By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) —
Columbus — Ohio State receiver Ray Small considered leaving early for the NFL, but he didn’t like the way he would have been remembered as a Buck- eye.

“I couldn’t leave as the bad guy,” Small, a Glenville High pills online grad, said Friday. “I wanted to show the world I can do it. I didn’t want to go out on that note.”

“That note” concerned Small’s suspension late last season for repeated violations of team rules that focused on missing class. Small’s father, Ken, publicly voiced his complaints about the coaches’ treatment of his son, claiming they were intentionally blowing his career. Small sat out against North western and Illinois, then barely played against Michigan, and a transfer or going to the NFL looked likely.
Yet there Small was on Friday after spring practice, smiling, contrite and in the words of receivers coach Darrell Hazell, vastly improved.

“I think everybody is rooting for him to do it the right way,” Hazell said. “It’s a win-win situation.

“If he does, it’s going to help us and it’s going to help him. Hopefully, he’ll do it the right way.”

With the departures of starters Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline, there’s a leadership vacuum at the position, and Small, the only senior, hasn’t exactly jumped up to fill it. Hazell noted Small helping freshman James Jackson on Friday and considered that progress.

But before Small can help others, he has to make sure his business is in order. A year ago, after being late for meetings and classes, his number was switched from No. 4 to No. 82 and he was left out of the team media guide. The idea was to send a message - and then the suspension followed.

“I think you have to be honest with …..

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