By: Craig Handel (News-Press.com) —
It’s not a stretch to say Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is quite at home in Southwest Florida.
He has recruited players here and two of the bigger Buckeyes’ booster clubs are located here.

On Monday night, those boosters gave Tressel standing ovations when he spoke at the Southwest Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes Banquet. The theme was “Play to Win.”

It was 40 years ago that Tressel attended an FCA camp as a junior in high school. “It was a life-changing event,” he said.

Among his many themes was a commitment by he and other coaches and people in positions of leadership “to make sure our future isn’t spiritually bankrupt.”

He added, “That’s a game we gotta win. Everything else we can work out.”

He also let fans in on what is said in the lockerroom before his players go on the field for a game.

It’s a poem by Edward Everett Hale, which reads, “I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.”

Two days earlier, Tressel and his Buckeyes played their spring game before 95,722 fans. “We were shooting for 100,000,” Tressel joked. “We got sideways with our fan base.”

Former Immokalee High star Brian Rolle led all players with 11 tackles, eight solo. With the loss of linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman to the NFL, Tressel said the junior-to-be’s Generic pills whithout prescription time has come.

“He certainly has the opportunity,” Tressel said. “He can run, and he loves the game. He has a great spirit. He’s had two great years on special teams, and I expect him to continue to be more and more effective. We need B. Rolle.”

Joining Rolle next season will be running back Carlos Hyde of Naples. With the loss of Beanie Wells, the Buckeyes need a big back.

“We’re excited about Carlos Hyde,” Tressel said. “We’ve got good, solid, smaller backs, but we like to have a big one in our arsenal. That’s why we recruited Carlos.”

Despite the loss of 31 players – seven players who went in the NFL Draft along with another half dozen or so free agents – Ohio State is an early pick to be ranked in the Top 10. The Buckeyes have made three straight trips to the Bowl Championship Series, but lost games to Florida, LSU and Texas.

“We’ve had some good ball games and some where we didn’t play so well,” Tressel said. “The kids played Texas pretty hard but lost in the last 16 seconds. We just need to keep working. When you fall short, you need to find out what you need to do better while knowing your opponent is doing the same.”

Fast facts

- Jim Tressel’s first win as a college coach was with Youngstown State on Oct, 11th 1986. The Penguins beat Tennessee Tech 30-6.

- Under Tressel, the Penguins won four Division I-AA titles.

- Tressel became the 22nd head coach of Ohio State on January 18th, 2001. He has one national title with the Buckeyes.

- Tressel graduated cum laude in 1975 with a degree in education from Baldwin-Wallace College.

- Tressel’s seven wins against Michigan place him second in school history to Woody Hayes’ 16.

- Tressel is sometimes referred to as “The Senator” because of his composure on the sidelines. He is also known for wearing a sweater vest on game days. He was not wearing one Monday, however.

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