Ohio State Linebacker Chip Trayanum Loses Black Stripe

On Tuesday, Trayanum became the fourth Buckeye of 2022 to lose his black stripe, with Oklahoma State transfer Tanner McCalister and freshmen Kye Stokes and Caden Curry losing theirs in the spring. 

The Arizona State transfer who switched from running back to linebacker upon returning to his home state of Ohio, is now "officially" a Buckeye after committing to Ohio State back on Dec. 25.

Ohio State fifth-year linebacker Teradja Mitchell said Trayanum's hard work in the offseason led to his change and colors, claiming the move from black to scarlet is long overdue.

"Being honest, man, Chip's probably one of the most athletic people I've probably seen come through this facility," Mitchell said after Tuesday's practice. "He's fast, and he's strong. I'm excited to see him play. I feel like he's made a great transition over from running back to linebacker, and like I said, I am excited to see him play."

Trayanum played on both sides of the ball at Akron’s Archbishop Hoban High School and was ranked the No. 285 overall prospect and No. 5 recruit in Ohio in the 2020 recruiting cycle. Trayanum was recruited to play on either side of the ball by the Buckeyes out of high school but ultimately chose to sign with Arizona State, who recruited him only as a running back.

“I played defense in high school, and I played it very well. Defense in high school is what brought me the big-school offers to the table,” Trayanum told Eleven Warriors in December. “So I just have confidence in myself that I know I can do it.”

In two seasons with the Sun Devils, Trayanum rushed for 692 yards and 10 touchdowns on 127 rushing attempts.

The 5-foot-11, 235-pound athlete was Ohio State's first transfer portal addition for the 2022 season and his switch from offense to defense mirrors that of former Buckeye running back Steele Chambers, whose similar transition last season earned him mostly positive results as he cracked the starting lineup at the new position by the end of the year.

But competing with Chambers, Cody Simon, Tommy Eichenberg and Teradja Mitchell – among others – for playing time did not bother Trayanum when considering his decision to come to Ohio State.

“I’ve never been guaranteed anything throughout the whole recruiting process, so it doesn’t faze anything to me dealing with four- or five-stars,” Trayanum said. “At the end of the day, the coaches are gonna put whoever’s best on the field, whoever they believe is gonna make the play and help benefit the team to help get the W.”

The competition appears to be going well for Trayanum so far this fall, as the first-year Buckeye will no longer have a black stripe on his helmet in practice.