There were difficult times. Richard Hall won't deny that. Times when he wondered why he wasn't on the football field carrying the ball for Ohio State. Or if he ever would.

        Now he knows his childhood dream of playing for the Buckeyes will never become reality. He has come to grips with it and he has moved on. He's a member of the University of Cincinnati football program now. Most important, he's back on the field practicing after two years of inactivity.

        “It feels good to go out there every day,” Hall said. “It was just a matter of time before I got back and proved to everybody that I could do it.”

        Two years away from the game have taken their toll. His timing hasn't fully returned yet, nor has his footwork. But he's getting there.

        “My first impressions of him were, "Jeez, can he catch the ball?'” said Amos Jones, UC's running backs coach. “You feel like, "Can he ever get back what he had from a timing standpoint?' But he's doing a lot better at that. I think he's going to be OK.”

        When Hall, 5 feet 10, 202 pounds, graduated from Wyoming High School in 1999 as the most celebrated high school athlete in Cincinnati, he left behind a legacy that included 121 touchdowns and 7,370 yards — the second most in Ohio prep history. Then he headed off for Columbus and the glory of Ohio State football.

        He knew he wouldn't be able to play as a freshman because his test scores and grades didn't meet the NCAA's requirements, but he was shocked when he learned less than two months before classes began that he wouldn't even be allowed to enroll at the main campus. That was the beginning of an often confusing odyssey during which he received conflicting signals about his academic status. He finally did enroll at Ohio State and spent four academic quarters there before deciding in January 2000 that he would be better off at another school.

        Hall called UC coach Rick Minter, who eventually offered him a scholarship. He has to sit out this year, after which he'll have three years of eligibility remaining. If all goes well, he'll be in a UC uniform next season playing against Ohio State when the Buckeyes meet UC at Paul Brown Stadium.

        “I've still got some good friends up there,” Hall said. “I respect Ohio State football. I just didn't think it was the place for me as a person or a football player anymore. I felt like I needed to go where I felt comfortable. I couldn't picture myself running out on that field. I just couldn't imagine myself doing it. That was hard to cope with, but I got over it.”

        Of course, Hall never could have imagined when he left Wyoming that he would end up at UC or that he would be entering what normally would have been his junior year without ever having car ried the football in a college game. After awhile, he fell off the local sports radar. Casual acquaintances would see him and wonder why he wasn't playing for Ohio State. Even Hall didn't completely understand the answer to that question.

        “I didn't think it was going to happen like that, but it did,” Hall said. “I just used everything that was negative and tried to turn it into a positive. I had my down times, but that's what makes you stronger. It's what makes you into the man that you are.”

        UC fans who already were tickled over the prospect of watching quarterback Gino Guidugli play quarterback for the next four years now can dream of a backfield featuring two of the most prolific high school players this area has ever turned out. Hall still has some work to do to make that happen, but he's closer to playing than he has been at any time since he left high school.

        “The biggest thing he's got to concentrate on is the academic end of it and then getting out here during spring practice,” Jones said. “The good thing is there's no pressure on Richard right now. He's just got to take care of business.”

        Hall seems determined. And he appears to have learned a few things during the past few years.

        “It was hard,” Hall said, “but I had to face reality. Sometimes everything is not going to be so sweet. You've just got to face it. That's what I had to do.”

Wyoming's Hall starts over with UC G/F Kirkland commits to Bearcats Grove leaving Bearcats UC soccer coach reaches milestone

Reds 5, Cubs 4
Sosa hits 60 for third time
Guerrero 'so much better than in spring'
Reds box, runs
Bengals hope to hop on Bus
Q&A with Mark Curnutte
Steelers offense goes from bad to worse
Prep football page
Cincinnati football polls
N.Ky. football polls
D-I teams in good shape in Harbin projections
Ohio football computer ratings
Astros pitch around Bonds
West High product tied for Japanese HR mark
UK's Morriss undecided on QB
Cincinnati high school results
N.Ky. high school results
Cincinnati boys soccer stats
Cincinnati girls soccer stats
Ohio boys soccer polls
Ohio girls soccer polls
Ohio girls tennis polls
Ohio girls volleyball polls
Boys cross country stats
Girls cross country stats
Ky. state girls golf scores