Jack Sawyer is living the full Ohio State dream. Buckeye through and through, and he’s still out there making headlines like it’s just another Saturday in the Shoe. Picture this — CFP semifinals against Steve Sarkisian’s squad. Texas is down, but not out with 2:13 left on the clock. Quinn Ewers was trying to make a play when Sawyer crashed the party. He stripped the football and took off like a madman down the field. 83 yards later, he’s in the end zone, stamping his name into the Buckeyes lore forever. And that’s why he walked away as the Defensive MVP of the 2025 Cotton Bowl.
Fast forward to April 5, Jack Sawyer hopped on The Bobby Carpenter Show w/ Anthony Schlegel and started peeling back the curtain. Not about that insane play but what really sets Ohio State apart. When he was asked what makes the team different, he laid it all out — “End of the season last year, before this past one, we all had opportunities to go to the NFL or some guys could have got you know a million plus in NIL at a different program but you know, we all wanted to be with each other.” Instead of jumping ship, the guys doubled down because OSU isn’t just a football team, it’s a real family.
This family dynamic is what motivates Jack Sawyer and his teammates to “go as hard as we can here with the best coaching staff in the country.” “You can go chase the money, you can go chase this or that or you want to be a guaranteed Day 1 starter at a lower level school,” the 22-year-old added. “You can go ahead and be my guest but you can miss out on being developed right and being part of a process that’s gonna get you ready for the next level.” And here’s a cool part to his story that comes full circle.
After OSU’s rough 13-3 loss to Mizzou in the 2023 Cotton Bowl, Jack Sawyer was already scheming. Already plotting a comeback. Not just for him, but for the whole team to get back together. He called guys like Donovan Jackson every single day, three times a day sometimes, convincing them to stay. Eight of them did. Eight guys with legit NFL buzz chose one more run in Columbus because of Jack. Won’t they be glad they did after the Buckeyes were named the 2024 National Champions? And now, the guy’s getting his flowers even beyond football.
Jack Sawyer gets a chance to flex his multi-sport talent
On Tuesday, Jack Sawyer is throwing out the first ceremonial pitch for the Cleveland Guardians home opener against the Chicago White Sox. From Pickerington to the Shoe to the big leagues, kind of. He was a multi-sport stud growing up. He joins former Buckeyes legends — DT Mike Hall Jr. and WR Michael Harrison Jr. — for this honor.
Last season, Jack Sawyer racked up 59 tackles, nine sacks, a pick, seven breakups, three FFs, three recoveries, and two defensive scores, one of them being that iconic score that sent Texas packing their bags. And as far as NFL Draft talks go, he’s a projected Day 2 prospect. But with that kind of motor, leadership, and champion pedigree he’s got, it feels like someone’s getting a Day 1 kind of guy!
Jack Sawyer didn’t just help win a title. He built the run. He stayed. He rallied. And he proved that at Ohio State, loyalty still means something — even in the age of multi-million NIL deals.
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