Michael Cohen
College soccer and faculty basketball author
ARLINGTON, Texas – A good distance from the stage the place the confetti would quickly fly, the place Ohio State coach Ryan Day would hoist the Cotton Bowl trophy and quarterback Will Howard and edge rusher Jack Sawyer could be named MVP on their respective sides of the ball, a Buckeyes communications consultant clutched a soccer within the criminal of his arm across the 9-yard line. He had been holding it for fairly a while, not less than from the second the ultimate buzzer sounded, however possibly even a bit longer, across the 2:13 mark of the fourth quarter, when Sawyer snatched it away from the quarterback Texan Quinn Ewers and galloped. 83 yards down the sideline for an unforgettable scoop-and-score that propelled his crew to the nationwide championship sport. There was a second between these two snapshots when Sawyer, a revered senior and crew captain, entrusted the reminiscence to Jerry Emig, this system’s longtime sports activities info director, with very particular directions.
“Jack gave it to me,” Emig recalled, “and stated, ‘Jerry, that is the ball I scored with. Hold on to it. Don’t give it away.’
So Emig ran the ball by an on-field celebration that stretched from one facet of AT&T Stadium to the opposite, from the formal presentation close to the identical finish zone the place Sawyer solidified a 28-14 victory over Texas to the play of “Carmen Ohio” by the Buckeyes marching band simply yards from the location of Ewers’ crippling fumble. Emig was nonetheless cradling that ball greater than 20 minutes later, when the Ohio State locker room opened to the media, and he repeated its origin story a couple of times extra. It stays to be seen whether or not it can in the end return with Sawyer, who will play the ultimate sport of his faculty profession towards Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20, or can be prominently displayed on a trophy case contained in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. view. But its place in this system’s historical past is indeniable.
And what a whirlwind these final six weeks have been for Sawyer, one of the passionate gamers on the Buckeyes roster who suffered an emotional meltdown within the aftermath of a fourth straight loss to Michigan, his unraveling unfold throughout three acts in three areas distinct. at Ohio Stadium, everybody sprayed with pepper spray after a scrimmage gone fallacious. There was the verbal confrontation with Michigan defensive sort out Mason Graham, who infuriated Sawyer by referring to Ohio State as a derogatory time period for the feminine anatomy. Sawyer responds by reminding Graham that the Wolverines is not going to be on this yr’s College Football Playoff. There was the theft of a Michigan flag that Sawyer snatched from the pole his opponents had been making an attempt to plant at midfield for the second time in three years. Sawyer grabs the corn and blue bunting in his proper hand earlier than throwing them to the bottom in disgust. And then there have been the close-range screams of coach Keenan Bailey, whose shoulders Sawyer gripped in frustration as Day watched silently from a couple of ft away. “They will not plant a f—— flag on our subject once more, bro!” Sawyer screamed in Bailey’s face, his voice cracking on multiple event. “F— this shit, man. F— these guys. Plant a flag on our subject? F— you!”
The rawness that poured out of Sawyer on that frigid November afternoon mirrored each his private disgust as an Ohio native compelled to endure a profession’s loss to The Team Up North and the unshakable reminder that his historic recruiting class of 2021 nonetheless fell in need of each objective it got down to obtain. Sawyer and his classmates, lots of whom he persuaded to bypass the NFL Draft for an opportunity to lastly proper their errors, will depart Ohio State with zero wins over Michigan and nil Big Ten titles. Those imperfections cannot be erased . This is why the Buckeyes entered the postseason nicely conscious that something in need of successful the nationwide championship could be seen as an abject failure and may even price Day his job.
The message radiated from participant to participant in a star-studded senior class that completed second nationally behind Alabama, a bunch full of seven five-star prospects — two of whom had been quarterbacks — and 14 gamers ranked among the many first 100 recruits. total. There was five-star edge rusher JT Tuimoloau, a heralded go rusher who turned in one of many biggest particular person performances in program historical past towards Penn State two years in the past however has not often harassed quarterbacks with any consistency since. . There was five-star Emeka Egbuka, who’s now the main receiver in Ohio State historical past, however a participant who instructed reporters earlier this week that, “I’ve completely no {hardware} to indicate for it.” There was outspoken cornerback Denzel Burke, whose March quote describing this season as “noble or bust” continues to generate dialog 10 months later, particularly now that Ohio State is one sport away from both final result. There was tailback TreVeyon Henderson, whose record of accidents and sporadic problem operating between the tackles warranted including Ole Miss switch Quinshon Judkins to the portal. And, after all, there was Sawyer, the primary recruit to decide to Day on Feb. 3, 2019, and a participant whose bodily presents by no means fairly matched his statistical manufacturing. Everyone entered the College Football Playoff with one thing to show.
“That’s why all of us selected to return to Ohio State,” stated left sort out Donovan Jackson, one other member of the 2021 recruiting class. “That’s why all of us selected to return Backwards at Ohio State.”
The journey to the nationwide title sport got here right down to this: Ohio State main 21-14 late within the fourth quarter; Texas approaches the objective line with a 27-yard completion from Ewers to wideout Matthew Golden and back-to-back go interference penalties towards the Buckeyes. It was at that second — with 4:04 remaining and the ball on the 1-yard line in a goal-to-go state of affairs — when somebody’s voice got here by the telephone line within the Buckeyes’ coaching sales space above the sector. “Boy, they scored quick there,” the unnamed staffer stated. At which defensive coordinator Jim Knowles growled a retort that may show astonishingly prophetic. “They have not scored but,” Knowles replied.
From there, Knowles’ protection stuffed consecutive operating performs to push the Longhorns again 7 yards, at which level passing turned their solely viable choice. Sawyer hit the backfield on third-and-goal, prompting Ewers to throw a throw towards freshman Ryan Wingo, the ball falling harmlessly and incompletely. It was yet one more time Sawyer had come near leveling his former roommate, the previous No. 1 total recruit within the nation who spent 4 months with the Buckeyes as a real freshman in 2021 earlier than transferring residence in Texas. Over and over Friday evening, Ewers nimbly tossed the ball away a millisecond or two earlier than Sawyer might haul him down, finishing desperation examine downs twice on a drive that tied the sport 14-14 late within the third quarter . But Ewers’ luck would quickly run out.
On fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line, Sawyer dropped his shoulder beneath proper sort out Cameron Williams’ pads and threw each arms towards Ewers because the quarterback looked for open house. He moved the ball and drove Ewers to the bottom with beautiful fluidity, the fumble bouncing easily into his arms as he spun upfield. Sawyer broke unfastened and reached the top zone with a convoy of teammates chasing him from behind.
“It was surreal,” Sawyer stated. “I felt like I used to be in quicksand. I used to be simply making an attempt to get to the top zone so quick. I seemed again and (thought), ‘I hope I’ve a blocker,’ as a result of I knew a few good guys had been proper there , and I haven’t got wheels like these man, it was only a particular second.”
And one that may by no means be forgotten. From the stage the place Sawyer and Howard addressed the gang, and the place Day was cheered by a fan base that hated him six weeks earlier, the celebration spilled onto the sideline behind the Ohio State bench. There, gamers donned white T-shirts and black championship hats to pose for images with followers in field-level suites. They whooped forwards and backwards with family members within the close by household part and signed autographs for followers who threw memorabilia of their course. “Let’s—— let’s go, darling!” Sawyer’s sister, Kyla, shouted from her perch within the entrance row together with mother and father Michelle and Lyle Sawyer, who each gestured frantically towards their son. If Sawyer hadn’t been clutching the trophy with each arms – shielding it from the swarms of camera-wielding reporters following his each transfer – he may need climbed into the stands to hitch them. The thought appeared to briefly cross his thoughts.
Instead, Sawyer walked off the AT&T Stadium subject by a tunnel above which a gentleman carrying a white Ohio State jersey contorted his physique so gamers might see the inscription. “NATTY BOUND” reads the customized stitching on the shoulder blades the place a reputation is historically discovered. And the fan shouted to anybody who would pay attention that he bought the merchandise in February. “Let’s go to Bucks!” he shouted as a TV reporter tore up B-roll of his outfit.
The celebration awaiting Sawyer within the locker room was even grander, with teammate after teammate congratulating him on a memorable efficiency. One by one, they patted his shoulder pads, sang his praises, and hugged him. Because six weeks after Sawyer collapsed emotionally, his revival pushed Ohio State to the brink of a nationwide title.
“You’re the No. 1 Buckeye of all time,” Egbuka stated as Sawyer walked previous his locker. “You’re Captain Buckeye.”
Michael Cohen covers faculty soccer and basketball for FOX Sports with a give attention to the Big Ten. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.
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