Buckeye Bits: Veteran leader who will be in his third year as a starter in 2008 ... teams with Jake Ballard to give the Buckeyes a double threat at tight end ... has excellent size and speed, runs good routes, can get deep and is a good technician ... devoted to film study and analysis ... on track to graduate in December.

2007 (Junior): Shared starter’s role at tight end with Ballard ... 16 receptions gained 84 yards for season ... 21 career starts ... leading receiver at Penn State with six catches ... third-year letterman.

2006 (Sophomore): Played in all 13 games and made 10 starts, including the last six games ... three of his 13 receptions were touchdowns, including two against Indiana ... catches covered 151 yards ... averaged 11.6 yards per catch ... long catch of the year was a 38-yard touchdown pass from Ted Ginn Jr. on an end-around against Indiana ... also caught a 23-yard TD pass from Troy Smith against the Hoosiers ... scored first touchdown of the season against Bowling Green, a 3-yard haul from Smith.

2005 (Redshirt): Went into fall camp contending for a possible starting spot, but a broken right foot in late August ended his season ... underwent rehab Winter Quarter and was cleared to play in the spring.

2004 (Freshman): Made a favorable impression in preseason camp and was one of the first freshmen to crack the two-deep ... made his college debut in the season opener against Cincinnati and was in for 10 minutes ... logged nine minutes at Iowa and a then career-high 15 minutes against Indiana ... hauled in his first touchdown catch at Iowa, helping the Buckeyes’ avoid their first shutout since 1993 in a 33-7 loss ... improved with each outing ... had two receptions against Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl game ... began the year wearing jersey No. 86, but switched to 88 to avoid any conflict with punter Kyle Turano (who also wore 86) when playing on the punt team.

High School: Caught 18 passes for 234 yards and five touchdowns as a senior ... three-year varsity starter ... named to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s “Fab 22” and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Terrific 25 as a senior ... also was named to the Patriot News Platinum 33 team ... all-conference selection as both a sophomore and junior ... had 15 catches for 168 yards and one touchdown as a junior ... also played linebacker and finished with 78 tackles, 6.5 sacks and two interceptions as a junior.

Personal: Son of Bob and Kathy Nicol ... enjoys playing basketball as relaxation ... has two sisters: Ashley, who graduated from Virginia Tech, and Lisa, who attends Pitt... one of the football representatives to Ohio State’s Student-Athlete Advisory Board