Football
Berry Turning Heads in Practice
By Brandon CastelSome men see things as they are and ask why, others dream things that never were and ask why not.
For running back Jaamal Berry, dreams have become a part of his daily life at Ohio State.
A freshman out of Miami Palmetto High School, Berry knows rookies aren't supposed to have high expectations for themselves in year one. Not at a school like Ohio State. Freshmen are supposed to be content running with the scout team and just being a part of the college football experience, but not Berry.
Jaamal Berry He is familiar with the current depth chart at running back, which according to offensive coordinator Jim Bollman has him running with the third group behind Dan Herron and Brandon Saine, but lately Berry has been asking himself why not.
"I feel like I can make an impact at the college level as a freshman," Berry said with confidence.
Losing Beanie Wells to the NFL and Carlos Hyde to academics, the Buckeyes could certainly use another impact player in the backfield this season, but Berry knew coming in that he wasn't going to be handed opportunities just based on his high profile as a blue-chip recruit coming out of high school.
"I feel like the game speed is so much faster in college," Berry said. "High school has people who don't really know what they're doing, but in college everyone is fast and knows what they are doing and takes good angles, so it's really hard to beat them."
Even with all the talent Ohio State has on both sides of the ball, Berry has already started to turn heads after just one week of fall practice and the young back is hoping he can keep it up long enough to make things interesting for Bollman and the offensive coaching staff.
"I'm making pretty good progress in practice," Berry said. "I've made a couple big plays in practice and hopefully (I am) turning the coach's heads so they will put me on the field early."
Although he was not in Columbus in time for spring ball, Berry did arrive in June and spent the summer working out with his new teammates along with getting acquainted the concept of being a student athlete at the college level.
"I was here over the summer taking classes, taking courses and working out with the team," he said. "I took a music class (history of rock & roll) and an online course."
Classes might be over at Ohio State until the end of September but that doesn't mean Berry has stopped studying. In fact, it's quite the contrary. After hitting the practice field with his teammates all day, Berry makes sure to hit the books at night, only this time he's studying plays instead of music.
Jaamal Berry "That's probably going to be my No. 1 thing (when it comes to) getting on the field early," Berry said. "I've been trying to study with Boom at night. I learned a lot from them since I've been here. They've been helping me to learn all the plays."
A multi-talented back known for his speed, Berry believes knowing his playbook will allow him to show all of the different things he can bring to the OSU offense this season and in the coming years.
"I can do it all," he said. "I can catch out of the backfield, I can run up the middle and I can take it outside."
A standout from the state of Florida, Berry had his pick of nearly any program in the country coming out of high school. The Under Armour All-American could easily have selected a school that put up more points than Ohio State last season (there were 43 of them around the country) or a program with a better opportunity for immediate playing time, but the Miami native had his eyes on bigger things down the road.
"Ohio State has a lot of great tradition sending running backs to the NFL and that's something I want do in the future," Berry said. "Ohio State teaches you how to be a better person in the future, and they run a more pro style offense which will help prepare me for the NFL."
Among the other finalists for the Palmetto prospect were home-state schools Florida and Florida State, but in the end Berry actually felt the offense in Columbus was a better fit for him than the ones in his own backyard.
"Florida schools run system offenses and I think this will be a better fit for me," he said.
A run-in with the law nearly derailed Berry's Buckeye career just weeks before it was set to began, and the freshman realizes now just how fortunate he is to still have the opportunity to be part of Jim Tressel's football program.
"It feels great to be a Buckeye," he said with a smile that projected pure joy. "I'm just ready to play some football right now. I can't wait to get on the field and showcase my talent."
Return to the-OZone Front Page
(c) 2009 The O-Zone, O-Zone Communications, Inc. All rightsr eserved.
This material may not be published, rebroadcast,rewritten, or redistributed.