The Ohio State Buckeyes are one of the top picks across the country to win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoffs.
In large part, that hype surrounding the Buckeyes stems from the unprecedented amount of returning NFL talent to the roster, led by Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, and star defensive end, Jack Sawyer.
Now, Sawyer, who was one of the key figures that helped spearhead that return, will be taking on a new role as a result.
Not a new defensive role or a position change, but as he told former Buckeyes linebacker Bobby Carpenter during an appearance on The Bobby Carpenter Show, a role of leadership.
“Now, we are the old guys. We have to carry the water,” Sawyer said.
“We have to be the leaders in the locker room. We have to set the standard.
We have to make sure we leave the program better than when we got here.
When we were all talking about coming back, I remember talking to Trey and Emeka about how our leadership would have to be to a different level.
We’d have to hold the team to a different standard.”
Fortunately for the Buckeyes, Sawyer won’t be the only experienced veteran that will be stepping up into a leadership role either.
Egbuka and Henderson either.
Instead, as Sawyer describes, multiple veterans are being more vocal, and stepping up into those roles, including star corner Denzel Burke, as well as many others.
