Ohio State Strives To Start Well And Age Even Better

History is not against this young Ohio State team achieving great things. But they must grow up fast at key positions, be resilient, execute at a high level and play for each other in the manner of last year’s team.

Columbus, OH – An idea – one awash in what it means to be a team captain – struck Brandon Inniss after practice Tuesday night. An idea he couldn’t ignore.

He texted newly appointed starting quarterback Julian Sayin to say he was proud of him. Inniss wanted to help Sayin feel calm before facing a Texas-sized storm Saturday, before he takes his first snap as a starter in the most anticipated season opener in over a century of openers at stately Ohio Stadium.

“He feels so much pressure right now,” said Inniss, a junior wide receiver making his first start. “Honestly, he just needs some words of encouragement.”

The time for all Buckeyes to come of age – to stand by each other – is now.

Not just because No. 1 Texas invades at noon Saturday. Actually, that’s probably enough reason. But also, because so much is new, the season goes by quickly, and the reaching of big goals requires maturity and maximizing opportunities.

Sayin isn’t the only Buckeye feeling pressure. Around here you must grow up fast to win big games and to do something as audacious as repeat as national champions. Such achievements require execution, resiliency, playing for each other.

Last year’s senior-laden and talent-rich team set the standard and was the rare team that lived up to the brotherhood ideal all football teams claim. They could have collapsed, maybe got their coach fired, and endured a lifetime of regrets. But they locked arms and didn’t let it go down that way.

This team, while ranked No. 3 and faced with high expectations because of the uniforms they wear, will be forgiven if they don’t climb the same mountain and plant a national championship flag.

Some players – the ones who were key contributors last year – know what it takes. They are of age to understand what is required, including sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the consensus best player in the country. If any young players wonder if they are old enough to reach such lofty heights, all they need to do is look at the linebacker in the Block O jersey.

Sonny Styles is a 20-year-old senior and easily the youngest of the six players to wear Ohio State’s number of responsibility. He graduated from Pickerington Central a year early. He wanted the challenge of playing football at the high level demanded to get on the field in scarlet and gray.

Every mature quality you can name that a football coach wants in a leader, is what Ryan Day and his staff see in Styles. When the moment came to announce the Block O honoree last week after finishing a practice in the Horseshoe, All-American safety Caleb Downs knew what was coming.

“That’s my brother,” Downs said after practice Wednesday and flashed a smile. “I don’t think anybody else would have deserved it more than him. He’s put so much into this program. When they brought up the award before they announced it, I was like, ‘Sonny, it’s coming. It’s you for sure.’ That’s a tremendous honor, and I’m proud of him.”

Styles understood the honor because he had seen recent Block O winners Cody Simon, Xavier Johnson and Kamryn Babb wear it well.

“Once they said my name for the Block O, the first thing that came to mind was just thinking about the guys who got it before me – those are the guys I looked up to,” he said. “When you wear that Block O, that means you’re representing everything a Buckeye’s supposed to be.”

As a 20-year-old who turns 21 in November, Styles’ duty as the Block O guy and a captain is to help players like Sayin come of age even though it’s weird to think of himself as “the old guy.” He understands the responsibilities.

“Just setting an example for what it’s supposed to look like … the way you treat people, how hard you work, the way you prepare, the way you carry yourself around the building, the way you treat the people upstairs in the kitchen,” he said. “It’s a lot bigger than just being a football player.”

A little before noon Saturday, Styles, Inniss, Downs and Austin Siereveld will walk to midfield as captains for the first time and choose heads or tails. That’s the ceremonial part of being captain. The real leadership happens in practice, in the film and weight rooms and in the heated moments of the game.

How will Sayin, untested running backs and other unproven starters handle those moments? Will they grow up quickly? Inniss believes Sayin is ready, and he knows what he will tell him Saturday morning.

“You’ve been ready for this moment your whole life,” Inniss said. “Don’t make it bigger than what it is but know the expectations that we all have for you. You’re gonna do great. We here for you. Just win the game.”

That was the goal for an eighth-ranked Ohio State team that was thought to be a year away from championship contention in 2014. That was even more the case on September 6, 2014, when Virginia Tech left Columbus with a 35-21 claim to fame.

All that team did was win every other game it played to give Urban Meyer a championship. Those Buckeyes came of age quickly. How well will this team age? Texas is just a first step, and the outcome won’t promise anything no matter how much the TV types tell us it has.

Day knows his team will win a lot of games as it always does. But he doesn’t know what to expect Saturday except that bad and challenging moments will come. That’s why his message is find a way to win. He wants them avoid to performance and statistical expectations of any kind. He knows they aren’t collectively old enough and wise enough to always let failures go. There’s only so much the captains and other veterans can convince a young player, down on himself, to let go of and move on.

“The only expectation is to win,” Day said. “When you’re playing against an excellent opponent, it’s not going to go the way you think. So we have got to take one play at a time, play as hard as we can, stick together and find a way to win. And that’s it.”

And when it’s over, stand with his players, sing “Carmen Ohio,” and hope his thought is, “Man, they sure do grow up fast.”