Columbus, Ohio – Considering where Troy Smith came from, the poverty from which he emerged and the immaturity he overcame in the carnivorous world of major-college football, it’s no surprise he’s on the verge of one of his biggest goals.
No, it’s not winning a national championship. It’s not capturing the Heisman Trophy. It’s not earning his college degree, although all three could be in his grasp soon; he already graduated, in June. It’s something else, something more symbolic.
“I want to get some piranhas,” Smith said Monday in a conference call with reporters. “It’d be a joy to watch some piranhas eat.”
Smith can relate. Swimming down the Amazon can’t be any worse than the treacherous waters he navigated in becoming the premier player in the game heading into the premier regular-season game of the century. Smith is the Heisman Trophy front-runner, a strong- armed, crafty quarterback who’s leading top-ranked Ohio State (11-0, 7-0 Big Ten) against second-ranked Michigan (11-0, 7-0) here Saturday.
In a college football rivalry dating to 1897, one an ESPN survey rated as the greatest of the 20th century, never have Ohio State and Michigan met as No. 1 versus No. 2. The winner goes to the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 8 in Arizona.
Smith will be the key, as he was the past two years, both Ohio State victories.
“When you think of Troy, the first thing that comes to mind is leadership,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said in his Monday news conference. “Probably the second thing is competitiveness, and maybe the third thing that jumps up to me about Troy is his hunger to be in command of what’s going on.”
Just a few years ago, Smith had a hunger, but not for the right kind of knowledge. He grew up in the bad section of East Cleveland, living across the street from Glenville High School, as famed for its football prowess as it was for its high dropout rate. Smith’s father left long ago, and his mother couldn’t handle him and his three siblings. Smith spent time during elementary school in a foster home.
When he was in seventh grade, the father of Pop Warner teammate Ted Ginn Jr. took an interest in Smith. Ted Ginn Sr. just happened to be the head football coach at Glenville High.
“Anytime you have to leave your home to be in a foster situation, that’s rough,” Ginn Sr. said from his office Monday. “Then some things go down that you probably can never get rid of.”
Smith learned the hard way, getting thrown out of St. Edward High for elbowing an opponent in a basketball game. But Ginn straightened him out when he transferred to Glenville.
“It was a rude awakening when he went to Glenville,” Ginn said. “I was working on him and his personality then. I’ve been working on Troy ever since I’ve known him. I’ve seen him grow since high school, not so much as a quarterback but as a person.”
As a run-first, pass-on-last-resort quarterback at Glenville, he received the last scholarship in Tressel’s class of 2002.
Then began the long days in Columbus: redshirt in 2002, returner and slash back in 2003, backup quarterback in 2004. But that year, starter Justin Zwick hurt his shoulder in midseason against Iowa – and Smith destroyed Michigan and Ohio State had a new legend.
For about an hour-and-a-half.
Smith, who had been charged in a fight in 2003, was accused of accepting $500 from a booster and was suspended for two games, including that season’s Alamo Bowl. In the 2005 season opener, Smith listened to Ohio State’s game against Miami (Ohio) from the stands while watching Glenville play.
“With Troy, we have had some tough struggles because I don’t tell him what he wants to hear,” Ginn Sr. said.
Smith has become a bona fide passing quarterback, compiling impressive numbers despite being bothered lately by a sore thumb. He is 24-2 as a starter. No Big Ten quarterback has won the Heisman, and no starting Ohio State quarterback has beaten Michigan three times in at least 70 years.
Tressel did the coaching, but on the side and in the summers, Ginn Sr. did the counseling. Early at Ohio State, Smith would show as much interest in the film room as he would in a French lit class.
“He was thinking it’s all about throwing the touchdown,” Ginn said. “These are things he had to go through. This is a business. It’s not recreational. I had to make sure he understood that.”
Smith does now, crowding the coaches every day in the film room. He credits Ginn, saying, “Without him I wouldn’t be here.”
“I’m more mature all the way around, both on the field and off,” Smith said. “There has been a total growth rate. I haven’t peaked yet. I’m still on the rise, and just continue to hope to mature every day.”
And Saturday he’s ready to bite.
John Henderson can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
