There wasn't much left for Mike Doss to prove.

In two years as Ohio State's starting strong safety, Doss had been named an All-American not once but twice. He was regarded as one of the hardest hitting defensive backs in the nation, and, at most, there were two safeties who had a chance of going ahead of him if he entered the NFL draft, Oklahoma's Roy Williams and Miami's Edward Reed.

Doss was hearing that he could be picked between No. 20 and No. 50, depending on teams' needs and how he performed in the draft combines. He wouldn't be making a ridiculous amount of money, but it would definitely be a lot more than he was used to. His mother, Diane, raised him and his younger sister Neia on her own while struggling to make ends meet.

Yet still Doss had a lot of reasons to consider staying. For one thing, there was the degree he promised his mother he would get. Plus, there was his team, which returned 12 starters from a 7-5 2001 campaign and had a realistic possibility, if he returned, at making a run at the school's first Big Ten title since 1998.

His mind wrestled with itself for weeks over the decision, but he had a press conference scheduled for Jan. 9, and he was going to hold himself to making his statement that day. However, when he walked up to the podium, he even then still wasn't sure what he was going to do.

"It was 50-50," Doss said. "I was just thinking about my life to that point. With two words, 'I'm gone,' I could be living a whole new life. I realized I had to think about everything, and I decided I had to put everything into my religion. I prayed until I went up to my podium. When I started talking, the spirit took over."

Whatever it was that influenced Doss made him decide to remain a Buckeye for one more season.

Doss's teammates and coaches were thrilled to have one more season with their best defensive player, but Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel made it clear that Doss would now be asked to do even more as a senior than he had in his previous two All-American seasons. He made him one of the team's captains.

"It was like I never left," Doss said.

"He was like, 'Get your butt in the weight room.' He made a challenge to me to lead this team, to be an important part of the chemistry."

So far, Doss has done that. On the field, he has been dynamic, leading the No. 4 Buckeyes with 62 tackles and returning an interception for a touchdown. He has helped lead the Big Ten's second-best run defense, the seventh best in the country, and his teammates have rallied around his decision to stay.

"We took a lot from it," senior linebacker Matt Wilhelm said. "It shows the type of commitment someone has. There were great things he hadn't accomplished yet, and now he gives us the opportunity to be 8-0 and have shot at Big Ten title, which is something we haven't done."

The team's success has made Doss feel a lot better about his decision, and the more the Buckeyes win, the more he will feel like he made the right choice.

"As we know in October, rankings really don't matter," Doss said. "They say people only remember November, but hopefully in the end playing in big bowl game and that will definitely validate my decision."