the NFL draft.
“I don't think any of them will come out,” said Ohio State coach John Cooper. “David told me two or three weeks ago that if he wasn't the No. 1 receiver taken in the draft, that he was coming back. We've talked to Andy, too, and I think he'll come back. I think they'll all come back ... Murphy's told me he's coming back.”
This may be wishful thinking on Cooper's part.
But even if Murphy, Katzenmoyer, Boston and Wiley all return for their senior years, Ohio State would still have a long way to go to be as good next year as the Buckeyes were this year.
It's hard to imagine a scenario in which OSU returns to the Sugar Bowl for a third straight time next year. Why? Because the Sugar Bowl will host the national title game next year — it's the Sugar Bowl's turn, as part of the Bowl Championship Series rotation — and the Buckeyes won't be that good. They won't be that good for this simple reason:
Senior quarterback Joe Germaine definitely won't be back next year; he's out of eligibility. His likely “heir” (though he'll have to win the job competitively) is true sophomore-to-be Steve Bellisari, who spent this year on special teams and did a heck of a job — so you know he's tough — but he has no game experience as a college quarterback.
No question, OSU has a lot of upcoming talent. An oft-used football-factory axiom, “We don't rebuild, we re-load” is true for the Buckeyes.
But it's also true a quarterback's production can make or break a team. The OSU coaches did not want to talk about “next year” so soon after the Superdome victory. The coaches wanted to savor this victory, even though the Buckeyes had not beaten Texas A&M as convincingly as the Buckeyes had hoped. They had hoped to get consideration for a share of the national title in the remaining Associated press poll.
Cooper impressed with local Buckeyes
Complete bowl coverage from Associated Press:
Orange Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
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Hearty fans make it through
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