COLUMBUS -- His high school teammates called him "Moss" because they felt he resembled flamboyant Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss in style and skills.

But if that nickname still applies to Ohio State junior Chris Gamble, it's only because moss has gathered on his eroding -- practically stagnant -- offensive skills this season.

Despite starting all of last season at flanker and averaging 16.1 yards on 31 receptions, Gamble's development as a cornerback has made him invaluable on defense and nothing more than an afterthought on the other side of the ball.

With the Buckeyes facing a gauntlet of pass-happy opponents earlier this season, and temperatures still summer-like, the coaching staff didn't want to risk fatiguing Gamble by playing him both ways.

It doesn't sound like they consulted the 6-2, 194-pounder from Sunrise, Fla., on the matter.

"I have to go through my fundamentals and just go out and have fun like I used to," Gamble said cryptically after Saturday's 35-6 rout of Indiana.

Have fun like he used to?

"I used to be on offense, doing a lot of things," Gamble elaborated. "Now I go in on defense and then come out."

He may get the heavier workload he desires Saturday at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are winless in the Big Ten (0-4, 2-6 overall), but they are 4-1 at home against Ohio State since joining the league in 1993.

More significantly, the loss of wide receiver Drew Carter to a season-ending knee injury in Saturday's win removes a big threat from an Ohio State attack that hasn't exactly resembled a juggernaut this season.

It was because of Carter's emergence that Gamble didn't press the issue of playing more on offense after gaining national acclaim as a two-way star last season.

"We had Drew and he's a senior, so I respected that," he said. "I wanted him to get a lot of plays. I thought I could get a couple of plays a game on offense and play defense the whole game.

"I'm ready to play more on offense."

Redshirt freshman Santonio Holmes (six catches, 153 yards, 2 TDs) and junior Bam Childress (four catches, 41 yards) picked up the slack nicely in Carter's absence, gaining some much-needed confidence -- albeit against one of the worst defenses in the country.

But Gamble might be a more reliable option, given that duo's history of fumbling the ball. The Hoosiers stripped Holmes at the goal-line, denying him a third TD catch. He also had a pass bounce off his chest for a goal-line interception.

"Santonio's a young player," coach Jim Tressel said. "There comes a point in time where he has to understand you hold onto the ball like it's dear life, everytime you have a chance to touch it. The less you do it, the less you're going to play."

Gamble has had to face his own fallibility. In the 17-10 loss at Wisconsin that snapped OSU's 19-game winning streak, he muffed a punt and got beat on the decisive 79-yard touchdown catch by Lee Evans.

Gamble has since lost his job as the team's primary punt returner to Michael Jenkins.

It's the sort of adversity he never faced last year in become OSU's first two-way starter in more than 30 years, co-MVP of the national champion Buckeyes and a third-team All-American on defense.

But Gamble is not down-and-out because of the up-and-out pass to Evans that spoiled another perfect season for the eighth-ranked Buckeyes (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten).

"I shook that off, tried to stay focused and kept my head up," Gamble said after Saturday's win, addressing the media for the first time since his blown coverage. "That night I was upset because I gave up a big play, but after that I told myself to work harder in practice each day to get better."

Gamble played briefly on offense at Indiana, catching his first pass of the season in the flat and streaking 21 yards to the 1, setting up the last of tailback Lydell Ross' three touchdowns.

"There's a certain number of (offensive) plays he works on all the time," Tressel said. "He's one of those guys you can throw the ball to in the flat and, all of a sudden, he's gone 20 yards in two seconds."

It was last year against Penn State that Gamble became a two-way starter for the first time. His 40-yard interception return in the third quarter provided the game's only touchdown as the Buckeyes escaped at home with a 13-7 victory.

Gamble rarely came off the field after that, averaging more than 100 plays in Ohio State's last four games.

"Remembering that game last year (with Penn State), I'll try to do the same thing," Gamble said. "Only better."

Originally published Tuesday, October 28, 2003