Real Life Wednesdays (Real World)

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Ohio State football players pay it forward at Special Skills Invitational

Members of the Ohio State football team got a chance to serve as coaches for the Special Skills Invitational on Friday.

247sports.com

Ohio State football players pay it forward at Special Skills Invitational​

Members of the Ohio State football team got a chance to serve as coaches for the Special Skills Invitational on Friday.​

For over a decade, members of the Ohio State football team have taken a day out of their summer to serve as coaches for the Special Skills Football Invitational for kids and young adults with special needs.

Over 200 eager campers were on hand today at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. This was a camp started by then-OSU coach Urban Meyer in 2013. Ryan Day continued the tradition after he took over in 2019. OSU football personnel, coaches and players have volunteered their time, allowing these special needs athletes to have an opportunity to play on the same practice field as the Buckeyes.

The Ohio Chapter of the NFL Alumni Association has been represented by paring up with current OSU football players in helping to run these special needs individuals/athletes through football drills and skills.

Athletes from 12 different counties across Central Ohio were able to participate with over 100 volunteers on hand to help supervise the event.

Our friends at NBC4 Columbus were on hand and captured video interviews with several OSU players to discuss their involvement in the event as well as their preparations for the season ahead. Check out the video comments below from quarterback Will Howard as well as linebackers Cody Simon, Sonny Styles and C.J. Hicks.

"It's great having a chance to give back," Hicks said. "Some of these kids don't get the opportunity to experience some of the things that we get to. It's great just helping them out, seeing what it's like. Seeing the smiles on their face and seeing their celebrations, it's hilarious and I love it."

Simon shared the sentiment of how this is a day for the football team to give back to the community that provides so much support.

"We have a lot of the football players out here today," Simon said. "It's always good to make people's day and it makes our day, too. We get to come out here and encourage these guys and girls to come out here and do their best, so it's a great day.

"Being at Ohio State, there are a lot of opportunities to develop your character and outside of football. This is a great chance to do that."

For Howard – a fifth-year senior transfer from Kansas State – this was his first time participating in this camp at Ohio State.

"It's awesome," Howard said. "Doing stuff like this is why we do what we do and giving back to the community. Working with these people, it is so fun. It gives me so much joy to see them having fun. It brings us together as a team because we're all out here working together."
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