Notebook: Lone Star native Schlegel keeping his humor

"Don't blame me for the weather... that's not my fault," Schlegel said, joking about temperatures that have strained to reach 60 while dipping into the 30s at night leading up to tonight's Alamo Bowl encounter with Oklahoma State inside -- thank goodness -- the Alamodome.

Schlegel, one of two Texans on the Ohio State roster, was also joking when he told a pack of reporters here that Cowboys freshman Prentiss Elliott was just as fast as Ohio State's rookie sensation Ted Ginn Jr.

He was kidding, right?

"Ted's my boy, now," Schlegel said, when asked to explain himself. "I think he's awesome. I don't know what they run the 40 in. They're both really fast people. They're faster than me, so they're fast."

Ginn set a Big Ten record and tied the NCAA mark by returning four punts for touchdowns this season. He has also scored twice on pass receptions and once on an end-around on 40 total touches.

Elliott evolved into a return threat in the absence of starting cornerback and return dynamo Darrent Williams, who missed seven games with a broken arm and was suspended for the bowl game for violating team rules. He averaged 28 yards on eight kickoff returns and 11 yards on 16 punt returns, including a 74-yarder for a touchdown against Baylor. He's also caught 17 passes for a 17.4 average and four TDs.

"He doesn't fair catch the ball, so you know he's gonna go," Schlegel said. "It definitely makes people aware that they've got to get there and make a play on him."

Ohio State cornerback Dustin Fox, a high school track standout who knows a little something about speed, isn't ready to put Elliott in Ginn's class.

"They're both explosive players who can take it the distance anytime," Fox said. "They have similarities, but I think Ted is a taller, longer-stride, speed guy. But you've got to respect (Elliott's) speed."

Both players were shutdown cornerbacks in high school and may end up starting both ways before their college careers are over.

"Ted wouldn't have any trouble making that transition; it would be easy for him to play that position," Fox said. "I worry about him throwing his neck in there and getting hit and not being able to play offense.

"I'm amazed by the way he returns punts and plays offense. If he plays defense, give him the Heisman."

Former OSU star Chris Gamble parlayed his two-way skills at wide receiver and cornerback into millions of dollars as a first-round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers this year. But Gamble spent his last season at OSU almost exclusively on defense and Fox thinks Ginn should stay put on offense.

"Ted is so much more of a threat than Chris was," Fox said. "Ted's one of the fastest guys I've seen in my life. When you have a guy that talented, you have to put the game in his hands because he can totally take the game over. You want him to be healthy enough to be able to do that."

SHUNNED STARS: If Schlegel and Oklahoma State guard Sam Mayes are wearing extra padding tonight, it's to cover the chips on their shoulders.

Schlegel's love for his native Texas doesn't extend to the college football played in this state. Mayes, a transplanted Ohioan, is eager to show the Buckeyes what they missed by not offering him a scholarship.

"I can't stand Texas," Schlegel said, referring to the Longhorns. "A&M is OK because my wife went there. I wasn't heavily recruited out of high school, so I'm not particularly fond of schools down here."

When Schlegel put himself back on the market after two years at the Air Force Academy, most of the Big 12 schools came calling. But Schlegel didn't seriously consider any of them before choosing Ohio State.

"They had their chance," he said.

Mayes attending football camp at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes only offered to make him a preferred walk-on. That meant he could report for fall camp with the scholarship players.

"They checked me out a few times," Mayes said, "but I never really made the cut."

He made the cut when it came time to name All-Americans this season. The 6-3, 330-pound senior made the AP third team and The Sporting News first team.

HOME TURF: Playing in the Alamodome won't be anything new for the Buckeyes, in terms of footing. The artificial surface is the same found on the two practice fields at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The state-of-the-art carpet features grassy fibers with a support layer of rubber beads.

Originally published Wednesday, December 29, 2004