If any one thing came through above all else at Luke Fickell's first press conference as a head coach, it was his love for all things Ohio State.

Fickell told the story about being 10 years old and playing on a pee wee football team coached by John Hicks, a former Buckeye star and Outland Trophy winner. Hicks took Fickell to his first Ohio State-Michigan game that year, and from there the love affair truly blossomed for the Columbus native.

Fickell played for the Buckeyes and then went into coaching for his alma mater as a graduate assistant. The only time he hasn't been a part of the program since was from 2000-2001 when he was an assistant at Akron.

So imagine what it must be like to be handed the keys to your dream job before you turn 38 (Fickell does so in August). But what if your dream job arrives amidst nightmarish circumstances?

That's the situation facing Fickell, who must somehow guide the Buckeyes through their current morass, not knowing what kind of sanctions or suspensions or further damaging revelations are to come. And if he can't do that and keep the team winning at its usual high level, he probably won't have a chance to keep coaching at the school.

But on Monday, Fickell insisted he's not worried about all that, or doing enough to win the job full time this season.

"It's a tough situation," he said. "But if they told you [that] you had one shot ... If you know me, there's no retreat. There's never any challenges I wouldn't accept, big or small."

Fickell told the Big Ten Network that he has sought advice from other coaches, including Tressel and others who have been in similar situations. They include Jim Lambright, who was made head coach at Washington right before the 1993 season when Don James suddenly resigned amidst an NCAA scandal, and Ohio University's Frank Solich, who had to take over for legendary coach Tom Osborne at Nebraska. Fickell said the coaches all sounded the same theme in their advice: Be yourself.

And who is Luke Fickell?

"I'm a high energy, energetic, enthusiastic competitor," he told the Big Ten Network. "I'll have that same passion, that same energy, day in and day out."

Fickell has spent his entire career coaching defense and special teams. He will let offensive coordinator Jim Bollman continue to call the plays and not change the Tressel-ball approach that worked so well for so long. But Fickell will not just concentrate on one side of the ball.

"I will not just be about the 'Silver Bullets' maybe as much as I was in the past," he said. "I have the utmost confidence in our offensive staff. I just want to make sure, moreso for the kids, that I care and I have a presence [on offense]. It's not about me calling a play or asking to do something different. It's just the kids understanding that we're all with them. I'm not just a defensive guy."

Athletic director Gene Smith has modified Fickell's contract, and the interim head coach will make $775,000 this season, plus potential incentive bonuses. What will Fickell have to accomplish this season, with a new quarterback, several key players suspended for the first five games and all kinds of other distractions, to prove he deserves the job on a permanent basis? It doesn't seem fair to compare this season to what Tressel accomplished. But Fickell isn't asking for the bar to be lowered for him.

"Ohio State's expectations will not change, whether there's a tag on the name or there's not a tag on the name or whether there's a long-term contract," Fickell said. "We will embrace the expectations of being a Buckeye."

Being a Buckeye is all Luke Fickell ever wanted for about as long as he can remember. Now he's got his dream job, albeit in some nightmarish conditions. But maybe it's better than never getting your dream job at all.

"I will take this shot, anyway I possibly can," he said.