DaytonDailyNews.com

When Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel called, nobody in the Springer family knew quite what to think.

This was several years ago, long before Josh Springer, then a Northmont High School senior, seriously entertained the idea of making the Buckeyes as a walk-on.

Turns out Tressel had called as a favor to the cheerleading staff, encouraging Springer to choose OSU over Kentucky, which had offered him a scholarship to cheer.

How bizarre and ironic, then, that this 5-foot-11, 185-pound OSU cheerleading captain might be playing for Tressel after surviving a walk-on tryout last month despite never playing a down of football in high school. He wants to be a receiver.

"He's fairly athletic," Matt Springer, a college athlete in the early-to-mid 1970s, said of his son, who opened eyes by running a 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds. "But it's still pretty surprising."

Especially so considering Josh's primary athletic endeavors in college have involved hoisting and flinging 100-pound females — fine work if you can find it, but nothing that prepares one for the rigors of the gridiron.

"Has anyone ever hit me? No," Josh said. "I'm assuming that's one of the things I'm going to have to get used to."

He's been getting his fill of "Rudy" references, of course, but even the immortal Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger had played in high school before clawing his way onto the Notre Dame roster and getting in for one play at the end of the 1975 season. And at no point had Ruettiger been a cheerleader.

"You have to admire him for being willing to get out and compete with guys who have played football," OSU assistant recruiting coordinator Greg Gillum said. "It's exciting for us to see someone who has the desire just to see if he can do it."

Taking it seriously

Athletic genes swim in the family pool. Matt Springer wrestled at Ohio University and played football at Otterbein College. Josh's older twin brothers attended Wilmington College, where Drew was a football placekicker, Paul a soccer player.

An uncle, Jack Giambrone, coached football at Wilmington and is now athletic director at Sinclair Community College.

"We all played soccer growing up," Josh said, reminiscing about his brothers. "We always joked and said we should play wide receiver, because we could catch anything."

Through high school, Josh seemingly tried everything but football. In addition to soccer, he golfed, played volleyball, even learned how to pole vault without incident. He looks at this as just another opportunity to test himself, saying, "I've done fairly well in sports I've been unfamiliar with. I learn pretty quickly."

Springer became involved in competition cheerleading as a Northmont senior and soon had his pick of schools. Having been an OSU fan growing up, the Columbus campus — and the Buckeye tradition — beckoned and, truth is, probably would have beaten Kentucky even without the Tressel call.

Josh says he thought about trying out earlier for football, but he had made a commitment to cheerleading. When he finally decided the time was right, he consulted a nutritionist and a trainer and spent hours at his old high school catching footballs launched by a machine.

"I figured I would at least try," he said. "I set expectations for myself. I guess my role right now is to try to get into the program and make the team better."

This is an important week for Springer and the 12 other walk-ons. They have made it this far, but none has it made.

Monday begins a stretch of six consecutive 6 a.m. workouts with the full squad. Those left standing will be invited to participate in spring practice beginning April 2 with an eye toward playing in the April 25 intrasquad game in Ohio Stadium.

This week's daily workouts last one hour and there's no wasted motion.

"It's the true litmus test," Gillum said. "There was a little bit of a cardiovascular evaluation in the walk-on process, but this will be 60 minutes of grinding, grueling cardio. They've never been through anything like this. Guys could disappear at any time."

Weighing the risks

Sure, Cindy Springer worries. What mother wouldn't? One minute your son is tossing cheerleaders into the air, the next he's strapping on shoulder pads and bidding to join one of the nation's most prestigious football programs — with no real background or training.

And even the best training can't prevent the kind of freak accident that finds OSU player Tyson Gentry in a wheelchair today after breaking his neck in a scrimmage a couple of years ago. Gentry had been a walk-on punter pressed into service as a scout-team receiver. But even he had played in high school.

"You worry, but I hope the coaches will train him well and he'll learn from them and he'll be OK," Josh's mom said. "It's always in the back of your mind that things can happen.

"It's still kind of sinking in. He's never played, but he's the kind of guy who will try anything. Are we concerned? Yes. But this is his dream, something he wanted and went after."

Walk-on tryouts took place Feb. 11. Springer was in math class when Gillum texted him with the good news. He left class and called his parents — not quite as dramatic as in the movie when Rudy slid his finger down a list of names on a bulletin board before finding his, but satisfying.

"To be honest, I have no idea what to expect," Josh said. "I haven't done anything like this. I'm just going to try to fit in with the team and see where it takes me."

He's been getting help from Northmont classmate Kurt Coleman, an OSU safety. And from Giambrone, who is teaching him how to run pass patterns and catch a football while wearing a helmet.

"Kurt has given me tips on how to improve my speed and agility," Josh said. "When I made it, he congratulated me. He's excited."

Contact drills perhaps lie ahead, including likely collisions with Coleman, a noted thumper.

"We laugh about Kurt nailing him, then giving him a big smile," Matt Springer said. "It would be his way of saying, 'Welcome aboard, Josh.' "

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2408 or smcclelland@DaytonDailyNews.com.