Avon Lake's Trey Stross is coming home this college football season.

For the first time in his college career, Stross and the University of Iowa Hawkeyes invade The Ohio State University's Horse Shoe on Nov. 14, making his first trip back to Ohio to play football since graduating from Avon Lake in 2005.

"This will be the first time I get to go home and play in front of a lot friends and family," said Stross, who was red-shirted the last time Iowa played at Ohio State. "It'll be nice to have a little homecoming. It's definitely going to be a fun game."

Stross is back for his senior season and he hopes to finish his college career on a good note after battling injuries nearly every year in college.

"My career definitely hasn't been the fairy tale picture I had going in," Stross said. "Nobody can predict injury. It seems like every year I'd be doing real well and then I would have a hamstring injury or something to set me back."

This season, Stross is focused on remaining injury-free so he decided not participate in track and field after doing the high jump for two years.He had an indoor best of 6-foot-7 and outdoor best of 6-8, which ranks him 10th best in Iowa school history.

"I feel a lot healthier," Stross said. "My leg feels stronger. I'm not getting those tweaks or pulls like I used to."I didn't do track this past year to give me a whole spring and summer to get my leg stronger and in better shape so I can take the wear and tear of a football game."

Stross says his goal after college is what every football player dreams about.

"Going to the NFL is every player's dream when they play college football," Stross said. "You always want to keep on playing. Even with all my injuries, tweaks and bruises, I haven't lost that dream. Scouts say they need to see me stay healthy for a year so that's what I gotta do."

Iowa will open its season ranked among the nation's elite, having earned a position in the USA Today Coaches' Top 25 poll. The Hawkeyes are currently ranked No. 21.Iowa returns 16 starters from last year's team, losing eight starters.

It opens its season against Northern Iowa on Sept. 5 at Kinnick Stadium, which will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Last season, Stross finished with 13 receptions for 109 yards and one touchdown in a injury-plagued junior season.His highlight was catching a six-yard touchdown pass in Iowa's 31-10 Outback Bowl win over South Carolina on New Year's Day.

The Hawkeyes finished with an 9-4 record and finished with a 20th ranking in the AP Poll, ESPN and USA Today poll.As a sophomore, he nabbed 16 passes for 272 yards, which included a career-high four touchdowns.

He had TD's against Indiana, Penn State, Northwestern and Western Michigan. The touchdown against Northwestern was a 53-yard diving catch that became ESPN's top play of the week.

The TD at Penn State was extra special because his grandma, a Penn State fan who hasn't been able to attend many games, was able to see him score at Beaver Stadium, despite while playing injured.Stross, who also grew up a Penn State fan, said his grandma always envisioned him scoring a TD at Beaver Stadium. It just happened to be on the opposing team.

As a red-shirt freshman in 2006, he played special teams and nabbed his first career TD pass against Wisconsin.He finished with 13 receptions for 189 yards.

At Avon Lake, he helped lead the Shoremen to a Division II Ohio State Championship in 2004 and three straight Southwestern Conference Championships.He was a Golden Helmet Award winner and two-time first team All-Ohio selection. He left Avon Lake with 100 receptions for 2,257 receiving yards, which includes 31 touchdowns.

He originally committed to play safety at Maryland, but his desire to play wide receiver in the Big Ten weighed out and he chose Iowa, who highly recruited him his senior year.

swalker@MorningJournal.com