It was Senior Day at Ohio Stadium. On Saturday, 23 seniors, in front of a crowd of 105,493, ran out of the tunnel in Ohio Stadium one last time.
“It was awesome, just looking around seeing all the people, hearing all the people, after everything we’ve been through here, it was awesome,” said senior offensive lineman Mike Adams.
All 23 seniors ran through the marching band to meet coach Luke Fickell, to shake his hand, to see their families, to enjoy the atmosphere in the ‘Shoe, for the last time.
Probably the loudest reception on the day came when senior wide receiver DeVier Posey was announced. Posey was playing in his first game of the season on Senior Day, following two separate 5-game suspensions.
“Just taking a last look at Ohio State, who knows the next time I’ll be here. It’s a special place,” Posey said.
This senior class has boasted a 3-0 record against Michigan, and up until this year, has won at least a share of the Big Ten title in the last three years.
Senior center Michael Brewster said that this year has been the toughest since he’s been here. But he said it would not take away from his experience as a Buckeye.
“It has been a tough year, and I stuck it out with some of my best friends in the world,” Brewster said. “I’ve had so many great memories. I’m not going to let some hard times take that away from me.”
Adams said the experience as a whole out-weighs the numbers in the win-loss column.
“Yeah, we’ve played in some huge games. Yeah, we’ve beat Michigan however many times,” Adams said. “The things you reflect back on are the times in the locker room, the times on the practice field, when you are working with the guys you love, your teammates. These are the times that I’ll reflect on the rest of my life.”
Adams said the one thing he will take from his career at OSU, and his time playing at Ohio Stadium, are the times he spent with his brothers, his teammates.
One of his teammates, junior linebacker John Simon, said he was disappointed the team was not able to pull off a win on Senior Day.
“It’s really something special to be in here everyday with those guys and we really wanted to send them off with a win because they mean everything to us and unfortunately we couldn’t do that,” Simon said.
Simon pointed to beating Michigan next week in Ann Arbor, Mich., as a good way to send the seniors off.
“Hopefully we can send them away with a win against our rival,” Simon said.
OSU travels to Michigan Saturday in an attempt to keep its winning streak against the Wolverines alive. The Buckeyes have not lost to Michigan since Nov. 22, 2003.
After the 20-14 loss to Penn State, Fickell said the focus was all on the game in Ann Arbor.
“From here on out it’s a one-game season. And Michigan has always been that way. It will never change,” Fickell said. “Greatest rivalry in all of sports. And we’re going to make sure those guys understand that.”
Adams said that while a win against Michigan is always great, he is going to remember certain moments in Ohio Stadium forever.
“To come out without a win in my last home game at the ‘Shoe hurts a lot,” Adams said. “I’ll never play here in the ‘Shoe again, which is a crazy feeling. I’ll always remember the great times, like the fans rushing the field versus Wisconsin. You come here to OSU to play in those big games.”
Daniel “Boom” Herron finished the game against PSU with 76 yards on the ground. Herron said it was an honor to be welcomed by OSU fans one last time.
“It was a great honor, coming out here and playing in front of these great fans … they are behind us all the way. It was an honor to come out and play in front of them,” Herron said. “It’s going to be hard to understand that this is my last time playing (in Ohio Stadium).”
