Tyler Whaley was slammin’. Whaley was used for blocking purposes as the Ohio State Buckeyes opened the season against Youngstown State on Saturday and did quite well.

Whaley, a senior center turned fullback, was used in short yardage and goal line situations and slammed into defenders to create room for Buckeye running backs, especially Chris “Beanie” Wells.

Besides his blocking, Whaley performed on special teams along with another former Ironton Fighting Tiger, redshirt freshman Marcus Williams.

Williams got a lot of playing time on special teams and entered the game late as a running back although he did not get a rushing attempt.

A third former Ironton player, tight end Andy Colegrove, made the trip to Ohio Stadium but the freshman did not play.

A fourth local product, walk-on running back K.C. Christian of Rock Hill, did dress but did not play for the Buckeyes.

Herd’s Early Start

Fans who can’t wait for West Virginia’s visit to Marshall Saturday won’t have to wait quite as long. Kickoff for the rivalry is set for 11:10 a.m.

An added note about this rivalry, Marshall season tickets are at an all-time high but part of the reason is because West Virginia fans bought season tickets just to get into this game.

Those same fans are selling the rest of their tickets to Marshall games on eBay.

Ohio Preparing

The Ohio Bobcats opened the season with a win over Gardner-Webb and travel to Louisianna-Lafayette this Saturday night.

If the Bobcats can come away with a pair of wins, it would help set up a big trip into Blacksburg, Va., as Ohio takes on Virginia Tech on Sept. 15.

Jim Walker is sports editor of The Ironton Tribune.