Rather than putting on practice gear at one of the league’s 32 training camps kicking off this week, they were decked out in suits at Lucas Oil Stadium meeting with college football media.
Why the change in plans?
“When we talked about coming back, a lot of us have felt like we’re (coach Ryan Day’s) first real recruiting class, and we kinda all thought we let him down in a sense of not reaching the goals that we set out to do when we signed our name on the dotted line,” said Sawyer, a senior defensive from Pickerington.
“So I think that going through the things we’ve gone through the past few years with Coach Day definitely feels like we’ve gone through it hand in hand.”
Those goals? Beat Michigan, win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes did the third one in 2022, but they haven’t beaten Michigan since 2019 or won the Big Ten since 2020.
While some big stars have gone on to the NFL in the last two years without any championship rings or gold pants charms that are awarded to Ohio State players who play in a win over the Wolverines, a dozen veterans decided against doing so in January.
The decisions might have seemed coordinated, but that was not the case as it turned out.
“Yeah, it was kind of shocking because all of the guys did their own process,” said Egbuka, a senior receiver from Washington. “They did their own evaluation and found out what was best for them. It just so happened that we all came together and we were all thinking the same thing, so that was really special to be a part of, to know that I wasn’t alone in what I was feeling. And so I just think that testifies to how strong kind of our bond is and our one word focus of what we’re trying to accomplish this season.”
For his part, Day said the feeling is mutual.
He feels the need to make the players’ decisions pay off.
“I think you owe it to the guys that came back, that these guys didn’t come back for no reason,” Day said. “They came back for a reason, and as coaches, we owe that to them.
“These guys are thinking big, and we know what’s at stake, and we want to do everything we can to have them leave with a legacy behind and a bunch of hardware.
“So we’re not going to shy away from that, but that’s not also the focus. The focus is getting to work here in the preseason and building this foundation.”
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