Ohio State fifth-year defensive end Tyler Friday speaks with the media at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Tuesday. Credit: Casey Smith | Lantern TV Sports Producer
The last time fifth-year defensive end Tyler Friday played in a scarlet and gray uniform was in the Buckeyes’ national championship appearance against Alabama Jan. 11, 2021.
Friday recorded two tackles in Ohio State’s 52-24 defeat before an ACL injury in the summer of 2021 sidelined him all of last season. Saturday marked 579 days since he had seen the field, but his “way to impact the game off the field” resulted in him being named one of the six captains for 2022, as voted on by his teammates.
And Friday was stunned by the news.
“I couldn’t even process it at the moment, I was thinking about practice. It kind of happened right after the scrimmage,” Friday said. “Now that everything’s settled down, it’s a great feeling.”
The Ramsey, New Jersey, native joined third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, fourth-year tight end Cade Stover, graduate wide receiver Kamryn Babb, fourth-year linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and third-year safety Kourt Williams II as the team’s captains for this upcoming season.
Those five captains have combined to play 71 games — with 36 coming from Stroud, Stover and Williams a year ago — while Friday has 25 games under his belt.
So how did he earn the “Mr. Captain” status that graduate defensive tackle Jerron Cage bestowed upon him?
Defensive line coach Larry Johnson said Friday showed leadership qualities prior to his injury, but how he carried himself following his injury led him to being named to the distinguished honor.
“I think what turned the table when he got hurt and how hard he worked in the rehab to get back to where he was,” Johnson said. “If you saw him every morning, every day grinding to get himself back, and that was impressed to a lot of kids. It really did. It set the bar for who he was as a young man, and I think that’s why his teammates voted him captain.”
The off-the-field resiliency the 6-foot-3 defensive end exhibited in his injury recovery resonated with his teammates as well.
Second-year defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau both alluded to the work Friday put in this past offseason to get back on the field resulting in his captain role.
“Seeing what he had to go through last year, you know, him being a senior year and then getting hurt in a summer workout, you know, it sucked, and it crushed him. It crushed us too,” Sawyer said. “Just seeing him coming to work every day with a positive attitude and being able to bounce back the way he did really meant a lot to us.”
The veterans in the defensive line room recognize Friday’s impact as well.
Fourth-year defensive end Zach Harrison said the 264-pounder is someone who “the older guys, the other leaders, go to for advice.”
“I go to Friday when things aren’t going right,” Harrison said. “I know that Friday’s going to have my back, and I got Friday’s back, so having him as a captain and being one of the leaders of the team, it’s like I expected it since from day one that he was going to be one of those guys who put the team on his back and led us to where he wanted to go.”
Friday’s journey through the recovery process was not an easy one, but he said it allowed him to grow on and off the field, relying on the support of the “over 100” brothers he has at Ohio State.
Now that he is ready to go full bore when the No. 2 Buckeyes host No. 5 Notre Dame Sept. 3, Johnson said Friday adds value that the Buckeyes missed last season.
“Tyler is really strong at the point of attack. He plays hard. He’s physical. You know he cares,” Johnson said. “We missed that leadership a little bit too because he was a strong leader in the room. When you sit in the back of the room, you can have a tendency to be quiet because you’re not playing. And now he’s a voice, and I think that’s what we need.”
