Coach on ex-Ohio State WR Ray Small: Thinking about life, 'that was the scary part'

COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Before Senior Day in 2009, when he would run onto the field at Ohio Stadium for the final time as a Buckeye, receiver Ray Small talked with The Plain Dealer and looked back on what he had done, and hadn't done, in his career.

"If I could start over, I would do it again,"

The regrets then were a two-game suspension for problems in the classroom, his family's public disagreement with Jim Tressel over how he had been treated, and various stays in Tressel's doghouse. The end of Small's career was probably the simplest explanation of his time in Columbus -- just weeks after being named a captain for his final Michigan game, he was suspended for the Rose Bowl for a violation of team rules.

Now it's different. This is life, not football. Small, 26, was arrested on felony drug possession this week.

?On the field, that was great,? former Glenville assistant Tony Overton told The Plain Dealer today. ?But thinking about life, that was the scary part.?

After coaching hundreds after hundreds of players in his 14-year career with Glenville, Overton said he still speaks to or texts with about 25 players on a daily basis. Others he talks to once a week, or once a month. But for all of the players who leave Glenville, Overton, Ted Ginn Sr. and other coaches remind them that maintaining those connections are important.

In those years, Overton said Small was among the five players he grew closest with. At the beginning, that relationship continued when Small arrived in Columbus. Gradually, it changed and their contact became far more infrequent.

?That bothered me at the time, because I know he needed people like myself and people that were important to him,? Overton said, ?and I kind of always worried about that.?

For coaches in high school and college, this is always part of the discussion with players who make mistakes. When does a player run out of chances and get let go? And what will happen to him then? And when does a player making mistakes need to stick because the football people in his life are maybe his best chance at getting on track?

?I would always have people say, 'That's a good kid,'? said Overton, who was Small's offensive coordinator and position coach after he arrived at Glenville as a sophomore. ?He was a good-looking kid, great smile, soft-spoken, but even when I had him, you sometimes had to put him back on track. He was never acting the fool when he was with you. Never that. Just when he wasn't with you, it was, 'Where is he? What is he doing? Is he getting led by the wrong person when he wasn't with you?' Because you knew you can lead him. When we had him, we could lead him in the right direction.?

Small seems to understand that he needs those people as well. In two long videos he posted on Youtube.com a month ago, he said, among many other things, "I've never been a good decision-maker, I haven't. And I probably have a couple people that can vouch for that."

Overton still has hope. He's seen instances in his own family of people who have turned their lives around in their 30s. Small is still only facing charges at this point. But if convicted on all counts, he could be facing more than 30 years in prison.

He may yet get another chance. But he also may have run out of them.

?It's emotional for me,? Overton said. ?I wish I could have done more to help him. But when they don't let you, it's hard.?

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2013/07/on_ex-ohio_state_wr_ray_small.html

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