Michigan Stadium snow stunt, explained by the student behind it
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Jeffrey Moody watched as Michigan Stadium turned into a late-November snow globe, noticing as those walking on the turf left footprints behind.
That’s when Moody turned to his coach, Ray Sharp.
“Hey, can I go
cross out the ‘M’ in the end zone?” he asked, sneaking in words through his role as Ohio State mascot Brutus Buckeye.
Sharp — who, Moody later learned, had thought he was simply being asked if Brutus could go on the field — answered in the affirmative.
Moody jumped on the opportunity, dragging Brutus Buckeye’s feet in diagonal lines through the snow and amplifying a tradition
Ohio Statebrought from Columbus to The Big House for the 2025 edition of the storied football rivalry.
He crossed out the “M” in Michigan, before using the same technique to draw script Ohio, expecting jeers to fill the snowy air or tall boys to be thrown his way.
Instead, he didn’t see or hear much reaction.
“I just thought no one saw that I did it,” Moody told
cleveland.com last week after graduating and publicly revealing his identity as a Brutus.
A later visit from Fox studio host Rob Stone, who showed a clip of his network airing what Brutus did, debunked Moody’s theory.
Everyone had seen his antics, from the camera crew displaying it on national airwaves to the avalanche of reporters in the press box reaching for their phones. It instantly became a viral moment.
Moody, as someone with access to Brutus Buckeye’s Instagram account, saw the flood of notifications when he got onto OSU’s bus after the win. The buzz extended to his personal life, where those who knew he was behind the mascot head filled his phone with messages and calls.
“Are you going to get expelled from Ohio State?” his grandmother asked.
As he sifted through the mayhem, he saw a screengrab of the moment already being sold on T-shirts — a glimpse into the magnitude of what he had just done.
The
Ohio State–Michigan rivalry is about iconic moments from legendary figures. It produces snapshots that hang on walls overlooking dining room tables. It etches names into history, from Woody Hayes to
Jeremiah Smith and Bo Schembechler to Aidan Hutchinson.
But the newest photo plastered on shirts, social media posts and basement walls didn’t come from a former five-star prospect or an immortalized coach. It came from a Fredericktown, Ohio, native who lived out a dream while unknowingly, and secretly, cementing himself in The Game’s lore.
Life as Ohio State’s Spider-Man
Moody was intrigued by the secret life of Brutus, but he never envisioned becoming the student with an iconic mascot head hiding under the bed in his dorm.
He is a fourth-generation Buckeye, one born into passionate fandom, who started his time as a student at Ohio State’s Mansfield campus.
“I wanted to stay close to home, go to a small school,” Moody said.
It wasn’t until he saw an Instagram ad for Brutus Buckeye tryouts that his move to Columbus started to come together.
Moody remembers sitting in elementary school, wondering to himself, “That’d be so cool to be Brutus.” However, a sixth-grade teacher once mentioned that Ohio State recruited people into the Brutus role, looking particularly at students who had worked as mascots in high school.
When he saw open tryouts, his interest resurfaced. Moody drove from Mansfield to Columbus for tryouts during his freshman year, sometimes asking his professors to let him leave class early. He made the team April 24, 2023, spent the summer working various Brutus events and moved to Columbus for his new double life.
“I feel like I’m basically Spider-Man, right?” Moody said with a laugh, his tone portraying the bewilderment that still comes with getting the role. “You have this whole secret identity. I’m struggling with school. I’m just, on the outside, this broke, struggling college student, but on the inside I’m like this celebrity that everyone knows.”
Moody once made an on-campus appearance as Brutus and, while in costume, spotted a classmate. Thirty minutes later, they worked together on a group project.
He’s taken photos with longtime friends, including a peer from his hometown who he’d known since they were 6. Under the mascot head, he’s smiling, knowing how funny the picture will be when the unveiling happens.
Some people around him started to catch on, referring to Moody as Brutus when he’d walk into church. But Moody would stand tall, telling them he’s on the cheer team. They just didn’t see him because he was working through a back injury.
“I did have a little tweak,” Moody said. “I just may have let them think it was more extensive than it was.”
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