“Oh, yeah, it’s gonna be fun,” linebacker Steele Chambers. “I grew up like 30 minutes from the stadium so it’ll be nice to stay get back and hang out with some of my buddies.”
Chambers was a three-year starter and two-time state champion at Blessed Trinity Catholic in Roswell, Ga., where he ran for over 1,500 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior.
Now he is Ohio State’s No. 2 tackler and the Buckeye most certain to be playing a big role against the defending national champion Bulldogs.
“Oh, it’s going to be cool,” he said. “It’s gonna be weird though. A lot of my friends go to UGA. They’re already starting to talk. And ... it’s fun talking back and forth with them. But I mean, it’s gonna be good being able to get out there and see all my buddies, hang out with my dog before the game and stuff. It’s gonna be fun.”
Fellow Georgians on the roster are cornerback Jordan Hancock (Suwanee/North Gwinnett High School), receiver Koji Antwi (Suwanee/Lambert) and tight end Bennett Christian (Acworth/Altoona).
While Antwi and Christian are true freshmen unlikely to see the field, Hancock had an expanding role in the second half of the season after recovering from a preseason leg injury.
The sophomore played in six games and was credited with five tackles this season at a position where consistency has been hard to establish for the Buckeyes this season.
Hancock is also looking forward to going back to his home state and returning to the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“Oh, yes. It’s gonna be electric,” he said. “I played in that stadium back in high school, so I’m familiar with the Mercedes-Benz and stuff like that. I always went to Falcons games, and it’s gonna be electric. Just seeing all Athens come out is gonna be fun, you know, but Buckeye nation travels well, too. So we’re gonna feel like home.”
Both said trying to round up tickets has been a challenge so far.
“It’s been an absolute war getting tickets,” Chambers said. “I mean, it’s usually a frenzy, but now this is the first time I’ve really had to put myself out there to try to get some myself. It’s hard. It’s hard work.”
The Bulldogs have been on the upswing under coach Kirby Smart, a former Alabama assistant who has awakened what was for many years considered a sleeping giant because of its proximity to in-state talent.
“They’re very discipline, a very tough and gritty team,” Hancock said. “Just coming down south, they’re trying to beat everybody with their physicality and toughness, and that’s what they’re gonna bring to the table. And it’s gonna be a great challenge for us because I know how Coach Smart get those boys trained up. So it’ll be a good challenge for us.”
Chambers is all Buckeye now, but he said he appreciates seeing the program improve.
“In high school, they always pissed me off because we had a lot of Georgia fans in my high school and they’d always be barking and stuff like just walking up the halls and never did anything good like that Saturday,” Chambers said. “But I mean, they really have created a great culture. It’s a really great program. You can just see the way they’ve developed over the past four or five years really since Kirby’s gotten there. They’ve just made themselves into like one of the top programs in the nation. And I mean a lot of respect for ‘em because they’ve been able to play that way year in, year out. Last year they won the championship and now they’re in the mix for another, so it’s really just a credit to them.”
PEACH BOWL
Saturday, Dec. 31
Ohio State vs. Georgia, 8 p.m., ESPN, 1410
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