STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Ray Small hasn't had the best career at Ohio State. On and off-the-field problems have plagued the senior his entire career.
But Saturday at Beaver Stadium against then-No. 11 Penn State, all of those problems were forgotten. Had it not been for Small, the then-No. 15 Buckeyes might not have left Happy Valley with a 24-7 victory over the Nittany Lions.
After the Buckeyes' defense forced a three-and-out on Penn State's first drive of the game, Small ran back the punt 41 yards to start Ohio State's second drive on the 9-yard line, which led to the Buckeyes' first score.
"That was big," Small said. "Coach (Jim) Tressel loves special teams. So anything that I can do on special teams to help the team is always good."
That wasn't the only Small contribution of the day. After Ohio State extended the score to 17-7 in the third quarter, the Silver Bullet defense came back with another three-and-out, leaving Small to return another punt. He took it and ran it back 45-yards and was one person away from heading to the end zone, but was tripped up by the punter.
"I didn't even see the punter," Small said. "I just saw my teammates and the end zone and my eyes got big. And then the punter came out of nowhere. But it was still great for the team.
"I'm already catching grief (for being tackled by the punter). But, it was a good one, but getting caught by the punter is something I do not like."
That might be the only thing Small might not have like about his performance Saturday. He returned seven punts for 130 yards, an average of 18.6 yards. He also had one reception for seven yards.
"I just let the game come to me," Small said. "I don't really live for a game because I feel I'm a role player and just play my role and whenever it comes, I go with it."
Small came into Saturday's game with 255 return yards, an average of 8.5 yards. Considering Small's future at Ohio State was once in jeopardy, Saturday might have been the turning point to end his career at Ohio State on a positive note.
"I had problems or whatever, I just feel like this senior year gave me my confidence back or my manhood back," Small said. "I'm just going to treasure that. It's definitely a great thing."
