I was at the birth of Buckeye Dreams: The Tyler 'Tank' Whaley Story, published recently by Ken Gordon.

It was Senior Week 2007, and one gloomy November, after practice the media was given unfettered access to the seniors. I was in the Woody Hayes Center as reporters swarmed soothsayer Kirk Barton and down-home-boy Tyler Whaley. My agenda was different. They wanted to hear about wins and losses, X's and O's, and what the stars had to say, I wanted to know about Ohio Stadium and the emotions of a senior playing his last game there.

I stayed on the periphery and interviewed the David Lisko's and other seniors who had labored and toiled just as hard but with not nearly as much fame nor field time. Many were glad to be interviewed; some perplexed as to why I wanted to talk to them.

As daylight waned, the reporters begin drifting away. I found myself alone in a room with Dispatch reporter Ken Gordon interviewing Tyler Whaley. Ken was gracious as I thrust my microphone into their space. Tyler was talking about coming to Ohio State as a walk-on, and what it meant to have arrived as a Buckeye. As I listened, I thought, "Wow, here is a story!" When Ken asked Tyler if he could follow-up over the holidays, Tyler gave his parents phone number. Not being stupid, I recorded that too. After Ken finished, it was getting late but Tyler patiently stayed and answered all of my questions about what it meant to him personally to play in the Horseshoe and walk in those big shoes.

The following Saturday, Senior Day in the stadium, I took some very nice pictures of Dave and Tami as Tyler's parents greeted him when he ran out of the tunnel the last time. I mailed them the pictures and then called Tyler's mother Tami. I was looking for a "football mom" story for my book and she was the perfect and willing storyteller.

Over the course of December, we talked on the phone for several hours about Tyler, his growing up, their family, recruiting and his passion to overcome adversity and be a Buckeye. Tami talked about his faith and the moral compass Coach Tressel provided him and the unbelievable experience of playing in Ohio Stadium. She was so proud that the Tyler they had sent to Ohio State five years earlier still had the values that they had instilled in him as a child and was graduating with a 3.2 GPA

We talked more than once, and developed a nice friendship. When the Buckeyes went to New Orleans, Dave graciously invited me to the private party the Football parents group hosted. I sat in a restaurant in New Orleans with the player's families, eating crayfish with Tami and Dave, and meeting grandmas and grandpas and aunts and cousins. They were down to earth people. It was a blessing for my recorder and a treat for me. When Tyler arrived, I recorded a neat story that I will tell in my book. I came away from the experience with admiration for Tyler and his family, and some great material.

I wasn't the only person who saw a story in Tyler Whaley. In December, Ken Gordon ran a nice piece in the Columbus Dispatch about Tyler and his family at their holiday dinner. He quoted Tyler's former coaches and friends as he followed Tyler around Ironton. I thought again what an amazing story.

So did Ken. In April of this year, Dave called me asking for some of my pictures "for Tyler's book". "Book?" I asked. Dave responded, "Yea, did you hear Ken Gordon's doing a book about Tyler?" "Dang", was my first reaction. "Scooped again; there go my stories!" That lasted about 5 seconds. Then I remembered the words a friend had uttered to me when I previously bemoaned another new OSU book. "There's room", he simply said.

There is. My book is about the stadium on a grand scale, and the people and moments that have made it grand. Tyler is but one of those, and the few stories I use will be a slice, in my own words, of his and his parent's moment in time. In contrast, Ken's book is an in-depth look at Tyler in a way that I do not have room. I quickly saw the synergism of the two and was happy for Tyler and his family. The plain truth is ten people could tell this same tale and you would not tire of it. It's that good.

Tyler Whaley is an amazing kid and the chapters of his life tell a wonderful story. Buckeye Dreams pays homage to that as Ken Gordon chronicles his rise from the sandlots of Ironton to the biggest stage in college football. Along the way, you will be entertained, enlightened and inspired as you come to know and admire the little kid that could and the family that raised him to do it. What Buckeye could not be proud of this tale and thrilled it is being told? Go. Get a copy. It's a great read. Enjoy it while you are waiting on me to finish Stories of the Shoe. While you are at it, look for my picture of Tyler on page 107, the one I took that says "I've Arrived". I gladly shared it with Ken and his publisher to use in the book.

It's available at: Barnes & Noble

At $11.65 it's a bargain!