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OSU's Boone trying to save career

By Marla Ridenour
Beacon Journal staff writer

POSTED: 07:10 p.m. EST, Feb 19, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS: After his second alcohol-related arrest in three years, Ohio State left tackle Alex Boone might be starting to realize he can never drink again.

To salvage his once-promising football career, he might have to convince NFL executives that he has conquered a problem that Boone confided in college once reached a peak of ''30 to 40'' beers a day.

Boone arrived at the league's Scouting Combine this week prepared to bare his soul about his arrest on Super Bowl Sunday in Aliso Viejo, Calif., when he was jumping on the hoods of cars and trying to break the window of a tow truck. Shouting obscenities and resisting arrest, and with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times California's legal limit, the 6-foot-8, 328-pound Boone had to be dry-Tasered twice before police could subdue him.

With the charges reduced to public intoxication, Boone is scheduled to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court on March 24. Boone worries that the incident will affect his status for the April 25-26 draft.

''I made a big mistake that I regret. I hope it doesn't hurt me too much,'' Boone said.

Boone's mother, Amy, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that her son was stressed about his falling draft stock at the time he was arrested, but Boone didn't agree Thursday. He was in California training after playing in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 17.

''I hadn't drank in a while, and it kind of caught up to me too fast,'' he said.

But he still sounded frustrated about falling out of the draft's first day, which was where he was projected to go if he had declared for the draft after his junior season.

''Coach Bollman told me I was playing very well. He'd get on me about a few things, but most of the time he said, 'You're playing great football,' '' Boone said of OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. ''I was like, 'How come my stock is dropping?' I didn't really worry about it until after the season. Obviously our offensive line didn't do so well and I take responsibility for that.''

Boone was also convicted of drunken driving after an accident in April, 2006, when his pickup truck slammed into a parked car. After that, he underwent counseling at Ohio State.

''I went sober for a year,'' Boone said of 2006. ''After a while I was kind of like, 'Maybe I can get a hold on this; I'm older now.' Maybe this lesson has proved to me that I can't ever do it; I just don't ever need it. That's one of the things me and the counselor talk about. Right now it's a day-by-day battle, and it's going good.''

He said he's seeing the counselor, ''trying to get it off my mind and keep it out of my life.''

Asked if he believes that he has a problem, Boone said: ''Drinking every day, no, I don't. I've obviously abused it once or twice.''

He insisted that drinking did not affect his college career, even though he told OSU reporters he started at age 14.

''No, I was never out of control during the season,'' he said. ''This is one of the things that kind of caught up to me and just hit me.''

Talking to about 10 teams Wednesday night, including the Browns, Boone seemed surprised that he had yet to be grilled about the recent arrest. That in itself could be a red flag, indicating many teams have dropped him off their draft boards.

''I thought I was going to have to lay it all out there,'' Boone said. ''A lot of the guys were kind of like, 'Tell me what happened. Is it going to happen again?' I said, 'No, no sir, I'm getting help for it.' These guys have been really nice and haven't asked a lot about it.''

New Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz, the former Browns scout and assistant under Bill Belichick, said if he talked to Boone he would be looking for ''heartfelt answers.''

Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith would expect the same.

''You have to be brutally honest and let the young man know that's there's got to be some interaction; you have to find out what the situations were,'' Smith said.

It has already been a stunning fall for Boone, a Parade and USA Today All-American from Lakewood St. Edward who was the highest-ranked recruit in OSU's 2005 class. At the combine, he must sell teams more on his character than his measurables, and Boone, 21, knows it.

''The biggest thing is my personality off the field, maybe being more serious, not being so funny and charismatic,'' he said. ''Obviously my drinking is going to be in effect. I think I really have to prove to people that I'm older than I am.''

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.

INDIANAPOLIS: After his second alcohol-related arrest in three years, Ohio State left tackle Alex Boone might be starting to realize he can never drink again.

To salvage his once-promising football career, he might have to convince NFL executives that he has conquered a problem that Boone confided in college once reached a peak of ''30 to 40'' beers a day.

Boone arrived at the league's Scouting Combine this week prepared to bare his soul about his arrest on Super Bowl Sunday in Aliso Viejo, Calif., when he was jumping on the hoods of cars and trying to break the window of a tow truck. Shouting obscenities and resisting arrest, and with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times California's legal limit, the 6-foot-8, 328-pound Boone had to be dry-Tasered twice before police could subdue him.

With the charges reduced to public intoxication, Boone is scheduled to be arraigned in Orange County Superior Court on March 24. Boone worries that the incident will affect his status for the April 25-26 draft.

''I made a big mistake that I regret. I hope it doesn't hurt me too much,'' Boone said.

Boone's mother, Amy, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer that her son was stressed about his falling draft stock at the time he was arrested, but Boone didn't agree Thursday. He was in California training after playing in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 17.

''I hadn't drank in a while, and it kind of caught up to me too fast,'' he said.

But he still sounded frustrated about falling out of the draft's first day, which was where he was projected to go if he had declared for the draft after his junior season.

''Coach Bollman told me I was playing very well. He'd get on me about a few things, but most of the time he said, 'You're playing great football,' '' Boone said of OSU offensive coordinator Jim Bollman. ''I was like, 'How come my stock is dropping?' I didn't really worry about it until after the season. Obviously our offensive line didn't do so well and I take responsibility for that.''

Boone was also convicted of drunken driving after an accident in April, 2006, when his pickup truck slammed into a parked car. After that, he underwent counseling at Ohio State.

''I went sober for a year,'' Boone said of 2006. ''After a while I was kind of like, 'Maybe I can get a hold on this; I'm older now.' Maybe this lesson has proved to me that I can't ever do it; I just don't ever need it. That's one of the things me and the counselor talk about. Right now it's a day-by-day battle, and it's going good.''

He said he's seeing the counselor, ''trying to get it off my mind and keep it out of my life.''

Asked if he believes that he has a problem, Boone said: ''Drinking every day, no, I don't. I've obviously abused it once or twice.''

He insisted that drinking did not affect his college career, even though he told OSU reporters he started at age 14.

''No, I was never out of control during the season,'' he said. ''This is one of the things that kind of caught up to me and just hit me.''

Talking to about 10 teams Wednesday night, including the Browns, Boone seemed surprised that he had yet to be grilled about the recent arrest. That in itself could be a red flag, indicating many teams have dropped him off their draft boards.

''I thought I was going to have to lay it all out there,'' Boone said. ''A lot of the guys were kind of like, 'Tell me what happened. Is it going to happen again?' I said, 'No, no sir, I'm getting help for it.' These guys have been really nice and haven't asked a lot about it.''

New Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz, the former Browns scout and assistant under Bill Belichick, said if he talked to Boone he would be looking for ''heartfelt answers.''

Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith would expect the same.

''You have to be brutally honest and let the young man know that's there's got to be some interaction; you have to find out what the situations were,'' Smith said.

It has already been a stunning fall for Boone, a Parade and USA Today All-American from Lakewood St. Edward who was the highest-ranked recruit in OSU's 2005 class. At the combine, he must sell teams more on his character than his measurables, and Boone, 21, knows it.

''The biggest thing is my personality off the field, maybe being more serious, not being so funny and charismatic,'' he said. ''Obviously my drinking is going to be in effect. I think I really have to prove to people that I'm older than I am.''

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her Browns blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/browns/.



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SloppyClamBake

Posted 09:18 AM, 02/20/2009

30 or 40 beers a day? That explains why defensive ends from Florida and LSU lived in the Ohio State backfield during the two National Championship games.


Common Sense Guy
Uniontown, OH

Posted 12:43 PM, 02/20/2009

I love Ohio State! But Alex isn't that good! He'll get drafted on his size alone!


SanDiegoJoe
San Diego, CA

Posted 02:43 PM, 02/20/2009

If he drank 30-40 beers in a day, no matter how big he is, he's got an alcohol problem and shouldn't drink...at all! Doesn't matter that it didn't happen every day. He doesn't know when enough is enough. Sounds more like an alcohol dependency. And I still think he doesn't totally get it.


mattvj5
Lorain, oh

Posted 04:44 PM, 02/20/2009

No kidding...30-40 beers a day is very bad news...dude needs to get into a program and take care of himself instead of entering into another stressful situation that will lead to more abuse..he wil be on a team just because he's huge though


just an observer
akron, oh

Posted 09:27 PM, 02/20/2009

The man is weak. Alcohol is a choice, NOT a disease.

Makes this Buckeye sad!














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