Article published January 07, 2008
Former walk-on from Napoleon winds up in national title game
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
NEW ORLEANS - Dan Dye was one of those kids who gazed out the window during high school study hall, for just a moment, and saw himself going to battle in scarlet and gray.
He was either leading a sweep around end for a first down, punching an opening for his running back, or restraining the opposition while a game-winning field goal split the uprights. Maybe it was a vision, an apparition, or a figment of the imagination - but don't call it a dream.
Dye was awake, he was alert, and the image he saw was in vivid, living color.
"I thought about that a lot, just how neat it would be to somehow be part of Ohio State's great tradition," Dye said. "Maybe calling it a dream isn't right. It was just something I planned on doing."
| TIDBIT FROM NEW ORLEANS |
| A 10-kilometer race yesterday morning through the French Quarter was halted momentarily yesterday while tanker trucks hosing down Bourbon Street with disinfectant moved through. |
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For Dan Dye, poised on the Ohio State sideline tonight in the Louisiana Superdome, this is his rewarding reality. He will play for the No. 1 team in the country in the BCS national championship game because he could never picture himself playing for anybody else.
"It was the Buckeyes. It was always the Buckeyes. I wanted to play for them from the first time I ever considered the possibility of taking football beyond high school," Dye said. "It wouldn't have felt right putting on any other uniform."
| TONIGHT |
• BCS National Championship at New Orleans, Ohio State (11-1) vs. LSU (11-2), 8 p.m. (FOX, Ch. 36, 2; 1470 AM)
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DOWNLOAD AND PRINT: College football Pocket Bowl TV Guide
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 VIEW: For more stories visit OSULSU.com
2007 OHIO STATE RESULTS
SEPTEMBER
• 1 - YOUNGSTOWN ST., W 38-6
• 8 - AKRON, W 20-2
• 15 - at Washington, W 33-14
• 22 - NORTHWESTERN, W 58-7
• 29 - at Minnesota, W 30-7
OCTOBER
• 6 - at Purdue, W 23-7
• 13 - KENT ST., W 48-3
• 20 - MICHIGAN ST., W 24-17
• 27 - at Penn St., W 37-17
NOVEMBER
• 3 - WISCONSIN, W 38-17
• 10 - ILLINOIS, L 28-21
• 17 - at Michigan, W 14-3
2007 LSU RESULTS
AUGUST
• 30 - at Mississippi St., W 45-0
SEPTEMBER
• 8 - V. TECH, W 48-7
• 15 - M. TENNESSEE, W 44-0
• 22 - S. CAROLINA, W 28-16
• 29 - at Tulane, W 34-9,
OCTOBER
• 6 - FLORIDA, W 28-24,
• 13 - at Kentucky, L 37-43
• 20 - AUBURN, W 30-24
NOVEMBER
• 3 - at Alabama, W 41-34
• 10 - LOUISIANA T., W 58-10
• 17 - at Mississippi, W 41-24
• 23 - ARKANSAS, L 48-50
DECEMBER
• 1 - TENNESSEE, W 21-14
 VIEW: 2007 OSU-UM photos
VIEW: Past OSU-UM photos
 HEAR: Carmen, Ohio/Across The Field |
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Dye spurned scholarship offers from Division I-AA and Division II schools, knowing it would mean considerable financial sacrifice for his family when he was forced to pay his own way as a walk-on at Ohio State.
"He was clearly talented enough to play college football at a lot of places, but he aimed high, very high," said John Snoad, Dye's coach at Napoleon High School where Dye was the top lineman the program has produced in some time.
"He's a very intelligent kid who had tremendous motivation and drive, so he knew what he was getting into," Snoad said. "He's one of the best, if not the best, offensive lineman we've had here, but Napoleon doesn't have a lot of Division I recruits. Dan just knew what he wanted to do, and he went in there with his eyes wide open on the challenge in front of him."
Dye toiled in the nameless, faceless obscurity of the world of walk-ons, building his strength and learning the Ohio State system. At the same time he was one of the team's leaders in academic excellence, working on a double major in finance and accounting.
"He got frustrated at times, because it's so tough to make progress when the guys you are competing against are some of the top recruits in the country, but he never lost sight of that goal," Snoad said.
"I saw that drive and that motivation, because when he was here at Napoleon, as soon as the season was over, he was right back in that weight room. For a lot of kids, the last game, that was it. But Dan went right back to training."
Dye pushed out of the program's periphery and onto Ohio State's two-deep roster this season, and earned a scholarship from coach Jim Tressel. He saw action throughout the season as a backup at guard along the offensive line, and on Ohio State's field goal and point-after units. Tressel has Dye listed as the backup to starter Steve Rehring at left guard for tonight's game.
"This year has been exciting and quite a bit different from my earlier days at Ohio State, because before I was just concerned with making the team," Dye said. "I've had a lot of what I consider meaningful minutes this season, and the last time that happened was probably in the high school playoffs five years ago. You work so hard to get the opportunity, and then you want to really maximize it."
Dye (6-3, 277 pounds) was one of the Buckeyes honored at the team's recent banquet, when he received the John Galbreath Award as the top senior in academic achievement. Dye will serve a full-time internship this winter, then graduate in the spring.
"I was fortunate enough to be at the Ohio State banquet, and coach Tressel made a point to tell me that you can't ask for a better kid to work with than Dan Dye. He's garnered a lot of respect from the people in that program," Snoad said.
Dye will play his final football game tonight, then call on the same discipline and drive that earned him a place on the Ohio State team to carry him into the equally competitive business world.
"It's been an incredible, life-changing experience for me. I've loved this university and this football program for a very long time, and I wouldn't trade the last five years for anything," Dye said. "Thousands of high school football players in Ohio have that burning desire to be a Buckeye, and I'm sitting here in the Superdome, wearing this scarlet jersey. I can't express how good that feels."
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