Is too-careful Tressel misusing wide receiver Ted Ginn?
By MATT HAYES
THE SPORTING NEWS
Who is Brandon Schnittker, you say? More important to the Ohio State offense than Ted Ginn. Who is Anthony Gonzalez, you ask? See Schnittker, I say.
Four games into this season, one thing is clear: The Ohio State coaching staff is misusing Ted Ginn. The most explosive player this side of Reggie Bush has not been a factor in the Buckeyes' offense.
Ginn wowed us last season as a freshman with his sub-4.3 40 and thrill-a-touch ability. Now he bores us while his talents are wasted with safety-valve routes and go routes to clear the middle of the field that make him -- of all things -- a decoy.
To-date tally
Ginn scored eight touchdowns in 55 touches last season but has one touchdown this season -- against MAC patsy Miami (Ohio). And it gets worse: He has touched the ball just 18 times in four games, not including punt and kick returns.
"It's not about how many times I touch the ball," Ginn says. "We just want to win."
After Ohio State pasted Iowa last week, it's hard to argue with that statement.
Unless, of course, we all remember that little game last month that likely cost the Buckeyes a chance at playing for the national title. You know, the 25-22 loss to Texas in which Ginn touched the ball three times on offense.
Three times.
The most anticipated regular-season game at Ohio State in decades. The most anticipated sophomore season in Columbus in decades. And Ginn touches the ball three times. The obvious question: Why?
Texas' defensive backs say Ginn isn't physical enough at the line of scrimmage, that he easily is knocked off routes and avoids contact. If you've seen the blocks Ginn has made in the running game -- especially last week against Iowa -- you know being physical isn't an issue.
Coach's contention
Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel says Ginn still is learning the nuances of the position, that he is "getting better in all phases."
Ted Ginn Sr. says that's "ridiculous."
"That's just not true," says Ted Sr., who isn't your typical Little League dad -- his teams at Glenville High are annually among the best in a talent-rich state. "Ted has been running routes since he was 4. Anyone who says Ted doesn't know how to play receiver doesn't know what they're talking about."
I'm going to side with Ted Sr. on this -- with a caveat. Of course Ted Jr. knows how to play the position. Texas took him out of the game by using press coverage and rolling a safety over the top to allow the corner to gamble. But any offense -- double-team or not -- should be able to get a receiver open so he can get more touches. Especially someone with Ginn's talent.
An offense can run a stacked set of three receivers and use twists at the snap to "rub" one route -- and coverage -- off the other. It can use motion to avoid jams at the line. It can, if all else fails, use illegal picks to get a receiver free. Officials seldom make that call, anyway.
Some way, somehow
Run Ginn on reverses; get him direct snaps at quarterback. For the love of God, let him take a couple of snaps at tailback.
"If I had Ted Ginn," one Big Ten coach says, "from the moment we finished last season to kickoff this season, I would have told one assistant to find as many ways as possible to get him the ball."
It's that simple, isn't it?
Maybe the ever-conservative Tressel is concerned the Ginn hype could expand to Clarett-like proportions. Maybe he's taking it slow for that reason -- to protect team chemistry. If that's the case, that's incredibly shortsighted because Ginn has a different personality and demeanor than Clarett.
And because Ginn means too much to an offense that will need his dynamic ability in key road games against Penn State, Minnesota and Michigan. Certainly he means more than Schnittker or Gonzalez.
But you'd never know it by the way Ohio State uses Ginn.
Check that -- misuses him.