Some people might say that Ohio State strong safety Mike Doss is not having a spectacular senior season. Those people would not be Buckeyes coaches.
Except for a 13-tackle day at Northwestern and a 14-tackle effort at Wisconsin, the two-time All-American from Canton (Ohio) McKinley has not been as flashy as he has the past two years.
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He has recorded just one interception, that returned for a 45-yard touchdown against Kent State, after picking off three each as a sophomore and junior. OSU’s leading tackler in 2000 and 2001 is locked in a fierce battle with senior linebacker Matt Wilhelm for the team title this season. Doss trails Wilhelm 76-69, with the winner getting dinner for himself and his girlfriend at Mitchell’s steakhouse.
Coach Jim Tressel is not upset with the play of Doss. Tressel said Doss graded 93 percent in last week’s 34-3 rout of Minnesota, the third consecutive week that Doss has tallied in the 90s. Two weeks ago against Penn State, Doss graded at 98 percent despite making only one tackle.
Tressel said Doss turned in an “extraordinary performance” against the Golden Gophers and added that Doss’ effort is “right where it should be as he is entering the final stages of his senior year.”
Asked how he could grade 98 percent against Penn State, Doss said: “They scheme away from me every week. You can only do what you can do. I’m playing my best football.”
Teammates say Doss is also playing his most unselfish football and freelancing less.
Asked about Doss’ freelancing, Wilhelm said: “I think it was just immaturity. In the past, he would take a chance on a big hit to get us going. Now he understands there’s a chance that one of us 10 other players are going to make that big hit and ignite the defense.
“When anybody’s freelancing, it’s on us. When we’re in our gaps and the ball squirts out and it’s up to a safety to be there to make a play, and if he’s not it ends up going for a touchdown; that’s something we’ve cleared up. Mike’s playing his responsibility and you can see the success we have when he does.”
The success the defense is having–like holding Minnesota to 7 yards in the second half–is not going to help Doss win his bet with Wilhelm.
“When the ball breaks the line of scrimmage, your defensive backs are going to have more tackles,” defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio said. “When you’re getting 7 yards of offense the second half, the ball’s not breaking the line of scrimmage.”
Doss said who wins doesn’t matter. That might be a sign of a looser Doss, who seems to be having more fun since he spurned the NFL draft this spring. One day recently, he called Kirk Herbstreit’s Columbus radio show and gave his name as Michael Fishman from Granville.
“I’m real close with Herbie. We talk all the time, check in once a week,” Doss said of the former OSU quarterback who is now an analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay. “I called in and was teasing him about how he wears his glasses on Thursdays and his contacts on Saturdays. That’s a question my girlfriend wanted to know.”
With three regular-season games and a bowl trip remaining for the No. 3 Buckeyes, don’t expect Doss to go quietly. He might concede the tackling title but still could have something exciting in store.
“These are your last games and these are what the scouts look for, what kind of player you are when it’s crunch time,” Doss said.
In the running
Sophomore Mike Nugent has been named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award given to the nation’s top kicker. Four Buckeyes have been nominated for the Academic All-America team. They are quarterback Craig Krenzel, sophomore cornerback Dustin Fox, sophomore defensive end Simon Fraser and junior tight end Ben Hartsock. Krenzel, who plans to be a doctor, is majoring in molecular genetics, Hartsock in biology.