COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State Buckeyes are gearing up for their trip to the Peach Bowl later this month in the College Football Playoff. Players addressed the media for the first time since the loss to Michigan.
What You Need To Know
- The Ohio State Buckeyes will face the Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl
- Players said the mentality of the team was down after the loss to Michigan, but knew they still had a chance to make the CFP
- JT Tuimoloau spoke to the team after the loss to try to keep their hopes up and it had a big impact on the team
- Both Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson won’t be available for the playoffs due to injuries
But after losing to Michigan, players said the mentality of the team was certainly down. At that point, the Bucks weren’t sure they even had a chance at the College Football Playoff. But one young defensive end decided to speak up. Sophomore JT Tuimoloau implored his teammates to keep their heads up and keep their hope to get into the playoffs.
JT addresses the media ahead of the Peach Bowl. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)
“He stood in the middle of us before one of our first practices and basically told us like, ‘hey, there’s still a possibility — let’s not feel sorry for ourselves. Let’s try to get better today,” Tanner McCalister, a safety for OSU, said. “Those practices ended up being pretty good practices to be honest after JT, young guy, stood up and expressed how he was feeling.”
“All the guys in this program are pretty much my motivation,” Tuimoloau said. “It was something I felt like we needed to get back on track and these boys pushed me to go my hardest and bring out the best me every day. So being a young buck and being around them I know where we are as a team, I know what we can bring, so I wanted to go in and reiterate that.”
Some key players won’t be available for the Peach Bowl against Georgia. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been battling an injury all season and announced he won’t be playing in the playoffs in order to get healthy for the NFL draft. And just this week, running back TreVeyon Henderson announced he also won’t be able to play after he’s struggled with a foot injury. Quarterback CJ Stroud said it’s been tough to see how people have reacted to his teammates not playing.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba runs off an injury in the Notre Dame game. (Spectrum News 1/Brandon Coello)
“I know that people were talking about how he should play,” Stroud said. “Y’all have no idea that stuff that he’s been through this year, like no clue. So who are people to talk about my brother like that, you know what I mean? People try to make it seem like he’s not a team player and he doesn’t care about his teammates, that’s total opposite and wrong. I’m on the phone with him every day. How’s practice bro? I’m watching film, I’m doing this, helping out the young receivers. He helped out Marvin so much this year, he helped out Mek, those dudes who had to step up. Same with Trey. You know what I’m saying? It’s unfair for people to try to ridicule Jaxon or Trey or anybody who’s out with injury because that’s the worst part of this game.”
The Buckeyes have a big challenge ahead, as they face the reigning national champions and No. 1 team in the Georgia Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
