Welcome to Saturday Spotlight, where we dive into the lives of Ohio State student-athletes and learn more about their journeys to Columbus, their love of the Buckeye traditions and who they are as competitors and students.
Ohio State was faced with a daunting task after the 2016 season in replacing All-Big Ten punter Cameron Johnston. They have done so, however, with one who has performed just as admirably himself in redshirt sophomore-to-be Drue Chrisman.
Chrisman averaged 44.2 yards per punt last season, and boomed 25 inside the 20 yard line, helping Ohio State win the field position battle more often than not.
We sat down with him to learn about his journey to get to Ohio State, his hobbies, his dream superpower, and much more.
When did you realize you had a chance to play football at the collegiate level?
Drue Chrisman: It was going into my senior year, so it was my junior offseason. I went to a couple Kohl's camps for kicking. I used to be a quarterback and a punter. I actually used to be an athlete back in the day, believe it or not, back in my prime. I went to a couple kicking camps and I didn't really have any idea how good I was and I didn't even know you could just go to college as a kicker but after going to those camps, I got ranked No. 1 and I was like, "Whoa, maybe i got something here." I visited Florida State on an off-weekend and I went down there and Jimbo Fisher offered me a full scholarship. I was lost for words. I didn't even know you could get a scholarship for kicking, and all the sudden I got a scholarship in Jimbo's office and got an offer from FSU, and recruiting just took off from there.
What drew you to Ohio State outside of football?
DC: It was a mixture of being close to home and Coach Meyer putting an emphasis on special teams. I had a couple buddies who are from my high school and I talked to them and they told me how good the place was. Out of the few visits I took, I fell in love with Ohio State. I think the biggest thing was being close to home. I'm actually driving home tonight to hang out with my family so that is something I didn't really realize, how big of a benefit that really is.
What is your proudest football moment?
DC: It actually wasn't punting but it was kicking. My senior year of high school, our kicker went down. He did something to his knee the first game of the season, and they were like "Oh, you can kick too, right?" It was our third game of the year against Colerain and it came down to a game-winning field goal and I was like, "Welp, here we go." They threw me out there and I put it through. I didn't think much of it at first, but there's nothing like seeing all your teammates come after you. There's no game-winning punts.
What do you like to do when you are not playing football?
DC: I'm actually in the final two in Fortnite as we speak, and I'm low on health and I see this dude building up. I don't play as much as I used to. That and the bottle flipping. That's another one of my pastimes. I'm actually heading on the way to my buddy's house after this to film another one.
What are you studying? What has been your favorite class so far at Ohio State?
DC: I just recently switched my major to international business. Gotta get into Fisher first, but that's what I'm planning on. My favorite class is actually one I'm in right now: Small Business and Entrepreneurship ... Oh, that reminds me. I got a presentation due next week ... it's a new professor and he owns a small business of his own and when he went to Ohio State he made connections with other people in his class and they started a small business together. We've had pretty big names present to our class including the CEO(s) of White Castle and Hot Chicken Takeover. This professor ... it's his first time teaching and he's really going for what he wants to do. He's really taking an interest in our class and it makes us care about it more. Seats are always filled so you really get your money's worth.
If you could have any super power, what would it be?
DC: I'd like to think flipping a bottle is pretty dang cool but I guess I already have that power. I always thought reading minds would be cool, but then again it would suck in the long run, so I guess you gotta be able to turn it off when you want to.
What is your favorite meal you have had while in Columbus?
DC: I eat Chipotle every night. I just saw someone break a record, they ate it like 500 days in a row. I wouldn't say I'm that close. Besides that, we get catered-in foods every day, so there's so many good places that I've tried.
What is something about you that we wouldn't believe?
DC: I'm Mormon, which is something that I haven't always talked about. I mean, I'm the only Mormon on the team.
What is your favorite Ohio State tradition?
DC: I love the Buckeye Walk before games. It's kind of cool throughout the season people would start recognizing me more and more. When I had my long hair, they were calling me Bosa for a while. He got a chuckle out of that. I love seeing all the fans – rain, snow or sunshine – doesn't matter, they're always there. It gets you juiced up before the game.
NOTE: Drue became the first athlete that I have interviewed to get a victory in Fortnite during the interview, and he wanted that to be included, so I have done it upon his request.
Drue and the football team open their 2018 season on Sept. 1 against Oregon State. You can follow him on Twitter @DChrisman91.
