I was born and raised in Springfield, Ohio, and attended Wayne High School in Huber Heights, Ohio where I excelled in football and basketball. Raised only 40 minutes away from The Horseshoe, I went on to fulfill my childhood dream of suiting up in that scarlet and gray uniform for the Buckeyes. My first season I was named Big Ten Freshman Player of the Year. I was also named (by me) the conference’s (unofficial) Recruiter of the Year ( when prized recruits came to visit players who had their choice of attending any college they wanted to; I took it upon myself to sell them on joining our program. And when I sold them on the Buckeyes, I did it with both of my hats on: “current player,” of course — but also “lifelong fan.” I sold them on our decorated past, our resilient present, and our promising future — the future of Buckeyes Football that we could be a part of building, together and it worked.