COLUMBUS, Ohio — Though he moved from safety to linebacker for Ohio State this season as a fifth-year senior, Nate Oliver's primary position didn't really change.
"Teammate" is probably the best way to describe Oliver's role with the Buckeyes, though they don't usually list that on the roster. He reached 100 on-field minutes for his OSU career last week in the opener against Akron, and you will see his No. 20 on the field with the Buckeyes' special teams against Toledo on Saturday.
But it's as a bridge between a Super Bowl champ like Malcolm Jenkins, who mentored a young Oliver, and a potential star like freshman Curtis Grant, whom Oliver has taken under his wing, where he will leave his mark. A high school star at St. Edward and the first commit in Ohio State's 2007 recruiting class, Oliver hasn't reached the on-field goals he, and others, may have expected. But if he wasn't here now, the Buckeyes would know it.
"One thing I can say about Nate, he takes his relationships with everyone here very seriously," OSU senior special teams player Nate Ebner said.
"He's a great friend to everybody on this team. Everyone on the team would have nothing but good things to say about him. I know he would do anything for me."
Oliver's move to linebacker reflected that. The Buckeyes are stacked in the secondary with young talent but a little thin at linebacker. Oliver joked that he played at a "starving" 217 pounds at safety, so he feels more natural playing as an undersized 225-pound linebacker. In the end, the coaches were looking for a way to get a guy who did his job more of a shot.
"He seemed like he was a good leader in the off-season with lifting and running and those sorts of things, so we wanted to try to find a spot where he could take on a little bit of a leadership role," defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. "He's done a good job with that."
Sidelined by injuries at times in previous years, Oliver isn't listed among the first two teams on the depth chart, and will almost certainly leave Ohio State without starting a game. But after his introduction to football included his father showing him videos of former OSU safety Jack Tatum making hits, Oliver wouldn't have wanted a career anywhere else. He plans to finish a degree in sports management in March, and he said he's considering coaching after he graduates.
He knew he would be a Buckeye from the moment his scholarship was offered and made an oral commitment as a high school junior Feb. 1, 2006, even before the Buckeyes had locked in the recruiting class of those high school seniors.
"I set goals back in '06 when I committed," Oliver said this week. "I haven't matched all of them, but I'm a three-year letter winner, hopefully four. And I haven't lost to Michigan and I don't plan on doing that. I won multiple Big Ten championships with this team.
"So my team goals I accomplished. As far as individual goals, I haven't accomplished the ones I want, and I probably won't. But the experiences I've had at Ohio State, I wouldn't trade that for the world."
Friends have asked in the past why he didn't go to another school where he would have had a better chance of playing. Maybe he could have started in the MAC, hoping to play against the Buckeyes. Oliver never considered it, so he's back for this last year, one of four fifth-year Buckeyes remaining from the small 15-player class of 2007 that included Cameron Heyward and other current NFL rookies like Jermale Hines, Brian Rolle and Dane Sanzenbacher.
Still at Ohio State are two players in the midst of five-game suspensions, running back Dan Herron and defensive end Solomon Thomas; backup defensive lineman Evan Blankenship, who also changed positions this season; and Oliver.
"I know everyone has a role, and mine is on special teams," Oliver said. "I accept that role, and that's fine with me. I don't care -- I'll do whatever I can to help this team win."
BY: Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer
"Teammate" is probably the best way to describe Oliver's role with the Buckeyes, though they don't usually list that on the roster. He reached 100 on-field minutes for his OSU career last week in the opener against Akron, and you will see his No. 20 on the field with the Buckeyes' special teams against Toledo on Saturday.
But it's as a bridge between a Super Bowl champ like Malcolm Jenkins, who mentored a young Oliver, and a potential star like freshman Curtis Grant, whom Oliver has taken under his wing, where he will leave his mark. A high school star at St. Edward and the first commit in Ohio State's 2007 recruiting class, Oliver hasn't reached the on-field goals he, and others, may have expected. But if he wasn't here now, the Buckeyes would know it.
"One thing I can say about Nate, he takes his relationships with everyone here very seriously," OSU senior special teams player Nate Ebner said.
"He's a great friend to everybody on this team. Everyone on the team would have nothing but good things to say about him. I know he would do anything for me."
Oliver's move to linebacker reflected that. The Buckeyes are stacked in the secondary with young talent but a little thin at linebacker. Oliver joked that he played at a "starving" 217 pounds at safety, so he feels more natural playing as an undersized 225-pound linebacker. In the end, the coaches were looking for a way to get a guy who did his job more of a shot.
"He seemed like he was a good leader in the off-season with lifting and running and those sorts of things, so we wanted to try to find a spot where he could take on a little bit of a leadership role," defensive coordinator Jim Heacock said. "He's done a good job with that."
Sidelined by injuries at times in previous years, Oliver isn't listed among the first two teams on the depth chart, and will almost certainly leave Ohio State without starting a game. But after his introduction to football included his father showing him videos of former OSU safety Jack Tatum making hits, Oliver wouldn't have wanted a career anywhere else. He plans to finish a degree in sports management in March, and he said he's considering coaching after he graduates.
He knew he would be a Buckeye from the moment his scholarship was offered and made an oral commitment as a high school junior Feb. 1, 2006, even before the Buckeyes had locked in the recruiting class of those high school seniors.
"I set goals back in '06 when I committed," Oliver said this week. "I haven't matched all of them, but I'm a three-year letter winner, hopefully four. And I haven't lost to Michigan and I don't plan on doing that. I won multiple Big Ten championships with this team.
"So my team goals I accomplished. As far as individual goals, I haven't accomplished the ones I want, and I probably won't. But the experiences I've had at Ohio State, I wouldn't trade that for the world."
Friends have asked in the past why he didn't go to another school where he would have had a better chance of playing. Maybe he could have started in the MAC, hoping to play against the Buckeyes. Oliver never considered it, so he's back for this last year, one of four fifth-year Buckeyes remaining from the small 15-player class of 2007 that included Cameron Heyward and other current NFL rookies like Jermale Hines, Brian Rolle and Dane Sanzenbacher.
Still at Ohio State are two players in the midst of five-game suspensions, running back Dan Herron and defensive end Solomon Thomas; backup defensive lineman Evan Blankenship, who also changed positions this season; and Oliver.
"I know everyone has a role, and mine is on special teams," Oliver said. "I accept that role, and that's fine with me. I don't care -- I'll do whatever I can to help this team win."
BY: Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer
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