The five suspended Buckeyes publicly asked for forgiveness on Tuesday, and one Ohio State legend said the apologies had already been accepted. Watch video
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- John Hicks wishes the Ohio State players who publicly apologized on Tuesday for their NCAA violations had never sold their Big Ten championship rings in the first place.
"It's not the monetary value," said the Cleveland native, a College Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman and a three-time Big Ten champion from 1971-74. "It's when you show your grandson that Grandpa was a champion."
Yet Hicks said he and the former players he talks with weren't waiting for Tuesday, when quarterback Terrelle Pryor, running back Dan Herron, receiver DeVier Posey, tackle Mike Adams and defensive end Solomon Thomas asked Ohio State fans, alumni, former players and teammates for forgiveness. The five players have been suspended by the NCAA for the first five games of next season for selling memorabilia for a total of more than $7,000 and accepting discounted tattoos.
"It was important for them, for their teammates, for their families, for the Ohio State base," Hicks said. "But we'd already forgiven them. They were forgiven when they made the mistake because it wasn't our place to judge. The old guys were on their side. We're mad at the NCAA."
The players made their statements at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center during a news conference that lasted just over six minutes and didn't include any questions from reporters.
The Buckeyes practiced Monday and Tuesday and will fly to New Orleans Wednesday for their Jan. 4 Sugar Bowl matchup with Arkansas. Pryor, Posey and Herron are scheduled to meet with reporters in New Orleans, according to BCS bowl guidelines, and an OSU spokesperson said those interviews are still planned for now. So maybe they'll have more to say.
On Tuesday, Thomas, the only non-starter among the five, spoke last and summed up best how the players felt about what they did in 2009, sometime between the end of their freshman seasons and early in their sophomore seasons. A sixth player, backup linebacker Jordan Whiting, is suspended for only the first game of 2011 and did not make a statement.
"I don't think any of us realized how hard this would affect people around us -- our family, our team and our community," Thomas said. "It's something that is life-changing. This has really made us all really look at things very differently. We're very remorseful to everyone around us. We realize we made a mistake. We're asking you, Buckeye nation, alumni, community, to let us show you that we do love this university.
"It's something that we will deal with for a while -- this is not just going to go away and be happy. We're all deeply moved by it. We just want to show everyone out there that we're not bad people. We can overcome this and give back to the community."
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith said the school is still in the process of filing an appeal with the NCAA, but previously expressed hope that the suspensions will be reduced.
The NCAA did rule that the players are eligible for the Sugar Bowl, and at a team meeting Sunday where the players first apologized, the seniors voted to support the idea that the suspended players should be permitted by OSU coach Jim Tressel to face Arkansas. A source said then that some reduction in playing time, perhaps not starting, was one of the possible scenarios.
Asked what he may do as he walked the hallways of the WHAC on Tuesday more than an hour after the apologies, Tressel declined to comment, saying only the process was "ongoing."
The apologies have been ongoing as well. After speaking to their teammates Sunday, the players on Monday went to the home of Ohio State legend Archie Griffin, the president of the OSU Alumni Association, to personally apologize, Griffin told Columbus radio station 97.1 FM. Then came Tuesday.
"I'm just very deeply sorry about it," Pryor said. "I didn't mean to hurt nobody at all, and I didn't mean to bring anything down, or embarrassment to our university, because this is the greatest university in the nation."
"When I did what I did, I didn't do it with the intent to hurt anybody or tarnish the great reputation that this great university has," Adams said. "I realize that my actions were truly selfish. I just hope that there's a way, somehow, that Buckeye nation and the alumni can forgive me."
The players, all juniors, could avoid the suspensions altogether by entering the NFL Draft. They must declare by Jan. 15 but can withdraw before Jan. 18, but the appeal process may not be completed by then. Posey specifically said during his statement that he would return for his senior season with the intention of earning his degree, but no other players made that pledge.
"I think most of them are going to stay," Hicks said.
That's up the players. It's up to others to decide if they're forgiven.
Georgia added to schedule: Smith on Tuesday confirmed news from Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity that the Buckeyes and Bulldogs have agreed to play a home-and-home series in 2020 and 2021. It hasn't been decided yet which team will host in which season.
This continues the Ohio State philosophy of scheduling a major nonconference opponent each year. The Buckeyes already have those slots filled until 2020. They play at Miami in 2011, then have home-and-home series with Cal in 2012-13, Virginia Tech in 2014-15, Oklahoma in 2016-2017 and Tennessee in 2018-2019.