THE BOWLS DAILY REPORT : CITRUS / ALABAMA vs. OHIO STATE, Monday : When NFL Calls, Buckeyes Answer

Ohio State Coach John Cooper is getting a bit cranky over some of his players leaving school early for the NFL draft. This season he lost Dan Wilkinson, the No. 1 pick overall, to Cincinnati. Big Daddy, who played more like Big Dud this season, followed in the spike marks of Alonzo Spellman (1991), Robert Smith (1992) and Roger Harper (1992), all of whom came out early.

This season, Korey Springer, a two-time All-American tackle, and linebackers Lorenzo Styles and Craig Powell are considering leaving early.

Springer would probably be a first-round pick with the others farther down.

“What bothers me is that every NFL person I talk to says a kid ought to stay,” Cooper said. “Well, if they really believe that, why do they draft him?”

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Cooper is hoping that the holiday season and mandatory attraction visits don’t take the edge off his team.

“I think the hardest thing is to balance having a good time and to also have the timing for practice,” Cooper said. “We came down here to play a game. The game is the attraction.”