Ohio State senior wide receiver Chris Booker (86) prepares to make a catch during practice on Oct.3. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Although the Buckeyes boast a roster chock-full of five- and four-star recruits, it was a zero-star recruit who made an impact Saturday.
Senior wide receiver Chris Booker was named Ohio State’s special teams player of the week Sunday, just two years removed from playing for the Ohio State club football team. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day praised Booker for his hard work and determination to carve himself a role on the team as a walk-on.
“I can’t say enough, you talk about a big heart that wasn’t playing football,” Day said. “I asked him in a team meeting, ‘How many stars were you?’ And he said, ‘Zero, I wasn’t recruited by anybody,’ and it just goes to show you when somebody wants something enough and they have a big enough heart, anything is possible.”
Booker started his collegiate football career in Ohio, but not as a Buckeye. After spending his freshman year as a member of the Dayton football team, Booker decided to transfer to Ohio State.
Following the transfer, Booker didn’t plan on playing football; however, after more than a year away from the game, he decided to return.
“At the end of my freshman year [at Dayton], I was really kinda feeling like it really wasn’t it for me and I should just move on with the rest of my life,” Booker said. “I found out about the club team on campus. I talked to one of the officers they had, Dylan Barron, and I came to my first practice and fell in love with the game again.”
Upon his arrival to the club team, Booker was seen as one of the team’s top players, club team head coach James Grega Jr. said.
“It was very clear that he was the best player on our team,” Grega said. “You could just tell by looking at him that he was gonna be the best player. He was also probably the hardest worker and most humble kid we had on the team.”
In his 2018 season with the club team, Booker hauled in 14 catches for 371 yards with seven touchdowns in just four games.
Booker said that his season spent on the club team helped him make lasting relationships with his teammates.
“It really just felt like high school again and just being able to go out there and play with my brothers and I made some lifelong friends with the club team,” Booker said. I won’t forget my experiences there.”
Following Booker’s lone season on the club team, Grega passed film of Booker along to the Ohio State varsity team, as well as advocated for Booker to land on the team.
“I kinda put it together in a couple of days, very basic iMovie kind of thing, nothing crazy, but I threw it together and then sent it over to Justin Perez, the walk-on coordinator for Ohio State and kinda bugged him for a month or so,” Grega said. “I sent a couple emails to him just saying, ‘Hey, just give the kid a look, give him a chance. I think he can really benefit your team,’ just the way he is now.”
Thanks to Grega’s efforts and Booker’s patience, Booker earned a spot on the Buckeye varsity team during the summer of 2019.
Booker said that Grega has had a great impact on his development as a football player and attributed his spot on the varsity squad to his former coach.
“He knows the system, he knows exactly what you gotta do to win. He’s a great game planner and strategist,” Booker said. “He’s a great motivator too and a great person overall. I really can’t say enough about him.”
In his 2019 season with the Buckeyes, Booker said he focused on his speed and strength in order to match the size and speed of players at this level.
More opportunities arose for the walk-on heading into the 2020 season. Booker said that he knew he would get a chance to see the field following a conversation with assistant athletic director for football sports performance Mickey Marotti.
“He came up to me one day after practice and he was like, ‘If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’re gonna play,’” Booker said. “I really didn’t even know what to say.”
Since 2018, Grega said that Booker has made strides in his strength since walking on to the varsity squad.
“The biggest thing is the weight room,” Grega said. “But from the time they added him to their roster in 2019, in the summer, until now, his physical transformation has really been impressive. So, that’s the biggest thing that stands out is just his pure strength and body mass.”
As Booker saw that opportunity become a reality Saturday, he has his sights set on the Penn State kick return team, which he said is a team that has a dynamic skill set in the return game.
With this season being his final one in the scarlet and gray, Booker lamented the opportunity provided to him being an Ohio State Buckeye.
“At this level, you really can’t help but be thankful for everything that came to you,” Booker said. “What I’ve been able to accomplish is nothing short of a miracle, it’s amazing. The opportunities that they have given me are amazing as well. I’m just grateful and I can’t say that enough.”
