Ohio State graduate linebacker Cody Simon speaks to the media Wednesday ahead of the Cotton Bowl Friday. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
DALLAS — Adversity causes some teams to crumble and others to thrive.
The 2024-25 Buckeyes have taken the latter path, thriving in the face of hardship.
After suffering a regular-season loss to Oregon, as well as a fourth consecutive loss to Michigan, Ohio State faced bitter criticism from its own fans and followers of rival teams. But that hardship evidently brought the Buckeyes closer together — Ohio State is playing its best football as it prepares for a College Football Playoff semifinal game against Texas Friday and a potential National Championship appearance Jan. 20.
“We’ve been through the lowest of lows; we’ve been praised and spat on at the same time,” senior veteran offensive lineman Donvoan Jackson said. “Just being able to endure that, being able to still come out in one piece and being able to compete every week with your brothers is what brought this team close together.”
Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka said this particular squad is one of the tightest teams he’s ever been a part of, in large part due to the senior class’ sense of comradery.
“We have four years in the books together; there’s so many stories, so many laughs, hard times as well, and we’ve developed nothing short of a family,” Egbuka said. “I think that the culture we’ve accumulated over these last four years has permeated throughout the rest of the team.”
Seasoned linebacker and Block “O” jersey recipient Cody Simon agreed. He said the players and coaching staff know that any game together could be their last, which creates a genuine sense of fellowship within the program.
“It’s a lot of emotions built up into it, so I think the guys appreciate all the effort that our team has put together into this,” Simon said.
When it comes to the offensive line in particular, Jackson said that any hatred that follows a loss has only fueled the linemen to prove what they’re truly capable of on the field.
“We knew that we could play better than what we presented, and so having people tell us we’re ‘trash, terrible, garbage, half of us should transfer, half of us should leave the state of Ohio’ — we know how good we are,” Jackson said. “Being able to have that chip on your shoulder, being able to metaphorically say, ‘Forget you,’ and get after it is what we’re going for.”
Beyond blocking out the negative, Jackson said his teammates also know how to manage excessively positive noise, as it could come back to bite them in the end.
“The bad stuff is the bad, and the good stuff is like rat poison, trying to build you up just to bring you back down,” Jackson said. “We just have faith in each other and the stuff we do in practice to be able to execute on the field at a high level.”
Ultimately, Egbuka said it feels special to see the freshman class bond with the upperclassmen, connecting the team from top to bottom.
“I think the freshmen have taken on our identity, so there’s nobody on this team that I don’t consider my brother,” Egbuka said.
