By
Maxx Wolfson
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Brown never considered playing for the UA
Tomorrow's game against Arizona is a homecoming of sorts for Ohio State senior defensive tackle Joe Brown
Brown, a Tucson native, will lead Ohio State (1-0 overall) into Arizona Stadium for a non-conference clash between the Pacific 10 Conference and the Big Ten at 7:15 p.m.
The Buckeye defensive tackle received all-state honors on both offense and defense while he prepped at Tucson's Catalina Foothills High School.
For Brown, staying in Tucson and playing football at the UA was not an option - he was a Buckeye at heart.
"I wanted to get away," he said of his relocation to the midwest. "My mind was made up that I was going to Ohio State when they offered me a scholarship right before my senior year of high school."
Brown was born in Columbus, Ohio - home of Ohio State - but moved to the Eastside of Tucson when he was only a year old.
"I remember when I was a little kid, my dad would take me to Wildcat basketball and football games," he said. "I loved growing up in Tucson and have great memories."
Memories, however, were not nearly enough to persuade Brown to attend UA.
Arizona head coach Dick Tomey tried to keep Brown in Tucson to no avail.
"Nobody really recruited him because he decided to go to Ohio State in the summer before his senior year," Tomey said. "We were going to try to recruit Joe because we thought he could be a great player, but he wasn't really recruited by anyone else on the West Coast."
Though Brown never became a Wildcat, his respect for Tomey and the UA football program remains intact.
"He is a great coach and I liked the program a lot, but OSU was just too much to pass up," he said. "Arizona has a great offense. I think they were the best in the Pac-10 the last couple years."
Ron and Debra Brown - Joe's parents - will be in the stands this weekend along with many of his old friends from high school.
Brown will also face a familiar face across the sidelines in sophomore wide receiver Austin Bates.
Bates was the quarterback for Catalina Foothills during Brown's senior year in high school.
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound senior knows the Buckeyes are ready to erase the memories of a dismal 1999 season in which OSU went 6-6.
"We just have to play Buckeye-style football," Brown said. "OSU is always excited when the season comes around. Last season was something we have not done a lot at OSU."
The Buckeyes are off to a great start in 2000, defeating Fresno State 43-10 in Columbus last Saturday.
If the play of junior quarterback Steve Bellisari is any indication of future success, a Buckeye return to national success seems to be in store.
Coming off an uncharacteristic 6-6 season last year, the Ohio State defense jumped to a quick start - forcing five turnovers and setting a modern-era school record by scoring four defensive touchdowns against the Bulldogs.
With the defense doing most of the scoring, the No. 16 Buckeyes and Bellisari put the offense on cruise control against Fresno State.
The left-handed signal-caller was 8-14 and threw for one touchdown while rushing for 66 yards on 10 carries.
The Buckeye offense may only be as good as its receivers - seniors Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany - who both opened the season uncharacteristically quietly, catching only seven passes combined.
Hampering the OSU defense will be the loss of junior linebacker Jason Ott, who suffered a shoulder injury in last weekend's romp against the Bulldogs. He is expected to miss three weeks.
Despite the loss of Ott, the game may easily turn out to be a defensive battle.
The Wildcat defense was equally impressive last week against Utah, forcing five turnovers - four turnovers on defense and one on special teams.
Even with the strong defensive showing, senior defensive end Joe Tafoya said UA still has a lot to prove on defense.
"We need to make this our worst showing yet," he said. "We need to have a better game than the Ohio State defense."
Arizona and Ohio State have something in common this week, as each team has the defensive player of the week in their respective conference - Tafoya for Arizona and senior cornerback David Mitchell for Ohio State.
In making just his second career start, Mitchell scored two touchdowns in the victory against Fresno State, recovering a fumble for a touchdown and returning an interception 51 yards for another score.
Tafoya was the catalyst behind an Arizona defensive unit that held Utah to just three points. The senior defensive end forced a fumble that led to a touchdown and had eight tackles, four of which were for a loss.
Tafoya also batted down a pass early in the fourth quarter on a fourth-and -goal play, preventing the Utes from scoring.
Offensively, the Wildcats will need to improve their passing game against a stingy Buckeye secondary. Against Utah, senior Ortege Jenkins completed just 3-of-15 passes for 11 yards. His main target, sophomore wide receiver Bobby Wade, caught a lone pass for minus-three yards.
The key to victory for both teams could be turnovers. Arizona and Ohio State - along with Virginia Tech - currently lead the nation with a plus-five turnover ratio.
The Wildcats will need to stay free of turnovers and penalties in order to compete with one of the nation's top football programs.
"We struggled against Utah but we were able to do the things that we needed to do to win," Tomey said. "We did not commit turnovers, and we did not get penalized."
