Furrey reaches goal of helping out team
By Thad Plumley (This Week Staff Writer)
One of Mike Furrey’s biggest goals as a member of the Ohio State University football team was realized in the Rose-Bowl clinching victory over Indiana on Nov. 16.
Furrey, a 1995 graduate of Hilliard High School, jogged out onto the field in Bloomington as the Hoosiers prepared to punt in the first quarter.
Lining up on the far right end of the Buckeyes’ line, he got a good jump at the snap as the rush was on. He drove his lineman back toward the punter and reached out for the ball at the last second. It caromed off his hand for the block, giving the Buckeyes excellent field position.
He began jumping wildly after the play, and floated to the sidelines on a clod. Once there, his teammates patted him on the helmet and back, offering their congratulations. It was at that moment Furrey had achieved his goal. After being a preferred walk-on a year ago, he now was one of the guys.
“After the ref blew his whistle I was jumping up in the air,” said Furrey, a split end who red shirted last year and will have three years of eligibility remaining after this season.
“Players were high-fiving me. It was great. I felt so good inside because I felt like I had done something for the team. I had accomplished my goal. When I came here I wanted to help the Ohio State football team, and when I did that, I had.”
After a senior season at Hilliard in which he was first-team all-league, all-district and all-state selection, as well as Central District Offensive Player of the Year, Furrey had a number of options.
The 6-foot, 170-pounder looked into scholarship offers from Mid-American Conference schools, the chance to play at Division III powerhouse Mount Union and walk-on opportunities at West Virginia, Pitt and OSU.
Growing up in central Ohio, though, as well as having an older brother, Matt, complete a four-year career as an outfielder and designated hitter for the OSU baseball team, the decision wasn’t difficult to make.
Nor was he ever worried whether it was the right choice when the long hours of practice never led to game action last year.
“I was never really worried because I understood it was rare for a freshman to come in and not get red shirted. I knew I just needed to prove myself in practice every day because it can take a long time.”
And Furrey definitely proved himself in practice. He was considered one of the biggest surprised of the spring practices this year because of his knack of getting open and his sure-hands when balls were thrown his way. He also earned a spot as a starter on OSU’s punt and kickoff return teams.
One of the people not surprised by Furrey’s steady progression up the depth charts, though, was Hilliard football coach John Sines.
“He’s 6-foot, and there are a lot of 6-foot receivers out there,” he said. “He passed the eye test, and that’s the important one. When it comes to catching the ball, he’s a vacuum cleaner. He’s got great hands and he’s smart. He knows how to get open. I expect he’ll play more and more through the years.”
So does Furrey. He expected to play more this season, but the emergence of freshmen David Boston and Michael Wiley limited his playing time this fall.
He has yet to haul in his first career reception, but isn’t getting down. One reason could be the words of his roommate, Dimitrious Stanley, the senior from Thomas Worthington who emerged as the Buckeyes’ go-to player this fall.
“Dimitrious talks to me all the time,” Furrey said. “At the beginning of the year when I was kind of down he said, ‘Look, I’ve been here four years, and I was a running back, moved to wide receiver, moved back to running back again and then back to receiver again, but I’m starting all the time now.’ He said it will take time. He said it took him four years and I’ve got three left.”
One of Mike Furrey’s biggest goals as a member of the Ohio State University football team was realized in the Rose-Bowl clinching victory over Indiana on Nov. 16.
Furrey, a 1995 graduate of Hilliard High School, jogged out onto the field in Bloomington as the Hoosiers prepared to punt in the first quarter.
Lining up on the far right end of the Buckeyes’ line, he got a good jump at the snap as the rush was on. He drove his lineman back toward the punter and reached out for the ball at the last second. It caromed off his hand for the block, giving the Buckeyes excellent field position.
He began jumping wildly after the play, and floated to the sidelines on a clod. Once there, his teammates patted him on the helmet and back, offering their congratulations. It was at that moment Furrey had achieved his goal. After being a preferred walk-on a year ago, he now was one of the guys.
“After the ref blew his whistle I was jumping up in the air,” said Furrey, a split end who red shirted last year and will have three years of eligibility remaining after this season.
“Players were high-fiving me. It was great. I felt so good inside because I felt like I had done something for the team. I had accomplished my goal. When I came here I wanted to help the Ohio State football team, and when I did that, I had.”
After a senior season at Hilliard in which he was first-team all-league, all-district and all-state selection, as well as Central District Offensive Player of the Year, Furrey had a number of options.
The 6-foot, 170-pounder looked into scholarship offers from Mid-American Conference schools, the chance to play at Division III powerhouse Mount Union and walk-on opportunities at West Virginia, Pitt and OSU.
Growing up in central Ohio, though, as well as having an older brother, Matt, complete a four-year career as an outfielder and designated hitter for the OSU baseball team, the decision wasn’t difficult to make.
Nor was he ever worried whether it was the right choice when the long hours of practice never led to game action last year.
“I was never really worried because I understood it was rare for a freshman to come in and not get red shirted. I knew I just needed to prove myself in practice every day because it can take a long time.”
And Furrey definitely proved himself in practice. He was considered one of the biggest surprised of the spring practices this year because of his knack of getting open and his sure-hands when balls were thrown his way. He also earned a spot as a starter on OSU’s punt and kickoff return teams.
One of the people not surprised by Furrey’s steady progression up the depth charts, though, was Hilliard football coach John Sines.
“He’s 6-foot, and there are a lot of 6-foot receivers out there,” he said. “He passed the eye test, and that’s the important one. When it comes to catching the ball, he’s a vacuum cleaner. He’s got great hands and he’s smart. He knows how to get open. I expect he’ll play more and more through the years.”
So does Furrey. He expected to play more this season, but the emergence of freshmen David Boston and Michael Wiley limited his playing time this fall.
He has yet to haul in his first career reception, but isn’t getting down. One reason could be the words of his roommate, Dimitrious Stanley, the senior from Thomas Worthington who emerged as the Buckeyes’ go-to player this fall.
“Dimitrious talks to me all the time,” Furrey said. “At the beginning of the year when I was kind of down he said, ‘Look, I’ve been here four years, and I was a running back, moved to wide receiver, moved back to running back again and then back to receiver again, but I’m starting all the time now.’ He said it will take time. He said it took him four years and I’ve got three left.”