Monday, June 22, 2009
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The Vindicator's Athletes of the Year: Corey Linsley and Amy Scullion
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The Vindicator's boys field athlete of the year and Athlete of the Year: Corey Linsley of Boardman
Boardman’s Corey Linsley has excelled in track and football, and his efforts paid off.
By Joe Scalzo
Vindicator sports staff
Ed Lewis was coaching freshman football when he first laid eyes on a big, strong kid named Corey Linsley.
“He was a good-sized boy,” said Lewis. “We were doing some kind of scrimmage and we put him in at defensive tackle.
“So I’m standing back there watching another coach run his offense and it was not going anywhere. He shut everything down. I thought, ‘This boy is good.’”
Linsley has made a name for himself with his Ohio State football scholarship and for winning state track titles — both in the indoor and outdoor seasons.
But back then, he was just another kid with potential.
Linsley didn’t grow up in an athletic family, but he did grow up in a big family.
“I think the only thing my parents gave me was size,” the 6-foot-4 Linsley said, chuckling. “I think the Linsley family’s average height is 6-8.”
Linsley’s father played intramural basketball at Cardinal Mooney and his parents both encouraged him to play sports, although more for character development than his athletic development.
“Both my parents are very educated people,” said Linsley. “They were more into school than athletics.”
Linsley’s love of sports blossomed that freshman year, when he discovered his love for contact and good friend Alex Lipinsky got him into weightlifting and track and field.
Linsley showed flashes of his football talent that freshman season, but a serious concussion cut his season short a few games.
He hit the gym in the offseason, then started throwing the shot and discus in the spring — with Lewis as his coach.
“From when I first met him in ninth grade, you could just see a talent there,” said Lewis. “All I had to do was provide him with the means to be successful at it.”
He entered his sophomore football season as a potential varsity letterman at tackle, but it wasn’t a sure thing.
“We had some returning lettermen back on the line that year but from Day 1, he held his own,” said Boardman football coach D.J. Ogilvie. “He was nothing spectacular at first, but every week he kept better.
“By Week 3, you could tell things started clicking and we were like, ‘This kid is pretty darn good.’ By Week 4 he was playing a lot. By Week 5 he started.”
Ogilvie matched up Linsley with his returning all-league lineman in one-on-one drills and Linsley was winning.
“It was very obvious he was special,” Ogilvie.
Linsley started every game as a tackle his junior year, helping the Spartans to their first playoff appearance since 2001. He also saw limited time on defense and was a standout in the weight room, benching more than 400 pounds by his junior year.
His performance impressed Ohio State coach Jim Tressel and Linsley verbally committed to the Buckeyes in February of 2008. His development was evident during track season, too, as Linsley placed third in the shot put. (A lower back injury forced him to give up the discus.)
Linsley was a two-way starter last fall for the Spartans, but suffered a shoulder injury during a scrimmage against Howland and was never 100 percent.
He even had to wear a special pair of shoulder pads with extra padding. It limited his movement somewhat, but it kept him on the field.
“He played in every game, but there wasn’t that greatness that he had his junior year,” said Lewis, who paused, then added: “Maybe greatness isn’t the right word, but he lost a lot.”
After earning all-district and all-conference honors, Linsley resumed his throwing career in the winter and earned a state shot put title at Ohio indoor championships in March, then earning All-America status at the Nike Indoor Championships in Boston.
Linsley followed that up with a stellar outdoor season, winning a Division I state discus title and a silver medal in the shot put, finishing just behind Canfield junior Dustin Brode.
Those titles were a going away-present for Lewis, who retired after 39 years as a throws coach. Lewis coached several All-Ohioans through the years, but Linsley was his only state champion.
“He’s definitely one of the best throws coaches in Ohio, if not the best,” said Linsley. “He never pushed any of us to do more than our best.”
Linsley admits he can be stubborn at times, particularly when he was learning to throw, but he’s universally regarded as friendly and coachable, with a big laugh.
Linsley is also a good student — he’s a member of National Honor Society — which allowed him to excel in the classroom and on the field, where he quickly picked up schemes.
“Coach Tressel doesn’t make too many mistakes,” said Ogilvie. “He looks for good character kids who are smart with a good demeanor. That’s Corey.”
What impresses Lewis most is Linsley’s ability to “flip the switch,” transforming from friendly to ferocious when competition starts.
“He does that all by himself,” Lewis said. “He brings that tenacity to anything he does.”
Recently, Ogilvi’s daughter asked him to name the best player he’s coached. He listed Damon Moore, a former Ohio State standout who played in the NFL for the Philadelphia Eagles.
“So then she asked, ‘What about as a head coach?’” Ogilvie said. “I said it’s not even close. It’s Corey.”
Linsley had about four days of summer vacation following the state track meet before he headed to Hershey, Pa., for the Big 33 game. He then drove down to Columbus, where he starts classes today. (Don’t feel too bad — one of those classes is the History of Rock N’ Roll.)
It’s a quick transition, but he’s ready. And he’s already hoping to add a little more to his plate.
“I would love to throw at Ohio State, but if it doesn’t work out, it’s all about football right now,” he said. “It’s gonna be quite a ride.”
scalzo@vindy.com