COLUMBUS -- Ohio State coach Jim Tressel has said "the punt is the most important play in football" so often it's become his mantra. But even he realizes that makes him sound like he's right out of Squaresville, so he feels some clarification is in order.
"I don't set a goal to punt," Tressel said. "I don't want to start a rumor that I like to punt. I like to punt well and I like to block punts. But I don't want you to think I have a love affair with the punt."
What Tressel loved was watching Andy Groom and B.J. Sander perform those duties the last two seasons. Groom, a former walk-on, was a first-team All-American on the 2002 national championship team and B.J. Sander, after waiting four years for his shot, was presented with the Ray Guy Award as the nation's best punter as the Buckeyes went 11-2 last season.
Given Tressel's close-to-the-sweater vest approach -- which leans heavily on defense and the punting game to provide a conservative offense with excellent field position -- finding a punter to pick up where Groom and Sander left off could be a huge key to this season.
Fifth-year senior Josh Huston, the heir apparent, knows it.
"During the spring game and special team scrimmages last spring, I took the opportunity to look around the stadium, knowing that every one of those seats was going to be filled on game day," Huston said. "It makes you realize, you've got to get things done.
"There can't be a drop-off. This is Ohio State. We're not going to settle for anything less than what we've had. Andy and B.J. set the bar high. They came in after Tom Tupa and Tom Skladany, guys who played `lights out.' I hope I get the opportunity this year to do the same thing."
Like Groom and Sander, Huston has persevered. He came to Ohio State as one of the top kickers in the Midwest out of Findlay, but converted only three of 10 field goal tries as a redshirt freshman, losing the job to Mike Nugent.
Huston missed all of the national championship season with a hip injury and did not see any action last year, sitting behind Nugent, a first-team All-American in 2002, and Sander.
Barring an injury to Nugent, who handles kickoffs and has made 41 of 47 field goal attempts the last two seasons, Huston knows the only way he's going to get on the field this year is as the punter.
"This isn't what I came here to do, but this is what I'm here to do now," Huston said. "Andy persevered by being a walk-on, not getting a chance, and then being an All-American. And B.J. took five years to finally blossom into the Ray Guy Award winner. I've already been through that myself with the battle I had with Mike my freshman year.
"I'm going to go out there and have a bad practice every once in a while, but I can't let it get me down."
As Huston has already learned, nothing is guaranteed. Providing competition in fall camp is another fifth-year senior, Kyle Turano, a transfer from Bowling Green who played in five games for the Falcons as a freshman. Freshman A.J. Trapasso enrolled last winter and has the strongest leg of the candidates, but he has sat out all of fall camp and is suspended for the first two games after being cited twice for underage drinking in the spring. He will rejoin the Buckeyes Sept. 5.
"It's going to be an important journey to find out who does that important role," Tressel said. "I think you need competition. You're kidding yourself if you say you know who's going to evolve. No one five years ago predicted Andy Groom would be an All-American or that B.J. Sander would win the Ray Guy Award last year.
"(Kansas State coach) Bill Snyder probably does things as well if not better than anyone in my business. When he came out for warmups in (last season's) Fiesta Bowl, there were 11 punters across the 50-yard line with 11 long snappers. They were just banging the ball. It looked like artillery practice. I thought, `Wow, this guy's got competition going. He's aware of the importance of this.' You can never have enough punters or long snappers because of the importance of this."
Huston arrived at OSU, hoping to handle kickoffs, field goals and punting. He isn't giving up that dream. He has petitioned the NCAA for a sixth season since 2002 was an injury wash-out.
"Maybe next year," he said, "I can do all three jobs."
OSU fans would settle for Huston doing one job well this season.
