Freshman wide receiver Chris Garrett has not only emerged as the Ohio football team's go-to guy returning punts, he is making a name for himself as one of the elite punt returners in the nation.
In four games, Garrett has six returns for 140 yards for the Bobcats. His average of 23.33 is the best in the nation. Three-of-six of his returns have been for 26 yards or more, including a 62-yarder against Rutgers two weeks ago.
Basically
I just saw a crease and hit it hard Garrett said of his gallop against the Scarlet Knights. We practice different scenarios and it kind of looked like one of those. I just took it and ran as hard as I could.
This past weekend against Missouri, Garrett took over kickoff-return duties as well, recording three returns for 83 yards ' including a 32-yarder. He leads all Bobcat kick returners with four returns for 100 yards.The road well traveled
Ohio sits at 2-2 after its first four games, a record that looks a bit more impressive when taking into consideration the road the Bobcats had to take to find their way to the .500 mark.
After winning its season opener against Tennessee-Martin Sept. 2, Ohio has traveled more than 1,600 miles in three weeks to play games against Northern Illinois, Rutgers and Missouri.
It's always a challenge to go on the road and play well G? especially when you play three road games in a row
defensive tackle Shane Yates said yesterday. It takes a toll on you to always be in a hotel room and always be in a new environment.
This week, the Bobcats have to travel no further than Peden Stadium as they play host to divisional foe Bowling Green Saturday, something offensive lineman J.J. Knabb is looking forward to.
It's going to be nice
Knabb said. It's like six hours on Fridays that we spend traveling that we're not going to have to spend traveling. We'll be able to get a little more sleep.Pulling rank
Thanks in part to each team's victory over Ohio, both Rutgers' and Missouri's football teams have started the season 4-0 and are now garnering attention on the national scene for their efforts.
Rutgers is ranked No. 23 by both The Associated Press and USA Today this week, receiving 117 and 124 votes, respectively, while Missouri squeaked into The Associated Press' poll at No. 25 with 70 votes.
They deserve to be ranked
Ohio coach Frank Solich said. We thought they were very
very good football teams going in and we feel that way coming out of those games G? they're both undefeated and they deserve to be in there.
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Mark Shugar
