Future Leaders Are Stepping Up Now

Grant has already taken the reins

The Ohio State recruiting class has already taken some tolls thanks the to the NCAA situation, and the Jim Tressel resigning. So far, we've lost Ejuan Price, lost a couple of (most likely) verbals from some of the best athletes in all the country, and more. With all this coming down on Ohio State's head very quickly, most would think this would affect more people in the 2011 class, leaving Ohio State almost no recruiting class.

Curtis Grant, Doran Grant (no relation), and Braxton Miller have seriously stepped up their leadership skills in this situation.

"I talk to Doran all the time, and to Braxton, and our attitude is, 'Let's go in and do it, man. Let's be a big three and go in there and help make it happen,'" Curtis Grant (no relation to Doran) said before arriving on campus this weekend. "I told Braxton he's got to lead that offense, and that I am going to do my best to come in and try to get a starting spot, and try to lead the defense the best way I can"

This is a bigger statement than you can imagine. No matter what, this kid is a Buckeye and they themselves put them in a situation to lead, or to fail. Either way, it's all going to come back to them. Grant has a legitshot at a linebacker position but with Andrew Sweat, Etienne Sabino, and Storm Klein the front runners, Grant will have to walk the walk, especially since he is trying to talk the talk. Coach Luke Fickell has been quick with action on how to deal with this. It's support for the leadership role:


"I have talked with coach Fickell about once or twice a week just to keep updated, to see if he is doing well, because I know he's got a lot of pressure on his shoulders," Grant said. "Coach Fickell is a great guy and, from what I can tell, he handles pressure very well.


"Playing for a guy like that, you know that when times get hard he will just keep clawing his way out of the hole and keep battling."


Fickell was the linebackers coach before his promotion. The Buckeyes might hire an assistant to take his place, though Grant still expects to see a lot of Fickell.


"He told me he was going to keep working with the linebackers, kind of like the way coach Tressel was working with the quarterbacks," Grant said. "But he might not be able to do that the whole time. He's going to have to do what he has to do, and if that means having someone else coaches the linebackers, I'm fine with that."


It's time for Grant, Grant, and Miller to show their mark on Buckeye history this fall.