**UPDATED ARTICLE** Jim Tressel spoke tonight in Lincoln

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Nexus

All-American
Here's the expanded version of the shorter article posted earlier.

Tressel came to Lincoln at the request of Tom Osborne. He toured Nebraska's stately football complex, gathering a few ideas, then spoke at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet at the Devaney Sports Center.
The 57-year-old Tressel addressed several topics during a prebanquet media session.

Would Tressel still be the head coach at Ohio State in 2020? Or will he have ridden off into the sunset by then?

"Not too many Ohio State coaches ride off into sunsets," Tressel said with a grin.

* How about Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini someday taking over at Ohio State, his alma mater? I've never gotten the sense from Pelini, during interviews and conversations dating to 2003, that he possesses a deep yearning to take over the Ohio State program. Maybe I'm reading it all wrong. But I definitely haven't detected the level of yearning he had for the Husker head coaching job.

* Soon after Pelini landed the Nebraska gig in December of 2007, "He and I spent two or three different times on the phone for a long time, just talking about things," Tressel recalled Monday. "He was kind of just bouncing things off me. He was very prepared."

"I don't know that it was an advice-giving thing on my part," Tressel added. "I think it was more of him talking about his plan, and maybe looking for some affirmation."

* Pelini was out of town Monday. Even so, Tressel said, "You can see he's doing a great job of making sure everyone understands the responsibility they have to live up to this tradition and the way things are done in Huskerland. I think he's very methodical, very prepared. He's at a great place. I know he loves it here. And you know how passionate he is about being successful."

Tressel expanded on that thought.

"When you know how Bo thinks, as I listened to his thinking, he's very passionate about every part of this program — about the kids doing the right things, about the kids graduating, about accountability, about Nebraska being what Nebraska should be," the Buckeye coach said. "I think he's got a great plan."

* Tressel landed his first head coaching job in January of 1986 at Division I-AA Youngstown State. On his first day on the job, he said, he extended his first scholarship offer to a rugged player from Youngstown, Ohio — Mark "Bo" Pelini. Tressel met with Pelini right after watching him play in a basketball game, hoping to steal a key in-state recruit from the Buckeyes.

"It didn't last long, because Ohio State offered about two weeks later," Tressel said. "But Bo was gracious. He didn't say 'no' on the spot. He could've kind of looked down his nose at me or whatever. He has a lot of compassion and fondness for his hometown."

"I didn't blame him for going to Ohio State," Tressel added. "And I'm proud of what he's done ever since."

* A tidbit about young Bo: "The only thing I remember that first time watching him was I knew he wasn't going to be a basketball player," Tressel joked. "I think he might've fouled out. Do you think that'd be a shock?"

* Pelini and Shawn Watson will speak Friday at Ohio State's spring coaches clinic.

* As for Tressel's gathering of ideas Monday. … He noted the wall right outside the Nebraska football locker room featuring names of Husker lettermen. Tressel told a friend, "Take a mental picture of that because that's an easy thing to do, something you don't have to break the bank on, yet has a lot of meaning."

* Osborne, the Nebraska athletic director, spent two hours with Tressel touring facilities.

"He's got that great pride in Nebraska, and loves what they're doing, and it means so much to him," Tressel said. "It was pretty special, getting taken on a tour by the guy who built the place."

Tressel arranged Ohio State's practice schedule so he could make the trip to Lincoln.

"When Coach Osborne calls you, you do what he asks," he said.

LINK
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1) "It was pretty special, getting taken on a tour by the guy who built the place."

2) Tressel arranged Ohio State's practice schedule so he could make the trip to Lincoln.

"When Coach Osborne calls you, you do what he asks," he said.

These two statements speak volume to both Coach Osborne and Coach Tressel. Make no bones about Tress is doing a great job as a coach at Ohio.

 
NoKoolAidForME said:
1) "It was pretty special, getting taken on a tour by the guy who built the place."

2) Tressel arranged Ohio State's practice schedule so he could make the trip to Lincoln.

"When Coach Osborne calls you, you do what he asks," he said.

These two statements speak volume to both Coach Osborne and Coach Tressel. Make no bones about Tress is doing a great job as a coach at Ohio.
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I agree. I've always respected Tressel. He's doing a hell of a job at OSU. He's led them to 6 BCS bowls in his 9 years as OSU's HC. 3 of those appearances were for the NC. He won the NC in his 2nd year at OSU.

 
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Nexus said:
NoKoolAidForME said:
Also he is 8 - 1 against Michigan and the holder of the longest OSU win streak in school history against Michigan.
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And that is VERY IMPORTANT to OSU fans. They could lose every other game, but as long as they beat Michigan, they're happy. :lol:
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And this is the reason why I am a huge, huge, huge Ohio State fan for that one Saturday in November every year. :D

As long as Ohio State keeps beating Michigan, as long as Tressel is there and whoever replaces him, hopefully they never come after Bo, and by that time, hopefully Bo is so enriched with what he has built here that he will want to stay here until he retires.

 
Great read...thanks for sharing! You can tell Tressel has a great deal of respect for TO and the Huskers. It is nice to have someone of this caliber talking up the Huskers!

 
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