Ohio State May Not Miss Carter : Buckeyes Are Confident They Can Win Without Him

Ohio State football Coach Earle Bruce isn’t lying awake nights worrying about the loss of all-American split end Cris Carter.

Carter was one of several prominent college players stripped of their final year of eligibility for signing with and accepting money from agents Norby Walters and Lloyd Bloom. He was the Buckeyes’ top receiver in 1986, catching 69 passes for 1,127 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Ohio State will have to go about its pursuit of the Rose Bowl and possibly the national championship this season without the 6-foot 3-inch Carter. Bruce is convinced the Buckeyes, with 14 starters returning, including eight on defense, can do the job.

“If there is any one position at Ohio State where we can lose an outstanding player and go on to be the national champion, it’s wide receiver,” Bruce said. “We’re not a wide receiver type of team.

“If we’ve got the No. 1 defense in the Big Ten and get our running attack working like it should, I’ll guarantee you we’d win the conference title.”

Bruce says his top priority is the development of the offensive line, not finding a replacement for Carter, Ohio State’s all-time leading receiver. He already has his man for that job in speedy junior Everett Ross, a talented player who had been kept in the background by Carter.

Bruce will have four new starters up front on offense--split end, tight end, left guard and right tackle.

“If the line comes on like it should, we’ll be OK,” Bruce said. “If it doesn’t, then we’re going to miss the big play element of Cris Carter.”

Bruce wants to return Ohio State’s running game to its status of previous years when the likes of Keith Byars, Tim Spencer and Archie Griffin piled up huge chunks of yardage behind powerful Buckeye linemen.

True, tailbacks Vince Workman and Jim Bryant ran for 1,079 and 684 yards respectively a year ago, but Ohio State still passed for more yards than it gained on the ground--2,530 to 2,453.

“That has to stop,” Bruce said of the emphasis on the passing game. “It hasn’t been the fault of our backs. It’s been our inexperienced offensive line. We’re solid at running back, better now than in a long time. And we’ve got a couple of young kids who I think can help us.”

Bruce does have one other question mark among his receivers in flanker Nate Harris, second on the squad last year with 30 receptions. Harris is in summer school trying to correct some grade deficiencies and his status is uncertain.

“If we lose Nate Harris, then we would be hurting,” Bruce said. “Some of our young receivers would have to step in quickly.”

Even with the loss of Carter, Ohio State returns a star-studded array of talent, headed by linebackers Chris Spielman and Eric Kumerow, who figure to help make the Buckeye defense one of the best in the nation.

The 6-foot 2-inch, 236-pound Spielman, a second team all-America and one the four finalists for last year’s Lombardi Award, had 205 tackles in 1986, including 105 solo tackles. He also intercepted six passes, including one which he returned 24 yards for a touchdown in the Buckeyes’ 28-12 win over Texas A&M; in the Cotton Bowl.

Kumerow came to Ohio State as a highly touted quarterback, but at 6-6 and 250 pounds, has blossomed into one of the top outside linebackers in the country.

“We’ve got two fine ones (linebackers),” Bruce said. “I think the linebacking corps will be stronger than it was last year and I thought it was good last year.”

As for Spielman, a four-year starter, Bruce described him as “the most intense football player I’ve ever seen.”

“I think he’s a legitimate candidate for the Heisman Trophy,” he said. “He’s everything you’re talking about when you think of football. He loves football and plays it with great intensity. He should have a better year than he had last year and, if he does, he deserves to win the Heisman.”

The biggest question mark on defense remains the three down linemen, but Bruce expects improvement.

“The defensive line has to come through, and I have confidence we’ll be better than in recent years. We haven’t been top drawer in our defensive line,” Bruce said.

Bruce is looking to the return of a healthy Ray Holliman, out for all but one game in 1986 with a knee injury, the added experience of sophomore Mike Showalter and the addition of Derek MacCready from the junior college ranks to bolster the defensive line.

In 6-foot 5-inch, 216-pound senior Tom Tupa, he believes he has a premier quarterback.

“I’ve said it many times that Tom Tupa can probably be as good, if not better, than any quarterback I’ve had at Ohio State,” Bruce said. “He just hasn’t had the opportunity. He can run the option, he can pass and he has the quickness to make a play that’s nothing into a big play.”

The Buckeye punter for the past three years, Tupa backed up regular quarterback Jim Karsatos the last two seasons.

Alex Higdon, a 6-foot 5-inch, 251-pound senior who has played sparingly at tight end, defensive tackle and outside linebacker in his three years at Ohio State, takes over as the regular tight end, with Ross taking over for the departed Carter.

“Everett (Ross) is faster,” Bruce said. “He, too, just hasn’t had the opportunity to play. We gave it to Cris Carter because he deserved it. Now, we just take it away from one guy and give it to another.”