The Ohio State football team took a break from its Cotton Bowl preparation on Monday to spend some time spreading holiday cheer in the community.
For Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and nine of his team’s players, that meant visiting Nationwide Children’s Hospital to meet with patients, help them pick out gifts, sign autographs for them and take photos with them on Monday afternoon.
Meyer, who said visiting the children’s hospital with his players has been an annual tradition since his first season at Ohio State in 2012, said Monday was a special afternoon.
"Central Ohio is the most compassionate area I’ve ever lived in my life, and to be able to give back and come down here and be with these families and these beautiful young people, it’s a dream come true," Meyer said.
Meyer, who was joined in Monday’s trip to the children’s hospital by quarterback Dwayne Haskins, running backs J.K. Dobbins and Demario McCall, defensive ends Nick Bosa and Chase Young, defensive tackle Robert Landers, linebackers Tuf Borland and Malik Harrison and cornerback Jeffrey Okudah, was impressed by the eagerness his played showed to be a part of the event.
"It’s amazing to me, with how exhausted we all are, and the minute I tell a guy like Nick Bosa ... every player would have came down here, we just don’t have room for everybody," Meyer said.
Landers was among those who jumped at the opportunity to make Monday’s trip, which he said was a welcomed respite from bowl preparation.
"Things like this, they kind of bring you back to reality, keep you from going insane. So I know I appreciate it," Landers said. "As soon as Coach Meyer asked me if I wanted to come, I told him yes with no hesitation. This is what it’s all about, giving back, coming out and spending time and to see the joy and the smiles and the cheer that you can make and the impact that you can make on a person’s life, it’s amazing."
All the players who made Monday’s trip said that being able to help put smiles on kids’ faces made it easy for them to smile themselves.
"It’s unbelievable just to come in here and see the smiles on the kids’ faces," Haskins said. "The kids know your name before you even walk in here, and it’s just a crazy thing that you can have such a big effect on a kid’s life when they’re going through so much. Being here at Ohio State, you have a lot of attention toward you and just being here and having them watch you on TV and being able to go shake their hand, I know it means a lot of them."
Rayne McCann, a 12-year-old from Reynoldsburg who battles arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, was among the patients who had the opportunity to attend Monday’s event. A self-described "very big Ohio State fan," she appreciated having the opportunity to meet some of her favorite team’s players.
"It means a lot, because I’ve loved the Buckeyes since I was real little, so I’m really excited," McCann said.
Rick Bidwell, whose adopted 5-year-old son Bo was also among the patients who attended Monday’s event, said he has been a longtime Ohio State fan but became an even bigger fan on Monday.
"That’s really awesome," Bidwell said. "I’m glad to see that they give back to the kids and the community, because I know they’re busy, and that really touches my heart."
Tuf Borland helps Bo Bidwell pick out a toy during the Buckeyes' Monday visit to Nationwide Children's Hospital.
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital wasn’t the only place where Ohio State football players met members of the community on Monday. Some members of the team also went to a local elementary school to help out with a holiday food giveaway coordinated by former Ohio State wide receiver Roy Hall’s Driven Foundation.
Monday was the Buckeyes’ second-to-last day on campus before players will be released to spend some holiday time with their families. After practice on Tuesday, the Buckeyes will have the opportunity to head home until Saturday, when they will travel to Dallas for the Cotton Bowl.
