One-on-one with OSUÂ’s Mangold
PHOENIX — He wore his new, red Fiesta Bowl jogging suit zipped up tight beneath his chin, like a turtle neck. His large hands, cupped together peacefully next to the microphone, bore the nicks and scars of a season in the college football trenches.
But if you slipped behind the skirted table where Nick Mangold, Ohio State’s starting center and senior captain, sat on an elevated stage and held court four days before the Buckeyes’ game here with Notre Dame, you noticed he wore flip flops and you saw the way that golden mane of hair fell onto his shoulder blades.
Business at hand and yet relaxed. That’s the way it looked Thursday, the way it sounded.
In a 45-minute session — often showing that puckish sense of humor — Mangold talked about how he got his football start in Centerville and his greatest glory right here in the Arizona desert.
He talked about his sister Holley, who plays offensive line at Kettering Alter High. He talked about A.J. Hawk’s love life, Jim Tressel’s long hair and Maurice Clarett’s absence.
He told how he turned his back on Notre Dame, why he’s in no hurry to leave Ohio State and how, if a pro career doesn’t work out, he plans to be Hawk’s pool boy:
What it’s like being a center, looking at life upside down and through your legs?
“It gets a little dizzy some times...(laughter). They say it takes a special breed to play the position, but I just fell into the job my seventh grade year. Our guy broke his arm and they asked if anyone could snap the ball and I’ve been there ever since. I might dream about being a wide receiver, but I’m not arguing. It’s worked out pretty well.”
Are you surprised how fast your OSU career went?
“It’s unbelievable... My mom’s been collecting things the past four years — pictures, memorabilia and stuff — and I was home at Christmas I had a chance to go back and look at some of it. It’s amazing to see the pictures from that first Picture Day. How ungodly young I looked... (laughter) How I was scared, crying.”
What was your hair like in those first pictures?
“Definitely shorter, but still just beautiful and blond.”
How about Tressel, they say he had long hair in ’70s?
“Yeah, long hair and a sweater vest.”
Going to a Catholic school — Alter High — didn’t you consider Notre Dame?
“My mom — being from a good Catholic family — wanted me to go to Notre Dame when they offered a scholarship. Her whole side of the family did. They really didn’t know anything about football, they just knew the storied history, the tradition and what a great school it is. With the legends that came through there, it’s one of those mystical places.
“But my dad’s side, all being from Ohio, they wanted me to go to Ohio State and I’d always been a Buckeyes fan. And once my mom realized what I was becoming a part of, she was happy about Ohio State, too.”
What was it like, winning the national title here in the Fiesta Bowl in your freshman year?
“There’s no better way to finish off a national championship than in a game like that — hard fought, two overtimes, everyone drained. I remember being with a bunch of guys in the middle of the field, hugging, trying to soak it all in.
“I remember coming back to Centerville, seeing how many people had block O’s on their clothing, seeing the look of excitement on so many people’s faces and realizing how much it meant to so many people.
“And I think the further and further away from it you get, the more you appreciate just how special it was.”
Ever think what might have been had Maurice Clarett played with you guys all four years?
“He was such a great running back, he could make any offensive line look great and it would have been nice. But as we finish this season, I wouldn’t trade Pitt (Antonio Pittman) for Maurice. Pitt’s been such a great guy. He’s real quiet, real humble and when he gets done, he gives credit to us. When a guy does that, it makes the line work that much harder for him. It makes you love him a little more.”
Speaking of good teammates, what about Hawk? You two played together for the Centerville Wee Elks and now live together back in Columbus.
“There was just something about him way back when we were kids. It’s not like he was benching 225 when he was 6 years old or anything, it was a cumulative kind of thing. Everybody used to talk about him when we’d sit in school before practice. ‘What’s A.J. gonna do today?’ And once he got to high school, it got more solidified. There was just an air that said greatness.
When did the guys at OSU see it?
“Freshman year he cut his forehead during camp and they had to hide his helmet so he couldn’t practice. He wanted to be out there so bad and the guys all saw it.
How about Hawk in love? There’s a lot of talk about his relationship with Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn’s sister, Laura
“She’s a sweet girl. Its unfortunate for them that we’re playing Note Dame and they’re thrown into the spotlight. (starts to smile). A.J. doesn’t like talking about anything, much less this. Even when we’re sitting at home, you bring up the Laura thing and he starts squirming... But seriously, I can tell he’s happy. Right now he’s a happy guy.
You and Hawk — even though you’ll both be drafted in the NFL next spring — don’t seem in a rush to end your college careers.
“Sure I’ll remember the games and the scores and when I got in, but the memories that will make me smile the hardest and most are being with these guys. It’s like a brotherhood and I don’t want to leave that.
You don’t plan on leaving A.J. anyway, do you?
“I want to be A.J.’s pool boy. His grocery shopper and gardener, too. Hopefully, I won’t have to do it for a couple of years, but I always want to have that door open. He doesn’t believe me, but one day, wherever he’s playing, there’ll be a knock at the door and there I’ll be.
As for another football player, what about Holley?
“She’s a tough girl and she loves football. I kind of stay out of it so no one says she’s doing it ’cause she’s Nick Mangold’s sister. But (laughing) I like to beat up on her when I get home just so she remembers I’m bigger, stronger...and got better footwork.
What legacy would you like to leave at Ohio State?
“That we fought hard, that we all loved Ohio State and we left behind a sense of tradition for all the young guys to carry on.
Any last words?
“Well, I hope A.J. lands in some place warm. A pool boy in Wisconsin — that might be a little rough.
Tom Archdeacon is a columnist for Cox News Service. Contact him by e-mail at tarchdeacon@coxohio.com.
But if you slipped behind the skirted table where Nick Mangold, Ohio State’s starting center and senior captain, sat on an elevated stage and held court four days before the Buckeyes’ game here with Notre Dame, you noticed he wore flip flops and you saw the way that golden mane of hair fell onto his shoulder blades.
Business at hand and yet relaxed. That’s the way it looked Thursday, the way it sounded.
In a 45-minute session — often showing that puckish sense of humor — Mangold talked about how he got his football start in Centerville and his greatest glory right here in the Arizona desert.
He talked about his sister Holley, who plays offensive line at Kettering Alter High. He talked about A.J. Hawk’s love life, Jim Tressel’s long hair and Maurice Clarett’s absence.
He told how he turned his back on Notre Dame, why he’s in no hurry to leave Ohio State and how, if a pro career doesn’t work out, he plans to be Hawk’s pool boy:
What it’s like being a center, looking at life upside down and through your legs?
“It gets a little dizzy some times...(laughter). They say it takes a special breed to play the position, but I just fell into the job my seventh grade year. Our guy broke his arm and they asked if anyone could snap the ball and I’ve been there ever since. I might dream about being a wide receiver, but I’m not arguing. It’s worked out pretty well.”
Are you surprised how fast your OSU career went?
“It’s unbelievable... My mom’s been collecting things the past four years — pictures, memorabilia and stuff — and I was home at Christmas I had a chance to go back and look at some of it. It’s amazing to see the pictures from that first Picture Day. How ungodly young I looked... (laughter) How I was scared, crying.”
What was your hair like in those first pictures?
“Definitely shorter, but still just beautiful and blond.”
How about Tressel, they say he had long hair in ’70s?
“Yeah, long hair and a sweater vest.”
Going to a Catholic school — Alter High — didn’t you consider Notre Dame?
“My mom — being from a good Catholic family — wanted me to go to Notre Dame when they offered a scholarship. Her whole side of the family did. They really didn’t know anything about football, they just knew the storied history, the tradition and what a great school it is. With the legends that came through there, it’s one of those mystical places.
“But my dad’s side, all being from Ohio, they wanted me to go to Ohio State and I’d always been a Buckeyes fan. And once my mom realized what I was becoming a part of, she was happy about Ohio State, too.”
What was it like, winning the national title here in the Fiesta Bowl in your freshman year?
“There’s no better way to finish off a national championship than in a game like that — hard fought, two overtimes, everyone drained. I remember being with a bunch of guys in the middle of the field, hugging, trying to soak it all in.
“I remember coming back to Centerville, seeing how many people had block O’s on their clothing, seeing the look of excitement on so many people’s faces and realizing how much it meant to so many people.
“And I think the further and further away from it you get, the more you appreciate just how special it was.”
Ever think what might have been had Maurice Clarett played with you guys all four years?
“He was such a great running back, he could make any offensive line look great and it would have been nice. But as we finish this season, I wouldn’t trade Pitt (Antonio Pittman) for Maurice. Pitt’s been such a great guy. He’s real quiet, real humble and when he gets done, he gives credit to us. When a guy does that, it makes the line work that much harder for him. It makes you love him a little more.”
Speaking of good teammates, what about Hawk? You two played together for the Centerville Wee Elks and now live together back in Columbus.
“There was just something about him way back when we were kids. It’s not like he was benching 225 when he was 6 years old or anything, it was a cumulative kind of thing. Everybody used to talk about him when we’d sit in school before practice. ‘What’s A.J. gonna do today?’ And once he got to high school, it got more solidified. There was just an air that said greatness.
When did the guys at OSU see it?
“Freshman year he cut his forehead during camp and they had to hide his helmet so he couldn’t practice. He wanted to be out there so bad and the guys all saw it.
How about Hawk in love? There’s a lot of talk about his relationship with Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn’s sister, Laura
“She’s a sweet girl. Its unfortunate for them that we’re playing Note Dame and they’re thrown into the spotlight. (starts to smile). A.J. doesn’t like talking about anything, much less this. Even when we’re sitting at home, you bring up the Laura thing and he starts squirming... But seriously, I can tell he’s happy. Right now he’s a happy guy.
You and Hawk — even though you’ll both be drafted in the NFL next spring — don’t seem in a rush to end your college careers.
“Sure I’ll remember the games and the scores and when I got in, but the memories that will make me smile the hardest and most are being with these guys. It’s like a brotherhood and I don’t want to leave that.
You don’t plan on leaving A.J. anyway, do you?
“I want to be A.J.’s pool boy. His grocery shopper and gardener, too. Hopefully, I won’t have to do it for a couple of years, but I always want to have that door open. He doesn’t believe me, but one day, wherever he’s playing, there’ll be a knock at the door and there I’ll be.
As for another football player, what about Holley?
“She’s a tough girl and she loves football. I kind of stay out of it so no one says she’s doing it ’cause she’s Nick Mangold’s sister. But (laughing) I like to beat up on her when I get home just so she remembers I’m bigger, stronger...and got better footwork.
What legacy would you like to leave at Ohio State?
“That we fought hard, that we all loved Ohio State and we left behind a sense of tradition for all the young guys to carry on.
Any last words?
“Well, I hope A.J. lands in some place warm. A pool boy in Wisconsin — that might be a little rough.
Tom Archdeacon is a columnist for Cox News Service. Contact him by e-mail at tarchdeacon@coxohio.com.
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