‘A Young Man Who is Going to Pick Ohio State Picks Competition’
Quarterback Tate Martell sat down at a table this past February surrounded by at least a dozen media members.
It was signing day for Ohio State and the freshmen who had enrolled in the winter spent some time talking to reporters. One of the common topics of conversation for Martell was why he signed with Ohio State when they already had Joe Burrow and Dwayne Haskins in front of him, and 2018 5-star prospect Emory Jones coming in behind him.
To put it another way, some kept wondering why he didn’t choose an easier path for himself.
“I have no issue with having to compete for a position,” he said at the time. “This is not where I want to stop. I want to go on and play in the NFL. I’m happy to go out and compete against the best guy out there.”
The Ohio State football program may provide a clearer path to the NFL than any other university in the nation. But
clearer doesn’t mean
easier.
There is nothing easy about choosing this path. It is painful, arduous, and uncomfortable. It is also one hell of a recruiting draw for the right kind of player.
“A young man who is going to pick Ohio State picks competition,” linebacker coach Billy Davis said this spring. “There are easier paths to take. You can go to another school that’s in the Big Ten or somewhere where you can start earlier. If you pick here, you pick to come through the hard, competitive road, and that competition alone brings out the best in you.”
The results don’t shrink under scrutiny either. They stand out.
Entire article:
http://theozone.net/2017/06/pick-ohio-state-picks-competition/