Football
Buckeyes Not Doing Too Much Partying in New Orleans
By John Porentas

The Buckeyes continue preparations in New Orleans for their encounter with LSU for the BCS National Championship. They may as well be doing it in Milwaukee, probably to the chagrin of the greater New Orleans chamber of commerce.

The Buckeyes are not seeing much of a city that is known for it's night life, great restaurants and bon vivant life style, and not because they the law has been laid down by the OSU coaching staff. The team has adopted self-imposed strict policies on going out and staying up late. Basically the Buckeyes are seeing their team hotel and the practice facilities, and that's about it.

Anderson Russell

"I'm not going anywhere until after the game personally," said OSU starting safety Anderson Russell.

"I'll probably see my family, but I'm not really worried about going anywhere right now," Russell said.

Curfews have been set by a committee of upperclassmen, not by the OSU coaching staff. The curfews include at this point an 11:00 PM bed check and a 9:00 PM curfew on any activity on Bourbon street. According to the players to whom we have spoken, there has been little or no resistance to the curfew.

"I've not gone anywhere. I've lived in the hotel room and the film room," said safety Curt Coleman. "I haven't been anywhere."

The lone rule set by Tressel regarding entertainment activities is that the casinos, of which there are many in New Orleans and one very near the OSU team hotel, are off limits. After that, the OSU coaching staff has not really imposed too many restrictions.

Curt Coleman

"They give us the freedom to go out, they want us to enjoy our time down here, but it's more of guys doing what they think is fun," said Coleman.

And their idea of fun seems to be doing whatever they can to make sure they have an opportunity to win a football game.

"The funny thing about it is that our coaches always emphasize to have fun and enjoy this time," Coleman said.

"We're enjoying our time down here and spending time with our teammates, but it's also a serious time.

"It's definitely a different kind of thing because you don't want that feeling like it was last year.

"No one wants to relive that so we're taking a more serious mentality," Coleman said.

OSU's straight-laced approach to the game has led to some speculation that the Buckeyes could be too tight for their upcoming game with LSU. The Tigers seem far more loose at their practices, and from time to time they are seen in Casinos around Canal Street enjoying some of the good life offered by New Orleans. The Tigers have partied some while in New Orleans, the Buckeyes for the most part have not. OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock says he prefers his team's current approach to any kind of alternative.

"I don't know if I've ever seen a team that is too prepared, over prepared," said Heacock.

"I've seen tight teams but usually in the course of a game, when you run down under that first kickoff, that goes away.

"I'd rather be over prepared than under prepared," Heacock said.

Preparation seems to be the overwhelming focus of the Buckeyes, and that focus is driven to a large part by their failure to perform in the desert a year ago. According to Coleman, it isn't so much the desire to win, or even avoid a loss, but the desire to know that you have done all you can do, something the members of the current team do not think happened against Florida.

"For me personally, if I can leave the field knowing that I've done everything I can to win this game, I won't feel as bad as I did last year," said Coleman when asked if all the preparation still led to a defeat.

The teams have their last day of heavy practice on Saturday. Sunday will be a day of rest before Monday's game.

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