Ohio State's players might want a pair of Gold Pants more than they want oxygen this week.
That includes Buckeye quarterback Will Howard. Even after transferring in from Kansas State, he grew to appreciate the rivalry in short order, understanding how deep it runs and seeing the countdown clocks all around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. He's desperate to beat Michigan, not as much for himself as for those around him.
"I’ve only been here a year, so I only know what I know, but what I do know is that I love my brothers and that they came back and they wanted this," Howard said. "They felt the hurt the last couple of years. Coach Day felt it. Coach Day took a chance on me when he didn’t have to. … I owe that guy a lot. I want to get this done for him.”
Jack Sawyer grew up in the Columbus suburb of Pickerington and always wanted to be a Buckeye. There's a lot of personal pride in righting his 0-3 record in The Game, and he's not taking anything for granted. Michigan may have five losses to Ohio State's one, but Sawyer said their matchup will be “a war no matter what.”
Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and linebacker Cody Simon joined Howard and Sawyer in giving their thoughts to the Ohio State media on Tuesday, with Simon saying he wants to beat the Wolverines for Ryan Day after “all the bullets” he’s taken for the team over the years.
QB Will Howard
“Just feeling how much this rivalry means and how deep it runs and how deep it cuts. I mean, you’re looking around the building and see the countdown clocks. From the moment I got here, it was just different. It was like, you don’t wear blue in the building, you don’t say the M word, like all this stuff. I was like, ‘OK, this is different.’ It’s not really a rivalry. It’s more like a way of life.”– Will Howard on what stands out about The Game
- Howard said he’s felt the hurt Ohio State’s coaches and players have experienced after three consecutive losses to Michigan. “I want to get this done for them. I haven’t been a part of it for that long. I’ve only been here a year, so I only know what I know, but what I do know is that I love my brothers and that they came back and they wanted this. They felt the hurt the last couple of years. Coach Day felt it. Coach Day took a chance on me when he didn’t have to. … I owe that guy a lot. I want to get this done for him.”
- Howard later reiterated that he wants to beat Michigan for Day and his teammates. He also wants to win for Buckeye Nation. “I love this university as much as the next guy. But I really love my brothers. I love Coach Day. I would do anything for those guys. And I want to get this done for them and for Buckeye Nation. When I said I was coming here, I didn’t want to be half in on this thing. If I’m going to be a Buckeye, this is part of being a Buckeye. This game means everything. I’m grateful to be a part of it and grateful to be here and grateful for all those guys that came back. I want to get this done for them.”
- On whether Ohio State and Ohio Stadium have met his expectations since he transferred to the school: “And then some. I could not say thank you to more people. To you guy, thanks for taking me in and talking to me every week and listening to — you know, looking at my ugly mug and whatnot. But I am truly grateful for this opportunity that I had to come here. And it could not have ended up going any better. I love it here. I love my guys. I love everyone in the building. I love this place. I love this city. It’s been everything I could have asked for and more.”
- Howard said Saturday “may be my last game at Ohio Stadium,” but “it’s not my last game as a Buckeye.” He added: “We still have plenty of things to take care of. We’re far from done.”
DE Jack Sawyer
“Every year, it doesn’t matter what the record is — our record, their record. It’s gonna be a war, no matter what. You can go back through history and look at that. They’re gonna give us a good shot. They’re a good football team. There’s no mistaking that. We know we’re gonna have to come out there and play our balls off. We expect a war. That’s what we came here to do. That’s what we hope it is.”– Jack Sawyer on facing a Michigan team with five losses
- Sawyer said “it would mean everything” to him to end his Ohio State career with a win over Michigan. “This is the reason why we come to Ohio State. Growing up in Columbus — I feel like I’ve said it 1,000 times — but this is what you do it for: these games. It would mean everything to this program, Coach Day and all the guys that have been here the past four years. It would mean everything.”
- Sawyer said one of his favorite memories from past Ohio State-Michigan games was Curtis Samuel’s walk-off touchdown in overtime of the 2016 matchup. “That was really special. I think that was the moment I was like, ‘Man, I want to play in this game.’ It’s really cool looking back on that now, watching my buddies go crazy when we scored, having no idea I would ever play in this game. It’s just a blessing from God to take it all in.”
- After the Indiana game, Sawyer said he wanted to beat Michigan because of Day and what the head coach means to him. He reiterated that message on Tuesday. “No one deserves this win more than he does,” he said. Sawyer later added, “The stuff he had to go through is bullshit the past three years. We’re excited to go out there and play for him.”
WR Emeka Egbuka
“It’s going to be a battle no matter what. If they have nine players on the field and we have 12, it’s still going to be a battle.”– Emeka Egbuka on what he’s learned from playing Michigan three times
- Egbuka says Ohio State has always had the same level of urgency entering The Game that it has this year, but it has “the right mindset” this year. “We’re not too focused on kind of the negative aspect of the team up north, but we’re focused on the positive energy and the love that we have for everybody in this building. So we’re going into that game ready to spill blood for each other because we love each other, not necessarily going to war because we hate the other side.”
- Asked about Will Howard saying “Google That” and pretending to put out a cigarette at the end of the Indiana game, Egbuka said “you can find little hints of him doing that every single game.” Egbuka said the Buckeyes could see Howard had that fire in him “ever since he got here” and described Howard as “a very confident guy.”
- Egbuka said the Indiana game was one of the loudest games he’s ever played in Ohio Stadium. “We need them to be that same way this weekend, and I trust that they will.”
- Egbuka said he wants to win Saturday’s game for Ryan Day. “He’s a great head coach. And I wouldn’t have anybody else leading our team in the entire country. So we all have his back 100 percent. We’re rallying behind him. And he says he wants to do this for us, but we also want to do it for him as well.”
- Asked if this week feels any different because Michigan is having a down year, Emeka Egbuka’s answer was direct: “Nope. Not at all.”
- Egbuka said it “would hurt every team in the country” not to have Will Johnson on the field but says the Buckeyes will be expecting a battle even if Johnson can’t play. “They’re one of the best programs in the entire nation. It’s not like they don’t have depth. So we expect them to be a battle through and through. Whoever they bring out there on the field, we’re going to treat a nameless, faceless opponent.”
LB Cody Simon
“He’s always standing in front of the team, and he’s taking all the heat, taking all the bullets for everybody else. So if we can get this done for him, it’ll mean everything because he’s gone through so much.”– Cody Simon on wanting to win The Game for Ryan Day
- Simon said he’s told his younger teammates that they can’t let the stakes of The Game keep them from playing freely. “It’s still football when you come down to it, so we just got to go out there and play our game and not be afraid to make plays.”
- Simon says the Buckeyes still expect this week’s game to be their most physical game even with Michigan’s struggles this season. “We know no matter what, this game’s always a physical battle. So we have to be ready to take that fight to them.”
- Will Howard is a “wonderful leader,” Simon said. “He’s been a person that you can always look to. He’s always confident. He’s always upbeat … I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s a great dude.”
- Caleb Downs is “super wise beyond his years,” Simon said. Simon said Downs “brings another coach-like mindset to the team.”
