NEW ORLEANS (AP) -Ohio State wide receiver Brian Robiskie is plenty familiar with LSU football.
Robiskie’s father, Terry Robiskie, grew up in the New Orleans area, played running back for the Tigers and rushed for over 1,000 yards as a senior in 1976.
“Hopefully, he’ll be out there in a Robiskie jersey, a Buckeyes Robiskie jersey,” Brian said Thursday.
Brian Robiskie, who graduated from high school in Cleveland, has never been to a game at Tiger Stadium, but he’s been down to Louisiana a lot to visit family.
“It kind of reminds me a lot of Ohio State in how they support their team,” he said.
After a short playing career with the Oakland Raiders and Miami Dolphins, Terry Robiskie has been coaching in the NFL for 25 years. He was wide receivers coach with the Dolphins this season and he also was an interim head coach for the Redskins and Browns.
Brian Robiskie is one of several Ohio State juniors who has said he’ll look into jumping to the NFL after this season, though he said it’s not likely he will take the plunge.
Robiskie led the Buckeyes in receiving with 50 catches for 885 yards and 10 touchdowns.
With an NFL coach in the family, he should have a very good idea of where he stands in the eyes of NFL scouts.
“When the time comes, I’m going to sit down and talk to him, hopefully he’s going to have a lot of good information for me and I think that either way he’s going to help me make the decision.”
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TIGER TALES: LSU defensive end Kirston Pittman has become a real popular storyteller lately.
Pittman played on the Tigers team that beat Oklahoma at the Superdome for the 2003 BCS national championship. In the weeks leading up to LSU’s game against Ohio State, several current teammates sought him out, wondering what to expect.
“I’ve been asking a lot of questions,” All-American defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey said Thursday. “Before we got down here, I asked him what type of environment we were getting into.”
“He said there’s going to be a lot of distractions, but just stay focused and know you’re on a business trip. You’re down here for a reason, not to have fun,” he said.
Pittman played a lot on third downs as a true freshman in 2003. He missed the last two years because of injuries, and returned to start every game this season.
Pittman and tight end Keith Zinger are the two holdovers who played in that big win over Oklahoma.
“I’ve been fortunate enough that this is my second go-round,” Pittman said. “I just try to tell the guys we have to take advantage of every opportunity and don’t let it pass you by, because you may never get the chance again.”
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CAUTIOUS CONSUMERS: Ohio State fans will give you the shirts off their backs – particularly if it reminds them of a painful defeat.
Buckeyes fans are taking a more conservative approach to buying T-shirts, hats and sweat shirts that commemorate Ohio State’s second consecutive trip to the BCS national championship game against LSU on Jan. 7.
A year ago the Buckeyes were beaten 41-14 by Florida and fans were stuck with merchandise that did nothing but brought back images of the lopsided loss.
“You don’t want to buy stuff and be stuck with those bad memories,” Ohio State grad Steven Seeberg said.
Retailers around Ohio report that orders for silkscreened championship T-shirts are down. The Buckeyes’ loss to Florida, coupled with the program’s third run to the Bowl Championship Series title game in the past six years, has cut into sales.
“Normally, our phones are ringing off the hook about bowl merchandise, but this year, there was kind of a lull,” said Judi Mormol, co-owner of Conrads College Gifts, just off the Ohio State main campus. “People are waiting to see what happens.”
Along the same lines, retailers in Louisiana expect LSU fans to be more subdued with their shopping this time compared to 2003, when the school won a national championship, said Alan Wallace, a store manager at Tiger Mania in Baton Rouge.
Should Ohio State win the game, then sales will pick up – as will production.
One company will produce T-shirts for 18 straight hours after the game and will churn out 100,000 shirts.
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IT’S GETTING A BIT DRAFTY: Ohio State OT Alex Boone confirmed Thursday that he has filed the paperwork to receive an evaluation from NFL scouts. He said he will discuss the report and his draft prospects with his family soon after Monday night’s game.
Boone, a 6-foot-8, 313-pound junior, said it isn’t as hard as everyone might think to concentrate on next Monday’s game without being distracted by his decision.
“It’s not as hard as you think,” Boone said. “Obviously this game comes first right now. This is the most important thing there is.”
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QUICK-HITTERS: LSU All-American safety Craig Steltz sat in the stands at the Superdome for the 2003 BCS title game, watching brother Kevin play for the Tigers. … The rapper Juvenile has asked for and been granted a pass by Ohio State to watch the game, even though he’s a New Orleans native. Juvenile went to school with Buckeyes defensive lineman Nader Abdallah. … Ohio State’s honorary captain for the game is former player and current New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Will Smith.
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