By Cort Street | @cort_street
Sports Capital Journalism
ATLANTA – A sideline of scarlet and gray erupted with ecstasy as Jack Sawyer raced down the field late in Ohio State’s thrilling 28-14 College Football Playoff Semifinal victory at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic over the Texas Longhorns, his game-sealing touchdown securing a spot in the national championship game for the Buckeyes.
Just moments before, the senior defensive end had beaten Texas right tackle Cameron Williams with heroic tenacity and hit quarterback Quinn Ewers from behind, forcing a fumble that would alter the fate of Ohio State’s championship dreams. Then – with the football that had bounced so perfectly into his outstretched arms now in tow – Sawyer’s frenzied teammates created a colorful scene of chaos and fervor along the sideline that will forever frame one of the most pivotal plays in the history of postseason football.
But, on his 83-yard scoop-and-score that became the longest fumble recovery in the 11-season history of the College Football Playoff, all Sawyer saw was green.
It was the green of a turf field that Sawyer had dreamed about since his days growing up in Pickerington, Ohio, just over twenty miles from the campus of Ohio State. It was a green that reminded Sawyer of his days in the backyard, running routes with his father and dreaming of creating the same program-defining legacy of Buckeyes legend James Laurinaitis – the hero of his youth whom he had chosen to represent with his number 33 jersey.
And it was the green of the field at AT&T Stadium that would set the scene for the moment that Jack Sawyer became college football personified.
Sawyer, who tallied 56 tackles, nine sacks, and three forced fumbles in a career-defining 2024 season, was a five-star recruit out of high school and had no shortage of options when it came time to embark on his collegiate career. There was never any hesitancy on the decision he would ultimately make, however.
“I was [head coach] Ryan Day’s first commit as a head coach back in 2019, and I won’t lie – I was an ‘easy’ recruit,” Sawyer said while speaking to the media ahead of the Buckeyes’ 2025 College Football Playoff National Championship clash against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. “Most of my dreams as a kid involved being a Buckeye, and the truth is, I was coming to Columbus no matter what.”
Sawyer is one of six athletes on the Buckeyes football team that grew up in nearby Pickerington – a group that includes Sonny Styles, Lorenzo Styles Jr., Ty Hamilton, Max Lominaco, and Sam Williams Dixon – a testament to the importance Day, who is now finishing his sixth season as head coach of the Buckeyes, has placed on recruiting homegrown players into his program.
“These guys are like family, they really are,” Day said. “Sawyer was the first to really commit and the guy who recruited the other guys, especially on defense but also on offense. He was a leader from the jump. Being a Buckeye meant even more to him growing up in Columbus, Pickerington, Ohio, his family, just great people.”
Hamilton, a defensive tackle and one of four defensive starters from Pickerington, credited the small-town atmosphere of his home for instilling his sense of competitiveness and bond with his fellow teammates.
“Really, in Pickerington, it starts as soon as you’re old enough to throw a football or shoot a basketball,” Hamilton said. “You’re at the park playing. That’s the one thing I love about Pickerington, they’re tight. Always competing, always doing something. It’s such a competitive place for being such a small town.”
Day was quick to point out that living out the dream of playing with the Buckeyes does not always equate to instant success.
“[Sawyer] is a guy who overcame some things,” Day said. “He didn’t just come in his freshman year and dominate, leave in three years and go on to the NFL to be a first-round draft pick. This is a guy who, again, I say it all the time, wears a hardhat to work every day, brings his lunch pail to work, and has the respect of his teammates.”
Despite the expectations that came with status as a five-star recruit, as Day so pointedly stated, Sawyer started slowly during his time with Ohio State. It was not until his junior year that he believed he was able to live up to his potential, growing as a football player and as a person.
“My first three years here, there were definitely ups and downs, Sawyer said. “As a freshman and a sophomore, I didn’t play up to my potential at all. And it was during those rough first couple of years that I saw what Coach Day is about. I appreciated how Coach didn’t treat me like I was just some underachieving player. Honestly, he treated me more like a son.”
It was that familial bond that persuaded Sawyer to return to Ohio State for his senior season in 2024, postponing his chance to play in the NFL for another year.
“Playing in the NFL has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid, Sawyer said. “But right now, I’m at Ohio State, which is one of my first dreams. I’m here right now competing for a National Championship to bring one back to Columbus, what I’ve always dreamed about. For me, it’s easy to put [the NFL] on the backburner while I’m competing for Ohio State.”
After an excruciating finish to the 2023 season that included a hard-fought 30-24 loss to rival Michigan followed by an embarrassing 14-3 loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, no one would have blamed Sawyer for taking advantage of the ever-changing nature of the college football landscape to seek out a new opportunity at another program with national title expectations. But Sawyer not only stayed firm in his commitment to the Buckeyes – he went out of his way to recruit others back for one last run at the title.
“I remember texting some of those guys [who were considering leaving], just hoping that they would be willing to give us one last season,” Sawyer said. “And I remember Don [Jackson] specifically, I woke up one morning and he had texted, ‘I’m coming back, I can’t leave you guys all behind.’ It just speaks to the bond that we share and the commitment we all have to this program.”
Now, on the cusp of championship glory, Sawyer reflected on the impact he’s had on his community, the same impact that played such a pivotal role in his life growing up.
“To be able to know I’m impacting kids and giving them hope and something to cheer about, it’s really exciting for me and the rest of the team,” Sawyer said. “I can remember vividly being in my Ohio State jersey in the front yard. Never taking it off on weekends. And now I get to impact kids in that same way. I thank God for every day I can wake up a Buckeye.”
Cornerback Lorenzo Styles added, “We talk about it all the time, setting a good example for kids across the country. But more importantly, the kids in our community growing up. Growing up, we were on the sidelines of high school games. We wanted to be like [tight end] Jake Butt and [center] Pat Elfein. Not only were they great players, but they were great people too. You talk to Jack [Sawyer] and Ty [Hamilton] and those guys. They’re great football players, but they’re great people too.”
Sawyer’s story – the story of a kid who dreamed of playing for his hometown school, fought through adversity, and delivered in the most critical moment of his team’s season – is one that perfectly embodies what makes college football so special. But in the current landscape of college football that is so dominated by the transfer portal, NIL, and overall chaos and uncertainty, stories like his are becoming less and less a part of the fabric of the sport.
Sawyer hopes that his story can inspire a new generation of athletes to take the path that he did, one that he believes is the most rewarding in the end.
“Hometown stories are so important to college football, and I hope there are more kids who have the opportunity to live their dream in the way I did,” he said.
No matter the result of Monday’s national championship game, Sawyer’s legacy with the Buckeyes is secure – a legacy that was forged not by one play in a semifinal game at the Cotton Bowl, but one that began over a decade ago in a backyard in Pickerington with nothing more than a dream.
Even Sawyer could not help but acknowledge the storybook nature of his career:
“You couldn’t have [written] it better than this.”
