Galloway Gives Bulldogs All-Purpose Lesson : College football: Receiver scores on a long pass and again on a short reverse while winning a few more converts for his Heisman run.

Ohio State’s Joey Galloway showed the Fresno State Bulldogs and Heisman Trophy voters that he’s perhaps the best all-purpose player in college football today.

Six touches, 152 total yards, two touchdowns, or one touchdown for every three touches in Ohio State’s 34-10 romp over Fresno State in Monday night’s Disneyland Pigskin Classic. Last year, Galloway scored every fourth time he touched the ball.

But ask Galloway about being the school’s first Heisman Trophy winner in 19 years and he’ll let others, like his coach, John Cooper, do the promoting.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Galloway, who fulfilled a promise to his mother by staying at Ohio State for his senior season after considering applying for the NFL draft. “There’s too many tough teams on our schedule for me to worry about the Heisman. I have to prepare myself to play every week. I want to play football, give it everything I’ve got.”

If indeed Galloway, 5 feet 11, 185 pounds from Bellaire, Ohio, does make a run at the Heisman, it could be a painful year for him. When asked to make a couple comments about Ohio State’s victory, Galloway nervously said: “This is my first time walking up here and commenting on the game.”

But Archie Griffin, Ohio State’s last Heisman Trophy winner (1974 and 1975), said if Galloway keeps producing like he did Monday night, he can remain as humble as he wants.

“Actions speak louder than words and his actions did a lot of talking (Monday night),” said Griffin, now Ohio State’s associate athletic director.

In a rather unusual move, Cooper talked up Galloway’s Heisman chances in a letter to 1,000 college football writers. Steve Snapp, Ohio State’s sports information director, said Cooper wrote the letter because he felt so strongly about Galloway’s character and athletic ability.

Galloway gave Fresno State’s defense an early glimpse of that ability when he ran 11 yards around end on the Buckeyes’ first play from scrimmage. The next glimpse Bulldog defenders caught of Galloway was from the back.

He got behind the Fresno State secondary and hauled in a perfect pass from Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying. After catching the ball at Fresno State’s 15, Galloway broke two tackles and went into his touchdown strut about three yards too early. Bulldogs’ cornerback Larry Cook didn’t like Galloway’s act and tackled him in the end zone.

But Galloway said he wasn’t intending to show anyone up.

“This is my first time on a baseball infield,” he said. “When I came down on the dirt, I thought I was in the end zone. Then I realized someone was coming at me.”

Fresno State free safety Lance Thomas said hot-dogging not withstanding, Galloway is the best he has seen.

“We knew what they were going to do,” Thomas said. “He just snuck around the field. This guy all-around is the best player.”

But is he a Heisman candidate?

“Oh yeah,” Thomas said. “They could put him anywhere.”

And Cooper, like Lou Holtz did with Rocket Ismail, plays Galloway about anywhere. Monday, he returned two kickoffs for 45 yards, caught two passes for 88 yards and ran two reverses for 19 yards, including an eight-yard highlight run for a touchdown in the third quarter. After he appeared hemmed in on the left sideline, Galloway reversed his field, picked up a nice block from Hoying and waltzed into the end zone.

“I have to take whatever the defense gives me,” he said. “If I have to run reverses to get the ball, I will.”

Galloway will do about anything . . . except talk about the Heisman.

“If you’re in Columbus, you’re aware of the four Heisman winners,” he said, referring to Les Horvath, Vic Janowicz, Hopalong Cassady and Griffin. “It’s great to have someone to look up to. But the Heisman is not in my plans right now.”