Ohio State junior offensive lineman Wyatt Davis (52) fires off the ball against Nebraska Oct. 24. Ohio State won 52-17. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Wyatt Davis came a long way to become a Buckeye, and now his journey is nearing its end.
Traveling more than 2,200 miles from his hometown of Bellflower, California, Davis joined Ohio State in 2017 and has been an integral part of Ohio State’s offensive the past two seasons — starting in 21 games.
Following a breakout season in 2019, the redshirt junior guard’s play in 2020 earned him numerous honors from the Big Ten, including a spot on the All-Big Ten first-team and the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year award.
Davis said the celebration for earning the top honor for an offensive lineman in the Big Ten was a bit unceremonious.
“[I celebrated] by having practice early this morning,” Davis said. “It’s just really unbelievable, I’m very blessed and fortunate to have a coach like [Greg Studrawa] who pushes me to reach awards like this.”
In 2019, Davis landed on numerous All-American lists — including first-team selections by the Associated Press, CBS Sports and the Sporting News. Davis was also first-team All-Big Ten in his redshirt sophomore season.
Davis contributed to Ohio State’s Big Ten-best rushing attacks in 2019 and 2020 as the Buckeyes finished top 10 in the country in rush yards per game in both years that Davis started.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said that Davis and the rest of the offensive line had made strides from the 2019 campaign.
“I think the offensive line is playing well,” Day said on 97.1 The Fan’s “The Ryan Day Show” Nov. 25. “Josh (Myers), Wyatt and Thayer (Munford) are playing as good if not better than they did last season, so when you add all that together I think that’s why they’re getting some recognition.”
Davis wasn’t always slated to continue his Buckeye career in 2020, though. When the Big Ten postponed the season in August, Davis decided to opt out of a potential spring season in order to prepare for the NFL draft.
The conference’s abrupt return Sept. 16 drew Davis back to Columbus, and he rejoined the team later in the month.
With the 2020 season and Davis’ collegiate career coming to a close — Ohio State has just three potential games remaining — the Buckeye guard said he’s using the limited games as added motivation.
“It’s huge and not only just that it’s a couple games, it’s just taking it day by day,” Davis said. “The motivation is at an all-time high, not just for me, but for everyone else because you don’t even know like tomorrow something could happen and you might not be playing.”
Having been a part of three consecutive Big Ten championship teams, Davis is gearing up for his fourth straight appearance in the conference title game.
As 2020 has thrown much of the season for a loop, Davis said that the Big Ten championship also has a different feel to it this year.
“Going into this Big Ten championship, it doesn’t feel like a normal Big Ten championship,” Davis said. “It’s championship season now and we don’t want to leave a bad taste in our mouth like we did last year.”
Despite the different feel to the game, Davis said its importance to the Buckeyes postseason goals has not changed.
“It’s one stepping stone moving forward towards the end goal,” Davis said. “Now we’re at Indy and now it’s not just go out and get a Big Ten championship but it’s also to win a national championship.”
Looking past his career in the scarlet and gray, Davis is projected to land in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft.
As his strange and unprecedented final season at Ohio State nears its close, Davis said he’s looking to take the lessons he’s learned this year and apply them to his life going forward.
“I’ve definitely learned to be more appreciative of the game of football and life itself,” Davis said. “It’s made me become more grateful of everything that I have in my life right now.”
