Rather than tell the college football world that it is a program to be feared, or at least reckoned with, Ohio State made the safe choice. And maybe in the long run it will prove to be the smart play. Probably Tressel is the right choice. Perhaps he's even the perfect choice, given the prevailing view of occasional recklessness of the OSU program and the straight-arrow background of the marshal now wearing the badge. Without question, his introductory news conference, along with his speech at the OSU-Michigan men's basketball game, played well among the Buckeyes fans who saw it.
Relief seems to be more the order of the day.
Relief that the search is over, that someone finally is in place to grab the wheel, get the vehicle back on course and start assembling some sort of recruiting class before it's too late. That someone arrived yesterday. He did not arrive with a bang, or wearing bows, or accompanied by blaring trumpets. Maybe that's best. Certainly it was a lot more quiet than it could have been.