EDITOR’S NOTE -- Bucknuts.com assistant editor Dave Biddle recently wrapped up work on The Troy Smith Story: The uncensored biography of Ohio State’s Heisman-winning quarterback.
Copies of this special book will be available for shipping on Aug. 15. Below is an excerpt from Biddle’s book. To reserve your copy of the first printing, click this link:
https://bucknuts.com/biddlebook/
In early 2004 as a third-year sophomore, not only did it appear that Troy Smith would never be the Ohio State starting quarterback, it also looked like the talented, but feisty player would look to transfer following the ’04 season.
Classmate Justin Zwick appeared to have the job locked up for the long term. Smith’s emotions finally boiled over on Sept. 28, 2004, when he called out the Buckeyes’ coaching staff and complained about his role during a session with reporters following practice. It looked like his career might be over at Ohio State, but a trip to Iowa two weeks later would change things drastically.
The following is an excerpt from Chapter 5 of The Troy Smith Story: The uncensored biography of Ohio State’s Heisman-winning quarterback.
Before spring ball even began in 2004, (Smith's former foster father) Irvin White suggested to Smith that he should transfer during the summer if he didn’t win the starting QB job coming out of spring.
“I told him, ‘If you finish spring and you are not the starting quarterback, you are going to need to sit out a year and transfer,’ ” White said. “I said to Troy, ‘Let me tell you what is going to happen: If you are not the starting quarterback coming out of spring, you are going to get screwed.’
“So, when spring ball was over, Tressel was non-committal on who the starting quarterback was going to be. Even at the beginning of year in camp, there was no firm commitment. Troy said, ‘Coach, what should I do?’ I said, ‘You are still in the ballgame because he hasn’t picked one guy yet. But one of you is going to get screwed.’ And that’s what happened at first.”
At Ohio State’s media day in August of 2004, there weren’t many reporters interested in talking with Smith. It was Zwick who had the large contingent of media peppering him with questions.
I asked Smith if he would be content with a platoon situation at quarterback during the upcoming season, which seemed like his best-case scenario at the time.
“What do you mean by platoon?” Smith asked.
“You and Zwick sharing time,” I replied.
“Maybe,” Smith said. “I’m not really sure. I want to be the starter and play the whole way, but I’m just trying to do what I can to lead this football team.”
When the 2004 opener rolled around against Cincinnati on Sept. 4, it was no surprise to any OSU follower that Zwick was the starting quarterback. Smith did get a chance to play as the backup in the 27-6 win over the Bearcats. And he also saw the field briefly in OSU’s 24-21 win over Marshall the following week.
However, on Sept. 18 during a 22-14 OSU win at N.C. State, Zwick played the entire game and Smith didn’t see the field. The Buckeyes were now 3-0 and everything seemed to be falling in place with the team.
The Buckeyes had a bye the following week and there was no indication of just how upset Smith was in his current role. A lot of people took him at face value that he was happy to be the backup and just wanted the team to win. But eventually, Smith’s true feelings boiled over.
Following the off week, OSU came out for its practice on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2004. Smith was asked by the coaching staff to take some reps at wide receiver and it didn’t exactly go over well. He was already steaming mad from not seeing the field against N.C. State and this was the final straw as far as he was concerned. At least that’s the way it appeared at the time.
Other than post-game sessions, Tuesday was the only day of the week when OSU players were made available to the media. On this particular day, Smith emerged from the locker room wearing designer sunglasses, a diamond stud earring and a Willie Stargell throwback jersey. And his attitude was even more brazen than his wardrobe. You could tell as soon as he stepped onto the indoor practice field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center (which is where interviews were held at the time) that he had something serious on his mind.
Around this time, there were already a lot of rumblings that Smith was likely done at OSU following the ’04 season. And when he came out for this interview session – which turned out to be the most interesting of his OSU career – it wasn’t long until Smith got down to brass tacks. He stopped short of saying he wanted to transfer, but his true intentions could be clearly seen even through the sunglasses.
“I can’t say that right now,” Smith said of a possible transfer. “I wish I could, but I can’t say that right now.”
But it was clear Smith had a lot that he wanted to get off his chest regarding his role on the team.
“It’s kind of hard of going through the transition of wanting to help the team (as a backup) to possibly being in the race (as a contender for the starting role) to now you’ve got to go back to helping the team,” Smith said.
At this point in the ’04 season, Smith had not approached Tressel directly with his concerns. And this made it even more intriguing that he decided to spill his guts to reporters because Smith was usually very guarded around us.
“No, I haven’t talked to him yet,” Smith said. “He hasn’t explained it to me. That’s kind of the frustrating thing about it, but Coach Tressel is doing this for a reason. Everything happens for a reason, so I’m going to roll with it.”
Smith was already on a verbal roll, but he proceeded to raise the stakes with his additional comments.
“I know that the coaches don’t really owe us an explanation,” he said. “But at the same time, where this guy (pointing at himself) isn’t really doing all the wrong things, then I think that something needs to be said. It’s not like I’m going out and cussing and M-F’ing everybody and missing reads and calling the wrong plays and things like that. I think that sometimes when you’re in a situation like that, something needs to be said.”
Smith obviously felt he was not being given a fair shake in the quarterback competition. He felt Zwick was just handed the job, even though he wasn’t going to put it in those exact words.
“That’s for you guys to decide,” Smith said. “I really can’t say anything on that because I don’t really want to put myself in a situation where I say this and there’s repercussions of what I said to the media. So, that’s for you to decide.”
Smith explained how he felt when he realized that Zwick was the clear choice at the QB position and Smith was probably relegated to the bench for the duration of the season.
“Of course I was upset,” he said. “But this year, I can do nothing. I have to evaluate the things I have to do now, stick out this year and hopefully good things will happen. If I were to leave, I would still have two years of eligibility even if I did sit out one because of my redshirt year.” (Which was not correct – Smith would have had just one year of eligibility remaining if he would have transferred after the 2004 season since he already sat out the 2002 season as a redshirt.)
And if the interview wasn’t already intriguing enough, Smith then mentioned that his long-term goal was to reach the NFL. And he knew he couldn’t do that as a backup quarterback or part-time wide receiver at OSU.
“I’m a quarterback,” Smith said. “When I get my shot to go to the NFL, I’m going as a quarterback. That’s the thing that I want to do, and that’s the thing that I will continue to make myself better.
“It’s not like I’m going to go out after practice and run routes to try to get better. I’m a quarterback first.”
Smith then stated that his main goal was still to help the Buckeyes win. But the conversation kept coming back to his role on the team and his unhappiness with it.
“That’s my goal right now: game by game to help my team win,” Smith said. “But as a human being, I’m not pleased with what’s going on. I’m not going to sit here and say that everything is peaches and cream and that I have no feelings, because this is my life.”
Smith then turned into a soothsayer of sorts as he discussed his future plans and goals. He even threw a reference out there about winning the Heisman Trophy. That was an idea that would have been laughed at by any OSU follower at the time. But Smith was completely serious. His goals were to win the Heisman and make it to the NFL.
“For 90 percent of the guys on the team, that is what they want to do after college,” Smith said. “They want to go to the NFL to make some money to take care of their immediate families back home. Their mothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. And I’m not going to say the coaches are playing with my life, but it’s sort of like they have puppet strings with it.
“It’s not like this is happening and I can just block it out. This is happening to me. And like I said before, this is my life, so I think about it all the time. I’ve got to envision myself winning the Heisman.”
Yes, Smith actually said those words. A little prophetic, no? But as I wrote the story for Bucknuts.com that evening, I thought his career at Ohio State was over. You don’t call out OSU’s coaching staff like that and live to tell about it. However, it was really only the beginning of Smith’s career at OSU.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
You probably won’t find this hard to believe, but Smith was not made available for interviews the following week. Or the week after that. All the while, OSU was suddenly in a two-game skid including an overtime loss at Northwestern (the Wildcats’ first win in the series since 1971) and a home defeat against Wisconsin. At the time of Smith’s comments, the Buckeyes were ranked in the top 10. Now they were on the verge of falling completely out of the top 25.
On the Tuesday following the Wisconsin loss, redshirt freshman right tackle Kirk Barton made his way out for interviews. And while sticking up for the player who he believed was the best quarterback on the team, Barton got himself into some hot water with the staff.
“I think Troy should be given a shot to play,” Barton said. “Everyone does, I think.”
Barton was not made available to the media again until the spring of 2006. That’s an 18-month ban from talking to reporters. Hey, some would consider that a bonus.
So, just when Smith’s career was seemingly hitting rock bottom – while OSU’s season was doing the same – everything changed during a blowout loss at Iowa.
On Oct. 16, 2004, the Buckeyes fell 33-7 to the Hawkeyes and suffered the only three-game losing streak of the Tressel era. However, Zwick went down with a shoulder injury early in the third quarter and suddenly the reins at quarterback were turned over to Smith. Just like the Northwestern game the previous season for Zwick, this was Smith’s first meaningful action as a college quarterback. And who knows if it would have ever happened if not for Zwick’s injury.
Trailing 17-0 in Iowa City, the Buckeyes went three-and-out in their first two series under Smith. He struggled for most of the way, but showed a glimpse of things to come on OSU’s final possession of the game. After getting the ball with 2:54 left in the game, Smith completed all four of his passes for 72 yards, the last a 23-yard touchdown pass to freshman tight end Rory Nicol.
Overall, Smith finished 8 of 12 for 76 yards, with one touchdown and no interceptions in the first extended action of his college career.
“I was happy to get the chance, regardless if we’re down 30 or down 40,” Smith said following the game. “I should have done the things to bring my team back, and I couldn’t come through. Hopefully, if I get another chance, I’ll be able to do a better job.”
For more information on Biddle’s biography of Smith, click here
To reserve your copy in the first printing (due to ship Aug. 15), click here:
https://bucknuts.com/biddlebook/
