Smith leaves past missteps behind

His Heisman Trophy triumph? Old news. The bumpy path he navigated from Cleveland's "mean streets" to Columbus to Times Square? Even more passé.

"What happened in the past does shape you to what you are today," acknowledged Smith, who much prefers to look ahead to Monday night's BCS title showdown against Florida.

"But the past should also let you know that when things happen, you let them go and don't harp on them. They happened; now let's move forward from that."

That's unfortunate, in a way, because his is a story worth retelling.

It doesn't take much thinking to name athletes who, for all their talent, wind up wrecked by the roadside because of bad attitude and/or bad choices.

Take Maurice Clarett. The freshman hero of OSU's 2002 national title team became the Buckeyes' poster child for self-destructive behavior. He will be watching Monday night's game from an Ohio prison rec room.

There was a time Smith could have been on that poster, too.

In high school, a vicious elbow in a basketball game led to his expulsion from the private suburban school that took him in. Midway through his OSU stay, he sat out two games for accepting $500 from a booster.

And then the light went on.

Smith owned up to his transgressions and straightened his path. He locked up the quarterback job and, to OSU fans' delight, gave the offense a new spark. He grew into a leader, universally embraced by his teammates.

Source of pride

"To have seen his growth … has been fun," said Joe Daniels, OSU's quarterbacks coach. "Some might take it for granted where he is now, but it's not an easy road. I'm really proud of Troy."

Head coach Jim Tressel said: "What he has meant to our program, I'm not sure we can even quantify it."

Start with Smith's 25-2 record as a starter. That includes an 11-1 mark when facing ranked teams and 3-0 against rival Michigan. Only Tippy Dye (1934-36) can match Smith's success against the Wolverines.

Smith set an OSU record with 30 touchdown passes this year, completing 67 percent of his throws with just five interceptions — three coming on deflections. And he seems to save his best for the biggest games.

In the Michigan trilogy, plus last year's Fiesta Bowl romp over Notre Dame and this year's win at Texas, Smith has averaged 294 passing yards with 11 TDs and just one interception.

"His numbers alone are overwhelming," receiver Anthony Gonzalez said, "but they don't tell the whole story with Troy."

Smith's story, rather, is one about overcoming.

He got Ohio State's last scholarship in 2002, labeled an "athlete" with more to offer via his legs than his arm. A tough childhood included four years in foster care.

During a basketball game in 2000, Smith elbowed an opposing player so hard he knocked the foe unconscious. That led to his dismissal from St. Edward High and a legal battle when the state tried to bar him from all sports.

Years later, Smith told Sports Illustrated he lashed out at a series of racial slurs.

Transferring to inner-city Glenville High, Smith made a name as the guy throwing to speedster Ted Ginn Jr. That got him to Columbus, though his stay could have been short.

Bottoming out

In 2003, a fight outside an OSU dormitory led to a conviction of disorderly conduct. Then after wresting the job from blue-chipper Justin Zwick, Smith put it all in jeopardy by taking booster money.

Smith had to repay the money, then skip OSU's 2004 Alamo Bowl trip and the 2005 season opener.

The turning point, perhaps, was watching the Alamo Bowl from the Ginns' Cleveland home.

"That was rough," Ted Ginn Sr., Glenville High's coach, told The Akron Beacon Journal. "He felt he let his teammates down. He let himself down. He let the university down."

When Smith returned, the Buckeyes saw a changed man.

"I really, really got it into my head that there wouldn't be a situation like this again," Smith told reporters in August, one of the few times he has addressed his misdeeds publicly.

"My team is first in everything. Running onto the field with my guys is something I'll never take for granted again. That's probably the best feeling in the world."

Only one thing would make Smith's transformation more complete, and Monday night is something he definitely is looking forward to.

"We're not finished, not by a long shot," he said.

"I know we're getting ready to play on the biggest stage in college football. And we'll be ready."