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LGHL Behind Enemy Lines: Each Big Ten East school’s biggest addition from the transfer portal

Behind Enemy Lines: Each Big Ten East school’s biggest addition from the transfer portal
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 03 Kent State at Washington

Photo by Jesse Beals/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The most interesting player all of the non-Ohio State teams in the division brought in.

From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about checking in on Ohio State’s opponents. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Behind Enemy Line” articles here.


We have seen the college football landscape change dramatically over the last decade. One of the biggest changes recently has been the introduction of the transfer portal. Student athletes were previously allowed to transfer to another school, but in most cases they had to sit out a year before they were allowed to play at the school they were transferring to. Now in most cases, student athletes are allowed to transfer without having to sit out a year.

Even though the friendlier transfer portal has been only available to student athletes for a short time, we have already seen how big of a difference it can make for players and schools.

Shortly after taking the head coaching job at Michigan State, Mel Tucker used the transfer portal to overhaul the roster, and earn a huge contract extension after the Spartans went 11-2 in 2021. Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams entered the transfer portal following the 2021 season to follow Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley to USC after Riley accepted the same position with the Trojans. Along with Williams, USC brought in Pitt wide receiver Jordan Addison, who won the Biletnikoff Award with the Panthers.

Sometimes the transfer portal can make it hard to keep up with who is playing where. With the season around a month and a half away. we’re going to give you a bit of a “Cliffs Notes” version of what has gone on with the transfer portal so far this offseason, and let you know which incoming transfer could make the biggest impact at their new school.

Today we’ll tackle the other teams in the Big Ten East outside of Ohio State, and later in the week we’ll move over to the Big Ten West.

Indiana: Tayven Jackson - Quarterback​


I was tempted to give this spot to defensive lineman Andre Carter, who transferred from Western Michigan, since the Hoosiers pass rush was so bad last season. An even bigger problem for Indiana last year is they had no stability at quarterback. Connor Bazelak threw over 400 passes last season, but he transferred to Bowling Green in the offseason. Backup quarterback Jack Tuttle also hit the transfer portal, moving to Michigan.

Coming out of high school in Indiana, Jackson was a top-20 ranked quarterback. The brother of former Indiana basketball player Trayce Jackson-Davis committed to Tennessee, appearing briefly in three games before deciding to return to his home state. Now a redshirt freshman, Jackson has the chance to win the starting quarterback job in Bloomington.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: DEC 30 Capital One Orange Bowl
Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The key for Jackson if he is able to be named the starter out of preseason camp is to not get too down after the first game of the season, since Indiana plays Ohio State — a game Jackson will likely struggle in. Jackson does have an established target in Cam Camper, who caught 46 passes for 569 yards before tearing his ACL in October. If the Hoosiers give Jackson a chance to grow into the job, they could have an answer at quarterback for a few years.

Maryland: Tyrese Chambers & Kaden Prather - Wide Receivers​


Since Maryland lost a lot from their receiving corps from 2022, I decided to go with a duo of transfer receivers to make an impact for the Terrapins this year. Gone from last year’s team are receivers Rakim Jarrett, Jacob Copeland, and tight end CJ Dippre. Even though quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has receiver Jeshaun Jones and tight end Corey Dyches coming back, it was pretty obvious Tagovailoa was going to need more help this season if the Terrapins want to make a bowl game for the third-straight year.

Enter Tyrese Chambers from Florida International and West Virginia transfer Kaden Prather. Chambers is more of a speed receiver, while Prather has some size and is more of a possession receiver. Last year was a bit of a disappointment for Chambers, as he averaged just 10.7 yards per catch and hauled in four touchdowns, which fell way short of his 23.9 yards per catch average and the nine scores he recorded in 2021. Prather’s 52 catches in 2022 ranked second on the team at West Virginia.

Michigan: Ernest Hausmann - Linebacker​


While Josaiah Stewart from Coastal Carolina could also make an impact at the EDGE position for the Wolverines, even more intriguing is Ernest Hausmann, who transferred to Ann Arbor from Nebraska. Hausmann appeared in 12 games as a freshman, recording 54 tackles and a sack for the Cornhuskers. Having already seen so much time on the field for a Big Ten team, the future is bright for Hausmann.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: OCT 15 Nebraska at Purdue
Photo by Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

What makes Hausmann an even more intriguing player to watch this year is while the Wolverines have Junior Colson and Michael Barrett at linebacker, the Nebraska transfer will still have plenty of opportunities to get on the field. It also doesn’t hurt that the Wolverines have a pretty easy schedule early on, which will allow the team to ease Hausmann into the rotation and get an even better feel for how he can help the team on the field.

Michigan State: Tunmise Adeleye - Defensive Lineman​


Mel Tucker may be trying to find his next Kenneth Walker III with UConn running back Nathan Carter coming to East Lansing from UConn, but the best player the Spartans brought in from the transfer portal this year is Texas A&M defensive lineman Tunmise Adeleye. The reason I went with Adeleye over Carter is Michigan State already has running back Jalen Berger, who should see the majority of the carries this season.

The addition of Adeleye should help a defense that gave up over 400 yards per game last season, with nearly 180 yards per game coming on the ground. Adeleye was named an Under Armour All-American in high school in Texas, and regarded as one of the best defensive line prospects in the country. If he is a name you recognize, it is because he was at one point committed to Ohio State.

After committing to Texas A&M, Adeleye had a hard time finding the field, getting lost amongst the large number of talented defensive lineman that Jimbo Fisher had brought in. With more of an opportunity to get on the field at Michigan State, Adeleye should be able to remind people of why he was near the top of the prospect rankings coming out of high school.

Penn State: Dante Cephas - Wide Receiver​


After Sean Clifford started at quarterback for the last 36 years for Penn State, the Nittany Lions will finally have a new starter this year behind center, as Drew Allar will take over from Clifford, who finally exhausted his college eligibility. Along with Clifford, Penn State also will be without their two leading receivers from last year, Mitchell Tinsley and Parker Washington, who also are now in the NFL.

Enter Kent State transfer Dante Cephas. The Kent State transfer earned First Team All-MAC honors the last two seasons for the Golden Flashes. Cephas caught 82 passes for 1,240 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021, and last season hauled in 48 passes for 744 yards and three scores. Even though Cephas played at a Group of Five school, Kent State loaded their non-conference schedule with tough Power Five opponents the last two years, so moving to the Big Ten shouldn’t be a challenge for Cephas. Expect to hear Allar finding Cephas early and often this season.

Rutgers: Michael Dixon - Defensive Back​


Let’s be honest, nobody really makes a big impact at Rutgers. Even though Ole Miss defensive end transfer Isaiah Iton could be an interesting pickup after not seeing much playing time for the Rebels, I’ll take Minnesota transfer “Flip” Dixon to be an impact player for the Scarlet Knights this year. Not only does Dixon already have some knowledge of who he’ll be lining up against after playing at Minnesota, he will be reuniting with Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak, who held the same position in Minneapolis for two years.

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LGHL 2026 QB includes Ohio State among top schools, 2024 defensive target set to announce commitment

2026 QB includes Ohio State among top schools, 2024 defensive target set to announce commitment
Caleb Houser via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

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The Buckeyes will continue to find themselves in the mix for elite QB talent as long as Ryan Day is in Columbus.

When people think of Ohio State and Ryan Day, quarterbacks are the theme of the program. The most important position on the field, the quarterback position under Day has flourished every season he’s been at the helm. It helps to bring in elite recruiting targets, but the development as well is off the chart, and a big reason as to why the recruiting success in each cycle continues on. The track record is repeating itself because of the work Day and position coach Corey Dennis do at this position.

Looking at the 2024 class, the Buckeyes currently have five-star Air Noland in the fold, and in 2025 already have the leader of the class thanks to in-state signal caller Tavien St. Clair. Further proof to their success continuing on recruiting the QB spot, Day and his crew find themselves in solid position already for another top QB, but this time in the 2026 class.

With plenty of time to go before the 2026 cycle is the priority, Day and staff have no trouble getting in on the top talents early and often as they try to build lasting relationships with the players highest on their board. Knowing how important it is to land a quarterback in each class, Ohio State being in the mix for top guys this early is exactly what you want to see, and on Wednesday that was the case when Julian Lewis took to Twitter to announce the latest in his recruitment.

A 6-foot-1, 175 pound athlete out of Georgia, Lewis is only a high school sophomore come this fall, but with nearly 40 offers to his name, he’s clearly already one of the top players in the country regardless of position. Schools such as Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, USC, Florida, Notre Dame, and several more jump out as just some of his impressive interests, but Lewis has narrowed it down to just eight schools still in the mix for his services.

Making the cut, Lewis is now deciding between Alabama, Georgia, USC, LSU, Oregon, Florida State, Texas A&M, and Ohio State. While eight isn’t the smallest number, it’s much different than nearly 40, proving that though there’s plenty of time left in this game, Lewis is at least trying his best to narrow it down early on. Ohio State remains in it, and with Day calling the shots, the Buckeyes will be a threat for the long haul in this one as they tend to do.

Trust God #KeepWorking @CoachJoeyKing @TheCoach_Barge @QuincyAvery @rvfc10 @CoachBeas @Hayesfawcett3 @SWiltfong247 @adamgorney @ChadSimmons_ @TheUCReport @CraigHaubert @GregBiggins @BrooksAustinBA @JeremyO_Johnson @jeffsentell pic.twitter.com/x9grxR88lH

— Julian "Ju Ju" Lewis 2026 QB (@JuJuLewis10) July 12, 2023
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Quick Hits​


The IMG Academy product is deciding between Florida, Miami, Oklahoma, Texas, and Ohio State. Without a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction submitted, there’s not a ton of scuttlebutt on who is the clear leader in this recruitment, but other outlets such as Rivals have Oklahoma winning out in the end.

The safe assumption here is that Jackson does not end up in Columbus, but while any commitment away from Ohio State can be taken as a loss, it’s important to remember the staff is in great position with multiple top defensive linemen in this class, and have a chance at some major BOOMs in the near future.

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Google The firing of Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and power and mistakes in college football: Buckeye Talk - cleveland.com

The firing of Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and power and mistakes in college football: Buckeye Talk - cleveland.com
via Google News using key phrase "Buckeyes".

The firing of Northwestern’s Pat Fitzgerald and power and mistakes in college football: Buckeye Talk cleveland.com

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LGHL Behind Enemy Lines: Wisconsin hoping for a return to prominence under Luke Fickell

Behind Enemy Lines: Wisconsin hoping for a return to prominence under Luke Fickell
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

usa_today_20441884.0.jpg

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY Sports

The former Buckeye is back in the Big Ten and looking to unseat his alma mater as the king of the conference.

From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about checking in on Ohio State’s opponents. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Behind Enemy Line” articles here.


The Wisconsin Badgers began their 2022 football season two up, three down (2-3), including a stinker of a home loss to Washington State and two other losses in which they had their doors blown completely off by Ohio State and Illinois. These embarrassing early defeats – as well as the general malaise of the program – led to head coach Paul Chryst’s firing on Oct. 2, 2022, putting an end to his otherwise solid tenure.

I guess the power of Chryst no longer compelled... And I stand by that joke.

Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images

The former Badger quarterback and 2x Big Ten Coach of the Year led his alma mater to three Big Ten West division titles in 2016, 2017, and 2019, but then oddly forgot how to put points on the board post-pandemic. I say ‘oddly’ because Chryst made his coaching bones as a QB whisperer and offensive coordinator. You never would have guessed it by watching him and Graham Mertz struggle to figure out the forward pass like it was a million-piece jigsaw puzzle, but the former once coached/mentored a 4,000-yard passer at Oregon State (Derek Anderson, 2003).

No points led to no job for Chryst, leaving UW’s (former) defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard to try and pick up the pieces of a broken 2022 season. Leonhard guided the Badgers to a 4-3 record and seemed to have the players’ support when it came to potentially landing the permanent HC position. But Wisconsin’s decision makers had something – or someone – much bigger in mind. A move and a hire that would send shockwaves through the world of college football.

On Nov. 27, 2022, the school officially named Luke Fickell as its 31st head football coach, stealing him away from Cincinnati where he had risen to national prominence. Fickell is one of college football’s best active coaches and should lead the Badgers back to some sort of glory. He is, however, joining a loaded Big Ten conference — and taking a big step up in competition from the AAC.

Fickell did not arrive in Madison planning to battle opponents all by himself. After just one month on the job, he brought in Phil Longo to be Wisconsin’s offensive coordinator, fresh off the latter’s successful run at North Carolina. Leonhard departed as the team’s defensive coordinator, but his loss should be minimized by the presence of both Fickell and Mike Tressel, who joined the new HC in coming over from UC. This new staff should infuse new life into the former B1G West juggernaut and force the entire conference to take the Badgers seriously once again.

In addition to Fickell and his coaching staff, there are plenty of other fresh faces in Madison. Wisconsin brought in several transfer players to not only provide depth, but also give the team a new offensive identity. In years past, the Badgers would rack up 30, 40, even 50 rushing attempts per game and be quite happy grinding away games. But with former Oklahoma and SMU quarterback Tanner Mordecai expected to start in 2023, and Longo calling the plays, one can reasonably expect to see the ball in the air much more frequently.

Because Mordecai and Longo are adept at running/calling an air raid-style offense; the exact opposite of what Wisky fans are used to. Fickell’s squad also added two other QBs and four wide receivers via the portal, with the WRs expected to contribute immediately. Of course, star running back Braelon Allen is still a Badger, which is great news for UW.

The homegrown battering ram is a hell of a talent and one of the most dangerous RBs in the country. Similar in size to Derrick Henry, Allen rushed for 1,242 yards in 2022, despite receiving all the focus and attention from opposing defenses. If Wisconsin can keep him fed and chuck the ball downfield efficiently, then the rest of the Big Ten could be in for a very rude awakening.

On defense, the Badgers are going to badger... opponents, like they always have and always do. Despite lacking ‘stars’ in 2022, Wisconsin’s defense finished the season ranked 11th (nationally) in total defense and 17th in points per game allowed. And that PPG stat was actually a huge step back compared to previous seasons! Leonhard’s unit had finished 10th, 9th, and 4th in the previous three.

But I do not expect his former team to experience a drastic dropoff. Fickell and Tressel are great defensive minds in their own right, and they will have plenty of tools with which to work.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-USA TODAY Sports

Big man Keeanu Benton and sack artist Nick Herbig are gone from last year’s UW defense, but the team’s top three tacklers return. Maema Njongmeta, Jordan Turner, and C.J. Goetz are all back in the fold after having combined for 222 tackles and 25.5 tackles for loss last season. Behind them, the secondary is not nearly as strong, but one could have said the same thing going into 2022. And the Badgers still only allowed 204 passing yards per game. Shootouts might present a bit of an issue, but with the team’s improved (on paper) offense, they should at least be better equipped to trade football bullets if the situation arises.

What’s going to be interesting is whether Wisconsin can come together – as a new staff and a new team – while completely changing their offensive style and trying to win games in a tough, tough conference. The Badgers’ 2023 schedule did work out quite well for a potential transition season, as they avoid(ed) both Penn State and TTUN. And they don’t play a ‘solid’ team until mid-October... But then they get Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio State in three consecutive weeks.

The last team mentioned above is the only one LGHL and its readers really care about, so I would just remind everybody that the Buckeyes stomped the Badgers 52-21 last season. But that was then, and this is now. Luke Fickell is a heck of a coach, and as a fan of his, I hope that he brings Wisconsin back to prominence. I expect that he will, and in relatively short order. However, I don’t think he has the horses quite yet.

Give him and his staff a year or two to replenish talent, then we’re probably talking about a top-2, 3, or 4 team in the Big Ten. But I also wouldn’t be surprised if they put together a strong 2023 season.

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LGHL Ohio State women’s basketball forward Eboni Walker finds peace 13,000 feet off the ground

Ohio State women’s basketball forward Eboni Walker finds peace 13,000 feet off the ground
1ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament - Second Round - Ohio

Photo by Jay LaPrete/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

How degree requirements and graduate school pressures fell from the sky for the Buckeye super senior.

There are high pressure moments in the life of college basketball players. After practicing, strategizing and listening to coaches, everything comes down to putting all the talk and preparation into practice. It all goes into the moment where seconds matter. When the heart is racing and eyes shift to look at you. How will the athlete perform?

For Ohio State women’s basketball forward Eboni Walker, this isn’t the precursor to an NCAA March Madness game. It’s the final moments before the graduate senior did something that, for many, is unthinkable: When she jumped out of a plane.

Fulfilling Requirements​


Walker’s taken many leaps in her college basketball career. After Gatorade named the forward the 2019 Nevada Player of the Year, Walker moved out of state to join the Arizona State Sun Devils. Following two seasons and a soon-to-be coaching change, Walker moved to the other side of the country and into a tumultuous Syracuse University team that soon after lost its head coach for allegations of mistreatment and bullying.

The forward stuck with the team, ultimately suffered an injury that made Walker unavailable for the remainder of the 2021-22 season. That’s when the aspiring mechanical engineer transferred to Ohio State.

Somewhere along the way, all of Walker’s college credits went into a Communications degree. When the Las Vegas, Nevada native came to Columbus, a single Spanish class was all she needed to graduate, but there was a problem: She needed to take more classes to fulfill her scholarship.

“What do you mean? I have nothing else to take,” recalled Walker when she spoke with her advisor. The aspiring engineer had a solution. “I didn’t want to pick something where I had to use my brain. I wanted to have fun.”

Walker held to her word. The forward enrolled in kitchen sciences, a chocolate course and a beer and wine class. During a summer practice, Walker proudly told head coach Kevin McGuff she was heading home after practice to drink some beer, which wasn’t nearly as fulfilling once Walker completed the assignment.

“I took one little swig and I was so upset, having to drink it,” said Walker. “It just tasted terrible to me.”

Drinking beer and making and eating homemade chocolate sounds like most folks ideal weekend, but for Walker, who also doesn’t like sweets, its different. Each choice is a smaller example of the mindset of the 21-year-old. Walker’s someone who’s always up for a challenge. The final class for Walker exemplified that the best when she signed up for skydiving.

It wasn’t simply all for fun. It’s been a stressful road for Walker, who despite graduating this summer with a Communications degree is still pursuing her dream of becoming a mechanical engineer.

“Instead of me getting upset, let me try to have fun because I feel this is my time to break because I’m really going to jump back into it in my next section of studies,” said Walker. “I might be certified in chocolate making by the end of my college career.”

Farewell Party​


Starting in 2020, Ohio State started a skydiving course where, following a handful of classroom sessions, the students fly into the sky and jump from 13,000 feet above the ground. Even talking about the idea of skydiving elicits a multitude of responses, normally questions of sanity. Walker’s experience was no different when she let people know it was a sure thing.

In the halls of the Ohio State Athletic Department, it began with a member of the Buckeyes’ support staff telling Walker she didn’t think she’d be allowed to jump. Walker quickly told her it was happening. The first coach Walker ran into was assistant coach Carla Morrow.

Coach Morrow initiated conversation, letting Walker know she heard something about the forward. Walker kept her secret close and wondered what the coach was going to say, ultimately bringing up something about basketball. Walker let her in on the real news.

“‘Yeah, so, I’m going skydiving.’ She was like ‘Eboni, no you’re not,’” said Walker.

Guard Jacy Sheldon, who Walker connected with in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the game-winning assist, wasn’t connecting to the idea of her teammate skydiving.

“I told her she was crazy,” said Sheldon, laughing. “But I think it was really cool.”

The one person who could still put the kabash on the entire idea was head coach Kevin McGuff. After all, the stories of athlete’s extracurricular activities resulting in injury are well-documented. Was he going to risk his starting forward for the Buckeyes’ Elite Eight stretch run take that chance?

“‘No, that’s great! I went skydiving!’ I said ‘what!?’ recalled Walker about McGuff’s response to the announcement.

“It was pretty cool. I was, at the time, living in Oxford, Ohio,” said McGuff about his skydiving experience. “I did what we call a static line where the parachute is attached to the line and attached to the plane. It was a cool experience. I don’t have to do it again but I was glad I did it once.”

McGuff’s support was huge for the senior who played for three coaches on two teams before coming to Ohio State. As practice continued in the week following the announcement, McGuff even joked with the team, saying they were having a “farewell party” for Walker the day before.

“He was more excited than I was,” said Walker. “That’s the little things that I try to tell people about Ohio State. He was encouraging me to jump out of the sky. Not ‘no you’re going to fall and injure yourself. That’s an experience you want to encourage people to do. Especially after I’ve been through it I want to encourage people to do it.’”

The mixed reactions Walker received within her team, the one person who wasn’t surprised at all was her mom, who found out from multiple people calling her to see if Walker was serious about the upcoming jump.

On a family trip to Hawaii, when Walker wasn’t yet 10-years-old, the future basketball star from Las Vegas was up for any challenge. On a zipline, the instructor challenged Walker to go backwards, then backwards and upside down. No matter what he said, Walker followed suit.

“‘I should have known after seeing you do that that you’d jump out of the sky,’” said Walker about her mom’s reaction.

Temporary​


In Walker’s young life, she’s continually stepped up to challenges. When joining the Buckeyes, it was almost two years since the forward played basketball consistently. After injury and declining conditioning, Walker worked throughout the entire 22-23 season and stepped in when needed.

Following an injury to forward Rebeka Mikulášiková on Feb. 8, against the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Walker got back into the starting rotation for the first time since Jan. 24, 2021, as a Sun Devil.

Walker started the stretch with a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double in a defeat to the Indiana Hoosiers. On March 25, in the last second win over the North Carolina Tar Heels, Walker scored a season high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Performances showed her fight but basketball only scratches the surface of the person that is Eboni Walker.

Ohio State v Connecticut
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images

“If you expect anyone to do the craziest thing, while trying to play basketball, and be like an athlete and get my work done and try and get these good grades, know that I’m going to drive a monster truck on the weekend,” said Walker. “I might jump out of the sky. I need to find that balance in life.”

Nothing represents it better than Walker’s tattoo that, ironically, says “Temporary.”

“Life is too short to try to be too serious about certain things,” said Walker. “Everyone knows at Ohio State, we have fun all the time. And because we have fun and because we care about each other more than just ‘that’s my teammate.’ That’s my family. That’s my sister. It translates onto the court. I feel like that goes with everything in life.”

It’s that attitude that Walker brought to her skydiving course. Walker reinforced what she already knew from basketball that if you practice to do the right things, your actions will follow. Also, important reminders like the parachute wants to work and its only really five seconds of falling before the parachute cord is pulled. The class went well, until the final session.

That’s when someone, who Walker can’t remember, possibly out of resentment, brought up all the things that could go wrong. It meant watching videos of people falling too close to the ground, and the normally cool under pressure Walker began to feel the nerves.

Those feelings subsided, even up to the day of the jump. Walker, a natural leader, went from the student to the the one her classmates looked to for guidance and reassurance. As her former Buckeyes all asked her if she was nervous, the athlete’s motivational response until the jump was consistent “just pull it.”

What’s the Worst That Could Happen?​


Instructor Bud Prenatt, who’s taught skydiving for 21 years, put Walker in the front of the plane and was going to jump with the graduate senior. Walker thinks its because she was Prenatt’s favorite.

As his favorite sat near the pilot, Walker’s nerves were still in check as she watched the altimeter read off how far the plane was off the ground. Walker saw a 1.3, and looked down, thinking that it wasn’t too bad of a jump. Then the plane kept climbing and climbing. And climbing.

“I was like, wait a minute. I read 1,300 feet,” said Walker. “So, I thought we were high enough to be at 13,000. I was not even close. As we started going up more, then I was like ‘wait a minute. I think this may have not been the best idea.’”

Then the door opens. With it comes a rush of wind. Walker didn’t have time to second guess it at that point, because she was up first. Walker went back to her training, telling herself “I have to stay focused and remember my training.”

Stepping to the edge of the plane, with everyone watching, the taller-than-average skydiving student held onto the top of the plane with her hand and leaned out of the open door, looking 13,000 feet to the Earth below.

“My teacher made a joke: “Whats the worse that could happen? You fall out of the plane? We’re trying to jump out of the plane anyway.’”

Walker made the leap.

“When I jumped, all my fear smacked me immediately,” said Walker. “I started to get nervous. I started to get scared because if feels like you’re on a roller coaster and you’re just on that constant down. You’re thinking through your head ‘I’m falling to the ground. The ground’s right there. I can see this. I can see that. I can’t see where I’m going to land.’”

Eboni Walker

After a few seconds of panic, Walker did what she does on the court: She went back to her training. Walker thought back to the practice touches her and her classmates did on the ground to find the parachute cord.

Initially, it was painful for the aspiring engineer. When the parachute deployed, the strap on the bag rose up to push up on her neck, choking her momentarily.

Walker adjusted and went full flare. A term used when the descent slows as the person jumping pulls down on the parachute. It’s a technic that even Walker’s instructor has trouble explaining, outside of how everything goes silent in that moment.

“After I did a full flare I was like ‘Oh my gosh,’” said Walker. “You could see the whole land, and its so quiet. So peaceful and you’re just floating down. Nice and slowly.”

When Walker landed on the ground, she wasn’t the same.



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Her Outlook in Life Has Changed​


“It’s rare that she (Walker) doesn’t walk in and have a smile on her face and have a great attitude,” said coach McGuff. “She’s always in a pretty good mood but she’s been super upbeat all summer.”

That’s when Walker is on the ground, but since the jump the forward still finds herself in the clouds. The normal worries of an adult in college hit differently after falling a thousand feet in a second.

Sometimes the forward has to be reminded she’s at practice. Walker snaps back to reality, but a new one.

“What I really learned from that class, from that experience, is going to help me forever,” said Walker. “Now people make jokes in the gym ‘Hey, you’re different now.’ I say ‘Yes, I am!’” I am very different because nothing will ever be as serious as jumping out of the sky. Now if I have a two-page or a 10-page paper, I’m like ‘Cool, I’ll get it done.’”

Walker’s now stronger than ever worry-free attitude is rubbing off on her teammates, kind of. Fellow forward Taylor Thierry noticed a different in Walker too.

“Her outlook in life has changed,” said Thierry. “For me personally, I’d love to go sky-diving. I’m a little timid at first but hearing her experience about skydiving makes me want to do it too.”

When asked when, Thierry laughed “Maybe when my career’s over.”

Read through a post from Walker across social media and her faith takes center stage. Call it confirmation but that same day Walker told coach McGuff that she was soon going to jump out of a plane, Walker not only gave but received some exciting news.

It was when Walker found out the Buckeyes start their regular season in her hometown of Las Vegas.

The community of actual residents of Las Vegas is tightknit, far from the stereotype of the strip, sin and “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

Once the news went live, Walker’s phone blew up with friends, family and members of the even more tightknit Las Vegas women’s basketball community ecstatic about not only Walker’s return but many of her youth basketball teammates.

“That’s just amazing. It’s always a testament to the staff. They always try to do stuff like that for us,” said Walker. “it was so hard for me not to tell everybody in the world that I was coming back.”

Going up against Ohio State are the USC Trojans, full of players who played with and against Walker in the Vegas community. With the USC men’s team also making the trip, that means a potential visit by avid Ohio State fan LeBron James, whose son Bronny James committed to the Trojans this year.

The quadruple header at T-Mobile Arena even includes Angel Reese and the NCAA championship-winning LSU Tigers.

“It’s a huge opportunity for womens basketball. We already set the numbers this past year so you can imagine the numbers when you have USC there and us there, a rising team that when we play you we’re coming ready,” said Walker. “This is a one-time opportunity; By all means, Ohio State is going to make the best of it.”

It’s easy to trust Walker when she says the Buckeyes will make the best of it. Look through Walker’s life and she’s made a habit of doing just the same.

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