Ohio State football icon Mike Doss recalls when he 'fell in love with' McKinley-Massillon Week
CANTON TWP. — Mike Doss is one of the biggest football names to roll through Stark County in the last 50 years.
As McKinley-Massillon week kicked off Monday, he gave the Hall of Fame Luncheon Club 50 energetic minutes.
Everyone in the big crowd at Tozzi's on 12th knew Doss from his McKinley and Ohio State days. He shared things even some of his friends didn't know.
There was the decision that transformed him from garden-variety Buckeye All-American to unforgettable icon.
Doss helped McKinley beat Massillon and win state titles in 1997 and 1998. He became a super safety in college but didn't see great team success for two years under John Cooper (14-10 record) or the first year under Jim Tressel (7-5 in 2001).
He set a press conference for 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002, presumably to announce he was turning pro.
His dad pushed him to stay at Ohio State. His head told him NFL money could help make a better life for his mom and family.
"I didn't know what I was going to do," he said.
He went to his morning class but had no scoop for interested friends. He got in his car and did laps around the outerbelt.
"I drove and drove on 270, just thinking, what am I going to do?" he said. "I must have passed the same state trooper eight times. Finally I pulled up to the facility and prayed. 'Lord Jesus, your will be done. When I start to speak at here today, just let it happen.'
"I walked in. My dad's standing there. My mom's standing there. They asked what I was doing. I said, 'I don't know,' and just kept on walking.
"I began to speak. The Lord Jesus' spirit came into me and said, 'I think you should stay.'"
He went on to tell the press conference audience he wanted to be the first in his family to earn a college degree; he wanted to help the Buckeyes win a national title.
"It came out natural," he said. "It came out genuine. It truly was."
The 2002 season stands as a favorite of many Buckeye fans. Ohio State won some hair-raising thrillers to reach the national championship game. They were big underdogs against the Miami Hurricanes, but they won 31-24 in double overtime.
A few of the wins might have been losses without Doss. He wouldn't have been named to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2022 had he not stayed.
That's another story.
Doss and his wife Jasmine met when they were 12. They grew up and had kids and settled in Dublin before relocating fairly recently to another Columbus suburb, Galena.
Early in 2022, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith called Doss to ask if he had received a box. A box? Smith didn't say what was in the box, but he told Doss it needed to be found.
"We drove to our old house to see if the new owners had 'this box,'" Doss said.
There it was, containing fancy congratulations to Doss for making the College Football Hall of Fame.
Doss found it amusing Tressel is next Monday's Luncheon Club speaker.
"Coach Tressel changed the program with his focus and mindset," Doss said. "He had a regimen. He had a schedule of life. Every morning, we would have quiet time.
"We would sit and reflect for 15 minutes before anyone said a word, reading scripture, reading motivational quotes.
"He built our minds up. He gave us this toughness about being able to do anything.
"When he came to Ohio State, I was 0-2 against that team up north. He came in an we got two victories."
Doss said McKinley-Massillon, not Ohio State-Michigan, is 'THE rivalry," if it has to come down to one.
"Eighth grade was when I fell in love with … this week," Doss said. "It was the 100th McKinley-Massillon game. I was an eighth-grader at Hartford.
"It was my first time in their stadium. In middle school, they didn't let the Canton schools play in their high school stadium. They didn't want us to be there.
"I just remember the energy … 20,000 fans … them bringing the tiger out of the cage and running it around … the balloons … the teams coming out of the tunnel … it was a big ESPN story.
"I'm like, this is high school football. Are we serious?
"I went with my best friend, John Lucius. His dad drove us out. I remember sitting in the north end zone and watching (Massillon quarterback) Willie Spencer doing a forward lateral that they didn't throw the flag on.
"To this day I say, why don't we have replay in high school?"
Massillon won 42-41 in overtime.
"I remember the crowd going crazy. All these Massillon fans are just pointing in our face. 'You guys suck. You losers.'
"I looked at John and we both started crying. I was like, I will never, ever lose to these guys. I swear."
As a freshman, Doss played on the McKinley varsity's kickoff team, except for a game at Warren when he started at defensive back as an injury replacement. The Bulldogs faced Massillon in Fawcett Stadium and won 24-21.
Doss started at defensive back as a sophomore. The Pups won at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium 21-0.
He made All-Ohio at safety as a junior. McKinley won 27-14 in Canton.
He repeated as an All-Ohioan as a senior, when he could have made any all-star team at safety or running back. The Bulldogs won 42-20 at Massillon.
The satisfaction of going 4-0 against the Tigers was multiplied by the fact McKinley's wins in the 1997 and '98 state championship game were in Massillon.
The tables have turned. Doss's former teammate Antonio Hall is 0-3 against Massillon as McKinley's head coach. The Tigers are on an 11-1 hot streak in the series.
If this year's loaded Massillon team wins a state championship, that feat will occur at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, home of the Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, McKinley has won three state playoff championships. Massillon hasn't won any.
Doss mentioned that a few times.
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @sdoerschukREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio State football legend Mike Doss talks Buckeyes, McKinley
