Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer shares strong admission about Ryan Day and how he helped him become a breakout player
In the College Football Playoff game against Texas, one of the greatest plays in Ohio State football history took place. When Jack Sawyer sacked Quinn Ewers forcing a fumble, then recovered it and rumbled 83 yards for a touchdown, he sealed the trip to the National Championship for Ohio State. That was a play that […]
In the College Football Playoff game against Texas, one of the greatest plays in Ohio State football history took place.
When Jack Sawyer sacked Quinn Ewers forcing a fumble, then recovered it and rumbled 83 yards for a touchdown, he sealed the trip to the National Championship for Ohio State.
That was a play that Sawyer had dreamed about all his life as a kid who grew up in Ohio. Sawyer, who came to Ohio State as a highly touted five-star recruit, has put together the senior season that he had been waiting on.
Sawyer hasn’t always lived up to the expected level that many had for him coming into Columbus. In a recent piece he did on The Player’s Tribune, Sawyer shared a touching story about how Ryan Day played a part in getting him to where he is now.
“In those first seasons where I was struggling, I appreciated how Coach didn’t treat me like I was just some underachieving player. Honestly, he treated me more like a son. He’d let me know when he was disappointed, and when there was something I needed to work on,” Sawyer explained. “But he’d never try to “prove a point” with me by being one of these dictator types — he always made me feel like a human being. It felt like his criticisms were about my progress, not his ego. And it worked, you know? The culture he’s put in place here, it’s a big reason why I was able to turn the corner as a junior and start to reach my potential.”
Sawyer is a four-year player at Ohio State who grew up as a kid near Columbus. Ohio State had a five-star pass rusher right in their backyard during that 2021 recruiting cycle, which worked out easy for them and they didn’t have to push too hard.
As a senior, Sawyer has 9.5 sacks, seven pass deflections, and 56 tackles. All of those are career highs for Sawyer and he is peaking at the right time for the Buckeyes with the National Championship to be played on Monday. Each year in Columbus, Sawyer has steadily improved his game as a pass rusher. As a sophomore, Sawyer posted four sacks, then upped it to 6.5 as a junior.
Last season, Sawyer was the first player that drivers to come back to Columbus. It set off a ripple impact and before we knew it a number of Buckeyes returned that were not expected to. That alone is part of why they are one win away from the school’s first National Championship in a decade.
Sawyer can finish the perfect story as a Columbus-area kid to win a National Championship at Ohio State if the Buckeyes take down Notre Dame.
Notre Dame starter sends firm message to Ohio State ahead of the National Championship
We will see if they stick to it.
