Wisconsin Vs. Ohio State: Late Hits, Then And Now

COLUMBUS, Ohio—What’s brewing today with the 2009 Ohio State Buckeyes ...

BUCKEYES BUZZ: Late hits are quite the topic of discussion as the Buckeyes prepare to host Wisconsin on Saturday.

First, S Kurt Coleman is back after sitting out last week’s 33-14 win at Indiana after a Big Ten-imposed one-game suspension for a late hit in the final minute of the Illinois game.

Second, Wisconsin S Jay Valai’s vicious, high, helmet-to-helmet hits that knocked out RB Dan “Boom” Herron and WR Dane Sanzenbacher a year ago in Madison are all the talk around Ohio State’s camp.

Coach Jim Tressel downplayed Valai’s two cheap shots.

“The game is made to be played physical and I like the way that kid plays,“ Tressel said. “I mean, he plays physical and he’ll come to hit you. He didn’t come in before the game saying, ‘Hmm, I think I’m going to get this guy.‘ You know, he plays football.“

The Buckeyes haven’t forgotten Valai’s head-hunting, however.

“We do remember a couple of guys getting hurt against Wisconsin,“ said OL Bryant Browning. “The safeties, that’s what they do, they fly around and they try to hit guys and make big plays. A couple of guys got a couple of concussions. I’m sure we’ll keep that in mind.“

And it doesn’t sound as if the Badgers are backing off any.

“We knew that was going to have to be a physical game because those guys are very athletic and pretty big,“ Wisconsin DE O’Brien Schofield said of last year’s 20-17 Ohio State win. “Going against Beanie Wells, he was a big guy to hit. He was real solid. Terrelle Pryor was very hard to bring down. He was legit. He was 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, and that’s pretty big for a quarterback. But to have guys on our team and our defense landing big hits, being able to force fumbles and things like that, really played in our favor.“

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Wisconsin’s 248-pound running back John Clay: “I used to try to focus on trying to run away from people instead of just punishing them. So now, I’m just doing it vice versa.“

QUARANTINED: TE Jake Ballard had the flu over the weekend and had to stay away from the rest of the team. He didn’t enjoy it.

“I came down sick this past weekend and I was kept away from the team for two days,“ he said. “I think that was a smart thing to do. It was boring, by myself at my house, when I knew everyone was ... working, but it was the right thing to do and I didn’t want anybody else to get sick.“