Furrey gives Buckeyes a sneak peek at Big 33 game
By Kurtis Adams (This Week Contributor)
It was business as usual for Mike Furrey at the Big 33 All-Star football game.
Furrey, who reported to coach John Cooper at the Ohio State University last Wednesday, figured prominently in a pair of first-half scoring rives for the Ohio team in the annual contest played its counterpart from Pennsylvania.
The former Hilliard High School standout caught two passes from quarterback Willie Spencer for 86 yards as the Ohio squad scored nine points in the second quarter during a 28-21 loss in Hershey, Pa., on July 29.
The 6-foot, 165 pound wide receiver, a member of This Week’s Super 25 Team last fall, hauled in an awkward pass from Spencer for a 38-yard gain on a third-and-12 play with 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The catch gave Ohio the ball at the Pennsylvania 4 and eventually set up a 45-yard field goal that cut an early deficit to 7-3.
“I was able to get behind their defender on a couple of plays before that, but they didn’t seem to be picking up on it,” said Furrey, the first Wildcat selected to play in the game. “I had a couple of steps on the guy on that particular play. I just wish I could have found the end zone.”
Finding the end zone was something the Ohio State walk-on, who caught 33 passes for more than 700 yards as a senior, did with regularity during his career at Hilliard. He scored 12 touchdowns last fall, leading the Wildcats to their first undefeated record during the regular season since 1978.
Furrey was one of 12 incoming Buckeye freshmen to play in the game, which in the past has attracted some of the biggest names in the NFL. The alumni include Tony Dorsett (1973) and Dan Marino (1979). Moreover, every Super Bowl to date has included at least one former Big 33 player.
Furrey’s second reception of the game came late in the second quarter. Blanketed by his defender, Furrey had just enough room to pull down another off-balance throw from Spencer for a 48-yard gain on a second-and-10 play from the Ohio 38.
“It was really the same thing as the first catch,” Furrey said. “I had just enough room to slip by him (the defender) and make the catch.”
The play set up a 14-yard touchdown pass by Spencer, a University of Akron signee, which sent the Ohio team to the locker room trailing 21-9.
Furrey did not touch the ball in the second half. The Ohio team, trailing 28-9 early in the second half, scored twice in the third quarter for its final points.
Furrey helped Ohio outgain Pennsylvania 230-143 through the air, and 293-166 on total plays from scrimmage. However, Ohio committed four turnovers compared to Pennsylvania’s one.
“The turnovers really killed us, especially in the second half,” said Furrey, whose brother Matt, senior, is attending OSU on a baseball scholarship. “Why I didn’t get any more chances, that I don’t know. It wasn’t my decision.”
The first practice for freshman football players at Ohio State was last Friday.
“I’m really excited about getting started,” said Furrey, who will room with former Hilliard quarterback Steve Baird, an OSU sophomore who has been moved to defensive back.
“This is what I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid, to play inside Ohio Stadium in front of 90,000 screaming fans. I’m ready.”
It was business as usual for Mike Furrey at the Big 33 All-Star football game.
Furrey, who reported to coach John Cooper at the Ohio State University last Wednesday, figured prominently in a pair of first-half scoring rives for the Ohio team in the annual contest played its counterpart from Pennsylvania.
The former Hilliard High School standout caught two passes from quarterback Willie Spencer for 86 yards as the Ohio squad scored nine points in the second quarter during a 28-21 loss in Hershey, Pa., on July 29.
The 6-foot, 165 pound wide receiver, a member of This Week’s Super 25 Team last fall, hauled in an awkward pass from Spencer for a 38-yard gain on a third-and-12 play with 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The catch gave Ohio the ball at the Pennsylvania 4 and eventually set up a 45-yard field goal that cut an early deficit to 7-3.
“I was able to get behind their defender on a couple of plays before that, but they didn’t seem to be picking up on it,” said Furrey, the first Wildcat selected to play in the game. “I had a couple of steps on the guy on that particular play. I just wish I could have found the end zone.”
Finding the end zone was something the Ohio State walk-on, who caught 33 passes for more than 700 yards as a senior, did with regularity during his career at Hilliard. He scored 12 touchdowns last fall, leading the Wildcats to their first undefeated record during the regular season since 1978.
Furrey was one of 12 incoming Buckeye freshmen to play in the game, which in the past has attracted some of the biggest names in the NFL. The alumni include Tony Dorsett (1973) and Dan Marino (1979). Moreover, every Super Bowl to date has included at least one former Big 33 player.
Furrey’s second reception of the game came late in the second quarter. Blanketed by his defender, Furrey had just enough room to pull down another off-balance throw from Spencer for a 48-yard gain on a second-and-10 play from the Ohio 38.
“It was really the same thing as the first catch,” Furrey said. “I had just enough room to slip by him (the defender) and make the catch.”
The play set up a 14-yard touchdown pass by Spencer, a University of Akron signee, which sent the Ohio team to the locker room trailing 21-9.
Furrey did not touch the ball in the second half. The Ohio team, trailing 28-9 early in the second half, scored twice in the third quarter for its final points.
Furrey helped Ohio outgain Pennsylvania 230-143 through the air, and 293-166 on total plays from scrimmage. However, Ohio committed four turnovers compared to Pennsylvania’s one.
“The turnovers really killed us, especially in the second half,” said Furrey, whose brother Matt, senior, is attending OSU on a baseball scholarship. “Why I didn’t get any more chances, that I don’t know. It wasn’t my decision.”
The first practice for freshman football players at Ohio State was last Friday.
“I’m really excited about getting started,” said Furrey, who will room with former Hilliard quarterback Steve Baird, an OSU sophomore who has been moved to defensive back.
“This is what I’ve been dreaming about since I was a kid, to play inside Ohio Stadium in front of 90,000 screaming fans. I’m ready.”