Jim Tressel has two important things going for him as he takes over the pressure-filled but prestigious Ohio State job.
He knows the school colors and doesn't speak with an annoying non-Ohio twang.
In other words, he is not John Cooper, who couldn't quite get a handle on the dialect and tradition of the Scarlet and Gray during his 13 seasons. Being the anti-Cooper won't carry Tressel much farther beyond Thursday's press conference announcing him as Ohio State's 22nd coach. Soon after that, Tressel will have to begin proving himself.
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| Jim Tressel will feel the heat of the high-pressure Ohio State job.(AP) | |
Buckeye fans can be happy that the 48-year old native of Ohio knows the program as a former assistant under Earle Bruce. But that knowledge is 15 years old. Tressel coached at Ohio State from 1983-86 before moving to Youngstown State.
They know they are getting a winner. Tressel was 135-57-2 at Youngstown State while winning four national titles. But all those victories came in Division I-AA, where scrutiny and pressure are significantly less than at I-A.
So who is this guy? Tressel has been described as "technically proficient" and a good X-and-O guy. Fine, but you can find those coaches in high school. Ohio State is a special program with special needs. Tressel can now look forward to having little free time and even less private time. He got the job but Ohio State now owns his soul for better or worse.
Looking for omens? Tressel's winning percentage at Youngstown State, .701, is eerily similar to that of the fired Cooper, .715.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Wednesday, Tressel said he had to prove himself all over again.
"I don't think anyone knows for sure," Tressel said when asked about moving up from I-AA to a major I-A program.
His current players, though, swear by Tressel. He has been further described as a disciplinarian without being abusive and a players' coach who doesn't get too close.
"He just motivates you," Youngstown junior quarterback Jeff Ryan told SportsLine.com. "He knows how to get a team to win. He's not there to yell or anything. You know when he's mad but he won't say anything but he will get to you."
Ryan came from nearby Boardman, Ohio because of Tressel and became an honorable mention All-America in 2000.
"I'm a local guy," Ryan said. "Coach Tressel's prestige, that's the reason why I came here. Instead of a MAC school, I'd rather go play for coach Tressel. He made it more of a family atmosphere."
Tressel's 2000 Penguins were underachievers by the lofty standards he has set. Their 9-3 record came after a 12-3 mark in 1999 that ended when Youngstown State lost the national title game to Georgia Southern.
The 2000 season did include a 6-0 start, the second best in Tressel's career. He is best known for his I-AA titles in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997. No I-AA coach has had more.
"We'd just fall apart if coach Tressel ever decided to move on," Youngstown receiver Jared Zwick was quoted as saying after the 1999 season. "He means so much to this team, school and community."
Equally important to Ohio State at the moment should be Tressel's academic record. Fifty-six percent of the freshmen that entered during the 1993-94 school year graduated. That is the last year figures are available but the figure is eight percent better than the I-AA average of 48 percent.
Cooper's final Buckeye team was last in the Big Ten with only a 28-percent graduation rate.
Six years ago Miami (Fla.) reportedly offered Tressel the job before hiring Butch Davis. Marshall and Maryland -- while current Ohio State athletic director Andy Geiger was there -- also were interested in Geiger during the 1990s.
Tressel has had few off-field problems. A two-year NCAA investigation found that a Youngstown player had received money from a member of the board of trustees. As athletic director, Tressel reported the violation himself.
Most glaring is Tressel's lack of major-college experience. That fact won't fade anytime soon and probably puts Geiger's job on the line. He took 15 days to hire Tressel, a guy Geiger could have had a day after Cooper was fired on Jan. 2.
There were dalliances with outsiders Mike Bellotti and Jon Gruden. Buckeye assistant coach Fred Pagac and former linebacker Chris Spielman also got interviews. Three precious recruiting weekends came and went with only 11 players making non-binding commitments.
Tressel now has to hit the ground running trying to stock a program that requires 20 more scholarship athletes (85 maximum) than his I-AA program. There is a 95,000-seat stadium to fill with happy Buckeye fans -- emphasis on happy.
Oh yeah, there is the bottom line: Tressel is coming from I-AA to satisfy the ultimate Ohio State hunger. The program hasn't enjoyed a national championship since 1968.
The safe, and some say more logical, pick would have been Minnesota's Glen Mason. Mason, 50, is more accomplished than Tressel as a I-A coach and was the front-runner until Wednesday. He has admittedly been waiting his entire life for a chance to coach the Buckeyes.
The ultimate slap was when word leaked out Wednesday that Tressel had been hired, the same day Mason was on campus for a second interview. When he didn't land the job Mason was "devastated," according to Geiger.
Mason might never get his chance but Geiger is out of chances if Tressel turns out to be nothing more than Cooper without the accent. That would be devastation.
