By now, you have read the stories of incoming Ohio State freshmen that have wanted to leave Columbus during fall camp.
Senior defensive end Jalyn Holmes is one of those players.
As a freshman in the 2014 class, Holmes was a four-star recruit and a top-100 player, according to 247Sports. During his first fall camp, however, he was ready to head home to Norfolk, Va.
"I hit a brick wall in camp. I saw a bird flying one time, and I was like, ‘I wish I was that bird.’ I didn’t want to be there. It is a tough time for anybody," Holmes said. "The game is faster, everybody is just as good you if not better, the playbook is three times bigger and you have to learn it."
Playing behind the likes of Joey Bosa, Steve Miller and Rashad Frazier, Holmes didn't see much playing time for the eventual 2014 national champions. He collected just 11 tackles, mostly in mop-up duty.
Despite the difficulty of camp and lack of game reps, Holmes said his mother Tasha refused to let him come home.
“She was like, ‘If you come back home, you ain’t living here.’ So I didn’t have nowhere else to go," Holmes said. "It was be at Ohio State or be homeless.”
Needless to say, things have worked out for Holmes and his mother's decision for him to stay in Columbus. The senior, getting set to play in his final home game on Saturday, has been a major contributor along the Ohio State defensive line for the last two years and is expected by many to be selected during the middle rounds of the 2018 NFL draft.
Looking back, Holmes said he is happy his mother made him stay in Columbus, because Ohio State has helped shape him into the man he has become, and has given him a bigger role in the community, both in Columbus and in his home state.
"I am glad I went through it, because it made me who I am today. Ohio State basically gave me a platform to speak for people who can’t, especially back home," Holmes said. "It gave me an opportunity to be an example to somebody who can change. I wasn’t always like this. You wouldn’t want to meet me five years ago. Just being that example to give those kids perspective that they could be somebody because where I am from, you really don’t see too much. I feel like Ohio State made me a better man."
Now that he has been through it all, Holmes said he is trying to educate Ohio State's current freshmen on the trials and tribulations young Buckeyes go through in their first year.
“They think they (are) the only ones that go through that, and it is like, ‘I’ve been through that before.’ It is funny now," Holmes said. "When I was going through it, it wasn’t funny.”
He added former players such as Curtis Grant and Braxton Miller, amongst others, encouraged him to push through the hard times, and he is just trying to pass the torch.
“My freshman year when I was hungry, they would have a cookout, and we would have to do nothing but take out the trash," Holmes said of the former Buckeyes that helped him. "Now, we do the same thing. We have the cookout, cook all the food, all they have to do is bring their stomach."
As his final game in Ohio Stadium draws closer, Holmes said he has been trying not to think about the emotions that will be running through his mind.
While he maintains he won't cry when he runs out of the tunnel for the final time, he acknowledged the moment will be special.
"Running out to the fans for the last time, I ain't gonna cry but it is going to be a tough moment," he said. "I promise I'm not going to cry. I'm going to keep telling myself that."
