Ohio strong safety Rob Stover does not remember life without the game that runs through his veins.
Growing up in a household with three other brothers -each of whom earned all-Ohio status in high school and continued to play at the collegiate level -virtually ensured the Bobcat senior would pick up the pigskin at a young age.
All through my life
I've been around football because of them as a water boy ball boy whatever
Stover said. They helped me learn the game
and that's something I'll always owe to them.
Brothers Trevor, 31, and Ty, 26, played tight end and linebacker, respectively, at Bowling Green, where Trevor twice earned all-Mid-American Conference honors. Stover's other brother, Anthony, 30, also played briefly at Dayton.
Ty said all four have always been close in a family where football has bred togetherness. Each speaks with one another on the phone every night. The older three siblings and their parents, Harvey and Tony Stover, have kept a watchful eye over Stover's senior season at Ohio.
My mom and dad haven't missed anyone's games
from youth league through college
and they have four grandchildren and one on the way
so they won't get much of a break
Ty said. They have really done a good job with all of us. Four boys in the household gets pretty crazy
but they tamed us.
Following suit
That he, too, would still don pads and a helmet upon graduating from Big Walnut High near Columbus might have seemed inevitable for Stover. However, his journey to Athens has not been without detours.
Former Ohio State coach John Cooper recruited Stover out of high school to play for the Buckeyes. But after redshirting the 2000 season and finding himself stuck behind current NFL players Mike Doss and Donnie Nickey on the depth chart, Stover opted to transfer to Ohio prior to the 2001 season. He sat out that year, in compliance with NCAA transfer rules.
I wanted to go to a program where I could work myself in and play right away. I didn't want to wait three years to play
Stover said. I made some great friends there and still have buddies (at Ohio State)
