WALK-ON TC CAFFEY SHOWING HE BELONGS IN OHIO STATE’S RUNNING BACK ROOM
Even though he wasn’t offered a scholarship by Ohio State, TC Caffey had his heart set on becoming a Buckeye.
A prolific runner at Hubbard High School, where he rushed for 2,638 yards and 37 touchdowns to earn first-team All-Ohio honors as a senior, Caffey had offers from several smaller Division I programs, including Army, Charlotte and Youngstown State. Offered an opportunity to join the
Buckeyes as a preferred walk-on, however, Caffey felt he couldn’t pass it up.
“It was a big dream for me,” Caffey said of playing for Ohio State. “I'm a competitive person. And I felt like this was the most competitive place to be. We got the most talented people in America playing this game here. And really just being able to come out here and compete with them every day, building myself as a man and as a football player.”
Hubbard coach Brian Hoffman said he and his assistant coaches told Caffey he should consider taking one of his scholarship offers, knowing he might have a clearer path to the field at one of those schools. But Hoffman never doubted that Caffey was capable of playing for Ohio State.
“I knew going to Ohio State as a walk-on could be an uphill battle, but I also when I talked to (former OSU running backs coach Tony Alford) when he was getting recruited, told him like, ‘This guy is gonna come in there and play for you. I believe that.’ He's the exception to the rule – his character, his work ethic, his dedication, I really believe he is going to help that football team,” Hoffman recalled.
Going into his third year as a Buckeye, Caffey is starting to prove Hoffman right.
While discussing Ohio State’s running backs after last weekend’s Student Appreciation Day practice, Day made a point of highlighting Caffey alongside the scholarship running backs as someone he expects to contribute to that unit this season.
“The other guy who’s been very, very good in there and I think is going to play for us and get carries for us is TC Caffey,” Day said. “He's done a very good job, he's very disciplined in his approach and he’s a guy that can really bring value for us.”
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