Just as I opened the Ohio State bowl game media guide, with Troy Smith splashed lavishly across the cover, the Buckeyes were announcing yet another discipline measure against their troubled quarterback.
Although at least one OSU-based Internet site began their Smith story "In a huge surprise," no one who has remotely followed Smith's career could consider this a stunner in the least.
On Monday, Smith was declared ineligible for the Alamo Bowl after violating an undisclosed NCAA rule. Ohio State will petition the NCAA for Smith's reinstatement next season, although the school wouldn't divulge the nature of the violation.
There's a reason the kid who almost single-handedly beat Michigan last month wasn't widely recruited. While coach Jim Tressel tried to put a happy face on the situation, he can't be shocked by Smith's actions, either.
This is the second time in 13 months Smith has been in trouble at Ohio State.
Last year, Smith was charged with disorderly conduct in connection with a fight the Sunday before the Michigan game. Although two other Buckeyes were involved, Chris Gamble and Santonio Holmes, Smith was the only one found guilty for his role in the brawl.
As a junior in high school, Smith was tossed out of Lakewood St. Edward's after sucker punching an opposing player during a basketball game.
How many times have you seen a star athlete bounced from his high school? It almost never happens, but it did in Smith's case.
For all those saying this is a young man who made a mistake, save it. For Smith, trouble is an old coat he keeps taking out of the closet, refusing to throw away.
Smith has basically been given a free pass all season by the media. He's a good quote, a charismatic player who has charmed the press and his teammates.
He's also the same guy who was spotted pouting after the exciting win over Marshall when teammate Justin Zwick rallied the team to a last-second win, setting a school passing record in the process.
A week later, after what was then considered a huge win at North Carolina State, Smith went off to the media that he wasn't being given a fair chance to play. Never mind that his team was 3-0 at the time and ranked in the top 10, or that Tressel named Zwick the team's offensive player of the game after that victory.
When Zwick was injured against Iowa, Smith took over during the weakest part of the Buckeyes' schedule. The media loved him.
He was given too much credit for victories over Penn State, Indiana and Michigan State, none of them bowl teams. He received virtually no blame for a four-turnover effort during a 17-point offensive showing in a loss to a Purdue team riding a four-game losing streak. In fact, the same character crying over lack of playing time after a three-game win streak was now being cast as a humble, stand-up guy after simply answering questions in the Purdue post-game press conference.
It was an amazing metamorphosis, completed when Smith authored a spectacular performance against Michigan, leading the Buckeyes to a 37-21 victory.
The win may stand, but the heroic description of Smith never did fit.
This marks the second time in four years Ohio State has suspended its starting quarterback. Steve Bellisari earned the same fate after a DUI in 2001. Earlier this year the Buckeyes suspended captain Lydell Ross after an incident in a strip club just hours after the Iowa loss.
With the Maurice Clarett saga dragging into its third year, it's obvious Ohio State needs to do its homework a little better before it casts its next hero.
lbphillips@nncogannett.com
(419) 521-7238
Originally published Tuesday, December 21, 2004
