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AFTER SEASON-ENDING INJURY IN 2016, OHIO STATE WILL WELCOME BACK TRACY SPRINKLE TO DEFENSIVE LINE
In the first quarter of Ohio State’s 2016 season-opener against Bowling Green, with the Buckeyes already comfortably leading 21-7, Falcons running back Fred Coppet took a handoff up the middle for a modest 2-yard gain.
Ohio State defensive end Jalyn Holmes and linebacker Raekwon McMillan were credited with the tackle on the play, but as players from both teams slowly rose to their feet, one member of the Buckeyes’ defense laid on the turf. And after a brief delay, Tracy Sprinkle got up and needed assistance getting off the field. He did not return to the game.
Afterward, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer revealed Sprinkle suffered a patellar tendon injury that would require season-ending surgery. Just like that, less than 15 minutes into his first year as a starter for the Buckeyes, Sprinkle’s season was over.
“Tracy is the heart of the D-line, man, and it was hard dealing with that in the locker room,” Holmes said following Sprinkle’s injury. “He’s everything to the D-linemen and I just feel for him right now. He’s everything to us and it’s going to be hard to replace him but he’s going to be with us throughout the whole process.”
TRACY SPRINKLE NAMED TO WUERFFEL TROPHY WATCH LIST
The award is presented to the best student-athlete with exemplary community service July 18, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle is on the watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy, which is awarded to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement.
Sprinkle, who graduated in May with his degree in family resource management, is one of the leaders of a talented and deep defensive line. He worked hard to become a starter for the Buckeyes last year, but he injured his knee in his first career start and missed the remainder of the season.
The Elyria, Ohio, native's community service efforts are plentiful and include: working at the Nationwide Children's Hospital telethon; spending an afternoon with kids at the Martin Luther King Arts Complex; packing boxes of food at the LifeCare Alliance and the Mid-Ohio Foodbank on multiple occasions; visiting numerous schools to read to second graders as part of the 2nd and 7 Foundation; visiting patients at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; and completing outreach efforts at Linden McKinley and with the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
OHIO STATE'S TRACY SPRINKLE STRIVING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE OFF THE FIELD BY INSPIRING COLUMBUS' YOUTH
There might not be a player on Ohio State's roster that has been through more ups and downs than Tracy Sprinkle.
The Elyria, Ohio native had his college football career nearly come to a stop before it even started as he was arrested, suspended and dismissed from Urban Meyer's Ohio State program in the summer of 2014 after facing multiple charges stemming from a bar fight.
Sprinkle would later be cleared of all drug charges and reinstated to the football program, playing on an Ohio State team that would go on to win the 2014 national title.
His struggles weren't over yet, though. After sitting behind the likes of Adolphus Washington, Tommy Schutt and Joel Hale in 2014 and 2015, Sprinkle finally appeared ready to make his first on-field contributions to the team.
He earned his first career start in the 2016 season opener against Bowling Green, but suffered a season-ending injury against the Falcons, something his position coach Larry Johnson worried he might not come back from.
"Tracy has been tested in his life and what he kept doing is fight back," Johnson said in August. "I have never seen a guy work so hard in rehab to get back to where he is right now. He shouldn't be playing, but he worked so hard to get here."
MICHIGAN NOTEBOOK: SENIORS FINISH WITH PERFECT RECORD AGAINST MICHIGAN, SAM HUBBARD'S BIG DAY AND JOHN O'KORN TAKES BLAME
Fifth-year senior Chris Worley joined his 2013 classmates J.T. Barrett, Marcus Baugh, Michael Hill, Tyquan Lewis, Billy Price and Tracy Sprinkle as players who will walk away with five pairs of Gold Pants following Saturday's win.