After a lights-out Rose Bowl and his game-changing scoop-and-score against Texas, Sawyer’s name is on everyone’s lips, just in time for his NFL career to begin.
The choice to come back for a senior season always carries inherent risks in college football. There is the possibility for injury, the chance that you’ll drop off statistically and hurt your draft prospects. Many players understandably choose to quit while they’re ahead.
But occasionally, with a big risk comes even bigger rewards. And for Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer, it’s the best thing he could have done.
Sawyer came to Ohio State as part of the 2021 recruiting class that was ranked No. 2 in the country, many of whom chose to return for this senior season rather than enter the NFL Draft last year. This 2021 corps includes players like running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, and defensive end JT Tuimoloau.
They had unfinished business, the said they wanted to “win something.” They were willing to take the risk to return, all for a chance at glory for their teammates, this school, and themselves.
Now, Sawyer and his fellow seniors have just one game left in a Buckeye uniform, and it’s their chance to finish the job before they go: the National Championship game against Notre Dame.
But with Sawyer in particular, coming back has benefitted him beyond the chance to win a title. You can sense the hunger that is driving him in the way he is playing the game.
Many of these players have been standouts throughout their OSU career, and their draft status will likely reflect their success in a few short months; Sawyer’s will undoubtedly, with a draft stock that was on the rise even before last night’s matchup with the Longhorns.
In the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day, Sawyer was a thorn in the side of Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, playing a key role in keeping Oregon’s offense contained enough to help the Buckeyes build a 34-0 lead with two sacks and two tackles for loss. He had the No. 1 offense in the country completely unnerved.
Afterward, Sawyer was taken No. 25 in the first round of an NFL Mock Draft from PFF.
And if the Rose Bowl performance was enough to potentially jettison him into the first round? Well, the Texas game certainly didn’t hurt matters.
When Sawyer stripped the ball from Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers’ hands last night, that would have been enough. Robbing his former roommate (who was also part of that elite 2021 recruiting class before transferring to Texas) of the ball was enough to keep Texas from tying the game in the final three minutes.
But Sawyer isn’t taking any chances. He and Ewers are still good friends, but Sawyer has a job to do, so he added insult to injury, scooped up the fumbled ball, and started running. By the time he crossed the goal line, he took his teammates one step closer to that title, something he has dreamed about since he was a little kid.
And he certainly cemented his status among Buckeye legends.
And he certainly didn’t hurt his draft prospects.
Sawyer is one of those guys who is so clearly playing for the moment: He’s had tunnel vision on Ohio State since he was a kid, and he’s had tunnel vision on a National Championship just as long. Coming off of the heartbreaking loss to Michigan, he’s been laser-focused, and it’s shown.
Now there are just 60 minutes between him and his childhood dream.
But when those 60 minutes are over, win or lose, Sawyer will have the rest of his life to think about, and for him, that means the laser focus turns to his professional career. And despite the risk of returning, he’s been able to capitalize on that and use it to his advantage. People are talking, they’re noticing—especially after the role he played in the Cotton Bowl victory—and his stock is rising.
He took the risk for the Buckeyes, but the reward will be all his.