OHIO STATE FOOTBALL Senior class remembered for overcoming adversity

The Buckeyes' 26 seniors have created an impressive r & eacute;sum & eacute;.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Ben Hartsock has vivid memories of the dark times of his collegiate career. As he looks back now near the end of his senior season, those low points only make the victories and championships sweeter.
"This season by far was the fastest of my career," the tight end said during preparations for his final game, against Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 2. "It really did fly by. It's hard to believe that it was only a couple of months ago that we were playing Washington. It just seems like yesterday."
High expectations
That 28-9 victory was yesterdays ago, the first step in a 10-2 season. By most standards, winning 10 games is an outstanding season. But after last year's 14-0 mine-filled sprint to the national championship, it was a letdown for the Buckeyes and their fans.
"But in retrospect, it's still been a great year," said Hartsock, one of the Buckeyes' 26 seniors. "I don't have any regrets about the way things have turned out.
"There's always controversy, there's always questions and criticism, but we came through and we did what we could," he added. "Everybody played their hardest. We may not have had the record we wanted, but we gave it what we had and you've got to be happy with that."
Ohio State's senior class has been through a lot. The fifth-year players were around when the Buckeyes went 6-6 in 1999 and weren't invited to a bowl. They were recruited to campus by head coach John Cooper, who was fired after the 2000 season, and they've spent the past three years under Jim Tressel.
Over their careers, the seniors have finished No. 1 in the nation -- Ohio State's first football title in 34 years -- along with sharing a Big Ten title and posting a 39-11 record.
Asked how he thought his class would be remembered, offensive lineman Adrien Clarke said, "Heart. We're brave. We're able to overcome adversity.
"We've had plenty of adversity this year, starting off with the [suspended tailback Maurice] Clarett situation and all the way up to the loss at Michigan," he added. "No one hung their heads and everybody came back and got ready for the next game. That takes a lot of character."
Roster moves
In the weeks leading up to a bowl game, coaches have a tricky balancing act. On one hand, the bowl game is the final appearance for the seniors, and coaches want to give the players a last, warm memory.
Yet coaches also know that the days are numbered until spring practice and even the first game of next season. Already obsessed with preparation -- they wear out the buttons on video machines from overuse -- it is an incredible temptation to toy with different underclass players and lineups to get ready for the future. Tressel tries to keep the spotlight on the seniors.
"They've earned that right to go to a final bowl game," said Tressel, who devotes only the final 15 minutes of most practices to the underclassmen. "We really work hard to make sure we can do the best we can to send them out with their last one being a good one."
Some seniors will not be playing next year in the NFL. Others already have visions of six-figure contracts dancing through their heads.
"For a lot of us, this is our last game," Clarke said. "Others have the opportunity to go to the next level. We just want to go out with a bang."
Still, even the NFL is a job. The risk of injury is high, the chance of being drafted by the wrong team and being stuck behind a veteran star is even higher. Careers are short, the days are long.
Almost every player will look back with longing on their college days. Hartsock already knows what he'll be missing.
"If I'm lucky enough to play in the NFL, I can probably guarantee that there won't be, no matter where I go, the support and the caring that people have for this university and this team," he said, his voice cracking.
"Win, lose or draw to have a stadium overflowing with 105,000 people, how in the world can you complain?" he added. "Even in the down times, even with a 6-6 season when you think everything's pretty dismal, you're still on a field that has been played on by the most talented people."
For years, Ohio State players had been reminded that the last national championship team was in 1968. Now teams will be compared to the 2002 team.
"The guys on this team have written their own chapter in history," Hartsock said. "That's an amazing thing to be a part of. I hope to never forget the memories I have from this year. I've got to go write them down."