Buckeyes cornerback Cam Calhoun is from Cincinnati. He understood the implications of committing to TTUN at the "Shoe" during "The Game." Calhoun did it anyway during the 2022 edition of the rivalry game, an eventual 45-23 win for the Maize and Blue.
Now that he's finally made it home, Calhoun is fully owning up to the stunt. Calhoun called his past decision "childish" and admitted that it was a decision fueled by the lack of an offer from Ryan Day coming out of Winton Woods.
“It was a mistake on how I did it. I feel like everything I did had a purpose. Just me committing on the field was kind of just like a childish thing,” Calhoun told Eleven Warriors. “Me and Coach Day talked about that as I was coming in, and I feel like that's something that we both have now decided, just because of the work and the process and the trust I'm starting to gain within the team. But, yeah, I feel like it was just a childish thing. I didn't get the offer (from Ohio State), so I kind of just reacted. But God put me in this position now, so I'm just thankful.”
Very few are willing to make amends for past actions like Calhoun just did. Day not holding it against Calhoun and seeing the value of the player in spite of the extra-curriculars speaks to Day's own maturity.
Calhoun earned Day's attention after a journey that passed through stops at TTUN, a Kyle Whittingham-coached Utah team that named Morgan Scalley the coach-in-waiting the summer before the season, and Kalen DeBoer's Crimson Tide last year.
Cam Calhoun has a unique perspective on 'The Game' this year
There are only a handful of players who have been in a Whittingham-led locker room and a locker room in Ann Arbor. Calhoun brings that unique perspective to the Buckeyes this coming season as an ex-Ute and a Wolverine commit out of high school.
Calhoun's one year with the enemy up north was a championship year. That was under Jim Harbaugh, though, and he had 13 defensive snaps all year. The more valuable year was 2024 in Utah. That's when Calhoun got to experience the nuances of a Whittingham-coached team. He also amassed the majority of his defensive snaps in Salt Lake City. Calhoun was mostly a special teams player for Alabama last year.
What Calhoun saw is valuable intel. He could get into the mind of the enemy with more ease than anyone.
Things have changed, of course, so the intel isn't completely up to date Wolverines-wise, or even Whittingham-wise. Calhoun doesn't know what Jay Hill is about. He played for Jesse Minter in Maize and Blue. The schemes will be largely unfamiliar.
Again, though, all of his experiences give the coaching staff more to work with than they would've had otherwise for "The Game." This century, there have only been three players who've gone from Ann Arbor to Columbus.
Calhoun has one of those rare perspectives. Hopefully, it can be used as an asset in Week 13.
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