Saturday will have a lot of festivities going on for the Ohio State football program. They decided to make it Senior Day in a strange move by Ross Bjork. Jim Tressel will also be enshrined in the Ring of Honor during halftime of the opener against Ball State, which will be a great honor.
Before the game, the Ohio State Buckeyes will have someone ring the Victory Bell after Bjork started the tradition a year ago. For Week 1, the Buckeyes will bring back a player who played just one year for the program before suing the NFL. Maurice Clarett will get the honor.
Former Ohio State RB Maurice Clarett will ring the Victory Bell ahead of Ball State game
Clarett will be the player to ring the Victory Bell, completing an incredible arc for Clarett. For those who don't remember Clarett, he was one of the most talented running backs the Buckeyes have ever had. He started for Ohio State on the 2002 team that won the national championship.
After just one season, Clarett tried to challenge the NFL ruling that banned players from declaring for the draft for three years. He lost that challenge and was declared ineligible by former athletic director Andy Geiger. Geiger fumbled the situation so much that he was quickly replaced with Gene Smith.
Clarett never played for the Buckeyes again. He was a third-round pick by the Broncos in the 2005 NFL Draft, but was cut. He was later arrested and sent to prison on gun charges and never got a shot to play in the NFL. However, he has since turned his life around.
Clarett has turned into a motivational speaker, sharing his story with young people. He wants to make sure that kids don't make the same mistakes he did when he was younger. Now, he has made enough peace with the university that they are welcoming him back with open arms.
Ohio State should crush Ball State in the season-opener
The Buckeyes shouldn't have any issues dispatching the Cardinals in the first game of the season. Ohio State is a massive favorite, and they will likely play most of their backups in the second half of this game. They are really preparing for a big matchup against Texas in Week 2.
That is the first real test that this team will face as the number-one ranked team in the country. However, the first game of the year will be a great moment for both Clarett and Tressel. Tressel stood by Clarett when he was having his personal struggles, and the two remain close today.
Ohio State fans have been waiting for this game from the moment the Buckeyes fell to Miami in the Cotton Bowl a year ago. They are looking to start off a campaign that could end up in a national championship, which would put Ryan Day in rarified air.
The Buckeyes are going to be the favorites to win most of their games this season, and Saturday is just the start of that.
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