Ohio State's 2015 senior class has a chance to win its 50th game over a four-year period New Year's Day in the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame. Before kickoff in their final collegiate game, Eleven Warriors will take a brief look back at each player's time in Columbus.
Where They're From
Our first Fight To The End piece is dedicated to those on the football team who don't normally hear their names called on Saturday afternoons. Or, in the case of walk-ons, only dress for home games.
This section will recognize fifth-year senior longsnapper Bryce Haynes, plus walk-on seniors Chris Fong, Cameron Howard, Jeffie Johnson and Kato Mitchell.
The four walk-ons all hail from Ohio, while Haynes is from Cumming, Georgia. Each guy came to the program in his own way. Fong joined in the fall of 2014 after a stellar high school wrestling career and having never played a down of varsity football, Johnson at the same time as a transfer from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, Mitchell in fall of 2012, and Howard in spring of this year.
All five present different skills to the program and help the scholarship players prepare for the next game. In Haynes' case, he has the unique responsibility of snapping and snapping consistently week in and week out.
Top Moments
It's hard to siphon out great moments for some players who don't often get a chance to show what they can do between the lines on Saturday afternoons.
However, Mitchell recorded his first and only career catch in Ohio State's 76-0 shellacking of Florida A&M in 2013. He also laid the wood late in this season's 49-7 trouncing of Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey:
Johnson had a two-yard carry in Ohio State 66-0 win against Kent State in 2014 and Haynes has four career tackles along with a terrific track record of snaps.
The work put in by these players isn't usually rewarded unless it comes during a blowout, but each guy is crucial to Ohio State's success behind the scenes. Without them, the starters and backups on scholarship wouldn't have scout teams to work against in practice.
Overarching Contribution to the Program
Haynes has been a formidable force on the interior of Ohio State's special teams since the 2012 season. He is a three-time academic All-Big Ten honoree and a four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete already with a biology degree from Ohio State. He is making preparations for the next step of his life — medical school. Current true freshman Liam McCullough has big shoes to fill starting in 2016.
Fong wants to be a pharmacist. Johnson is majoring in criminology. Mitchell, sports industry and Howard in consumer and family financial services.
Each has his own story, and each—except for Howard—earned a national championship ring for time put in to prepare Ohio State's scholarship players for their next opponent.
Where They're Headed
We've already mentioned that Haynes intends to go to medical school following the completion of his football career at Ohio State and that Fong wants to be a pharmacist.
The majors each of the other three players allow for them to have ample opportunities down the line after leaving Ohio State. Who knows what the future will bring them, but its obvious they have the work ethic and drive to be successful considering they walked on to play football for the Buckeyes.
More Haynes, Walk-Ons
- An excellent read by cleveland.com's Doug Lesmerises: Who is Fong?
- Former running backs coach Dick Tressel discusses Bryce Haynes' commitment
- Current and former players discuss Kato Mitchell's big block at Rutgers
- Some Snow College tape of Jeffie Johnson
