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What's brewing today with

the Ohio State Buckeyes:

Buckeyes buzz

In case you were wondering, it now appears that the Buckeyes have a two-headed place-kicker.

Ryan Pretorius handled all the field goals and most of the kickoffs, and continued this year. But in a 13-6 loss to Penn State on Saturday night, Oct. 25, it was Aaron Pettrey who kicked both field goals and handled the kickoffs.

"We felt as if he's probably the best guy with the longer field goals. We made a cutoff of the 20-yard line in normal conditions," said OSU coach Jim Tressel. He said he ignored that rule later when the ball was at the 19 because the wind was blowing.

Pretorius was 6-for-7 on field goals of 40 yards or longer last season. This year he's 11-of-12 inside 40 and 2-of-5 beyond 40 yards. Pettrey has converted all five attempts, including all three between 40 and 49 yards.

"If we had a game today, Ryan would handle the shorter ones and Aaron the longer ones, plus Aaron the kickoffs," Tressel said during the Big Ten coaches teleconference Tuesday.

Robo rewarded

Ohio State receiver Brian Robiskie was one of 15 players across the nation to each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as finalists for the Draddy Award.

Heisman Trophy candidates QB Chase Daniel of Missouri and Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell also were selected.

Candidates must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade-point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, be a starter and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The winner, announced in December, gets his scholarship increased to $25,000.

Two of 20

OSU cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and linebacker James Laurinaitis are among the 20 quarterfinalists announced Wednesday for the Lott Trophy, presented for the past four years to a defensive impact player. The award is based on athletic performance and personal character.