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GLENDALE, Ariz. — This is the gospel according to T.J. Downing: "I'm kind of like Moses now."

Studying the 305-pound Ohio State offensive lineman as he sat in the new University of Phoenix Stadium on Friday, seeing the tattoos, the heavily calloused knuckles, the head band and that gelled-back Mohawk haircut — "my business Mohawk," he said proudly — you didn't quite see the resemblance.

Moses led the Israelites.

Who's Downing leading?

"Steve Rehring," he beamed.

Downing was right. Sitting several rows in front of him on this media day for the BCS Championship Game between OSU and Florida, Rehring — his underclassman partner at guard — now sported a Mohawk, a surprise for his parents who were arriving from West Chester.

An All-Big Ten selection, Downing is graduating and headed to the NFL. Rehring wants to follow in his footsteps: "He told Coach (Jim) Tressel, 'I want to be second-team All-American so I cut my hair in a Mohawk,' " Downing said while laughing. "I said, 'Cut the Mohawk so you'll be first team. Strive to be a starter, not come off the bench.'

"I'm trying to pass the torch. I've been his tutor. I'm his sensei; he's my young grasshopper.

"I'm busting his chops, and once he develops a killer attitude, he'll be one of the best in the country. But I still think my head looks prettier. He's got some divots up there."

As for the team's best haircut, Downing gave a Mohawked nod to smooth-domed receiver Anthony Gonzalez, but then added a qualifier: "I'd still have to put myself over him, though, because I have to block for his little bald head."

Downing is a down-in-the-dirt lineman on the field, a delight off. With the high-stakes game just three days off, he was the pressure release, the punch line, the guy who makes Tressel do that "little crooked-eye look."

Downing laughed about it: "He doesn't say a thing, but I know what he's thinking. Same as my mom: I'm a lunatic. But you can't just sit here and work, work, work. You'll drive yourself up a wall if you don't relax and have fun."

Friday, that wasn't a problem. Asked for something nobody knows about Tressel, Downing didn't miss a beat: "I think I might of seen a butterfly tattoo on his back in the shower one time. I couldn't tell if it was a mole or a butterfly, but I didn't want to stare ... if you know what I mean."

He ran a hand over his Mohawk, which was greased back almost into a ducktail: "I'm going to the spa after this. Gonna have 'em get the razor and shave up the sides. Man, I'm trying to be a pretty boy. Need to get a pedicure, too. I got some ugly toes."

He said this is the last game for the Mohawk: "It was just kind of a crazy thing for the season and it caught on. But I don't know how NFL executives would like it."

But first there's the national title game.

"Oh yeah, the Mohawk will be tightened up and looking good," he said. "Tell the folks at Sports Illustrated they can put me on the cover. I'll pose with that silver ball (championship trophy)."

As for the most highly publicized post-game performance this bowl season — the Boise State back dropping to one knee to propose to his girlfriend — Downing shook his head: "No, I got a special woman at home. ... Well, wait. ... If I score the winning touchdown, I might just grab some lady from the stands and propose to her. ... But if she accepts, then there might be trouble. I might have to run."

Then he'd still be Moses.

Edwin Moses.