Ohio State’s new freshmen and transfers who enrolled at the school in January started their careers as Buckeyes by watching Ohio State win a national championship.
While Ohio State’s 27 midyear enrollees weren’t eligible to play in the College Football Playoff, they got to go along for the ride as Ohio State beat Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Notre Dame in the national championship game. With the blessing of Ohio State’s veterans, the new Buckeyes were on the sideline for each of OSU’s last three playoff games as last year’s squad completed its epic championship run, an opportunity that the freshmen and transfers were grateful to have.
“So Coach Day asked all the seniors before we came in, they asked if they were okay for us to come with the playoffs with them and they all just gave it a green light. They wanted us to experience that for the next time we're in the playoffs, so we can see that, and I think that's helped tremendously,” said freshman offensive tackle Carter Lowe. “I think it made us mature just being around those guys and knowing what to do when we do get to that place.”
For Ohio State’s freshmen who enrolled midyear, the playoff run was an opportunity for them to experience some of college football’s biggest stages before their college careers even began.
“That was something that I've been looking forward to forever, experiencing the national championship game and Rose Bowl. That's like a benchmark place for me, so being able to experience all those places and just seeing what the team is like during that time period, that kind of gives me motivation for times like right now,” freshman tight end Nate Roberts said this spring. “That's what we're working for, that's our end goal.”
“It was an amazing experience,” said freshman running back Isaiah West. “I remember when they first reached out saying that they wanted to bring the recruits out to Cali to go to the Rose Bowl. It blew me away. Being able to be with the team throughout that entire process and see how those leaders led us all the way to the championship, it kind of set the foundation for us and now we got to do it again.”
Being with the team for the playoff run showed Ohio State’s newcomers what it takes to win a national championship, particularly in terms of the leadership last year’s Buckeyes had from their veterans and the close bonds the Buckeyes had with one another.
“Just seeing the culture they have here and how they run things, they had that group of guys that really led the way and showed me what it looks like to win here,” said transfer tight end Max Klare. “So it was awesome.”
“That was incredible, just to see how all the leaders led in that position and just seeing what they did and how they prepared,” freshman running back Bo Jackson said. “That's going to help a lot with everybody.”
“It's really a brotherhood and it's really just our family vs. their family, and we just got to persevere and we got to win the games and get back to the natty,” said freshman wide receiver Phillip Bell.
“Being able to be with the team throughout that entire process and see how those leaders led us all the way to the championship, it kind of set the foundation for us and now we got to do it again.”– Freshman running back Isaiah West on last season’s playoff run
After the playoff run, Ohio State’s veterans emphasized to the newcomers that the path to becoming champions wasn’t easy. But the end result gave the new Buckeyes a tangible view of what they could achieve if they work as hard as last year’s team did.
“A lot of them were like, it's going to be hard. Ohio State is not for everybody. It's not easy mentally or physically. But once you persevere through that and you push through it and you lean on your brothers next to you, you feel like you can accomplish anything and you'll come out a better person because of it,” said freshman quarterback Tavien St. Clair.
“Just being able to see what it's like to persevere through the whole season that they went through and their story, and just being able to knit together and kind of be close together as a brotherhood really showed last season. And I think that's going to be super crucial for us in our future,” St. Clair also said. “We're all really tight already, so getting to be a part of that and coming out successful was definitely something that we see it and we got to see it live, so we know that that's the kind of standard every year.”
As cool as it was for the new Buckeyes to experience the playoff run with last year’s team, though, it wasn’t quite the same as winning a national championship themselves. While they got to celebrate the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and national championship wins with the Buckeyes on the field and in the postgame locker room, they didn’t play in the games or get championship rings. So the taste of championship glory they got in January only made them hungrier to win a national title themselves as their own Ohio State careers start.
“You see it and you're just like, ‘We gotta go get one,’” said linebacker TJ Alford. “We gotta keep the legacy going.”
“It really does make me way more hungry, just seeing what those guys did and the amount of preparation that they put in, and I feel like we really can go and do that again,” Roberts said. “So just having that, just being there and being able to see them do that, it really just does give me motivation.”
“It definitely was a high motivator. Being a freshman, it wasn't really my team, though. I didn't really get it. So that makes it push me like that when it's my turn, I got to put in the work, and I want to be in the same position, but with a ring on my finger,” said freshman wide receiver Bodpegn Miller.
