In a surprising development, the Ohio State football team ventured outside of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center practice facility on Thursday night.
The team has had no official exposure with any media since the start of fall camp, outside of a short walk into a hotel in front of media cameras and a 30-minute practice viewing window.
However, Thursday the Buckeyes broke free from their hermetically-sealed bubble and headed over to Ohio Stadium for the OTR II tour featuring Beyoncé and Jay-Z.
The evening provides not just a welcome break from the drudgery of fall camp, but also serves as proof of life for a number of members of the program.
As you can see at the top of the page, players such as Jeffrey Okudah, Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, and Johnnie Dixon posed for a photo with DJ Khaled, one of the opening acts.
At this time, it appears the players made it through their interaction with Khaled. One explanation may come from the artist’s best-known hit “All I Do Is Win.” That would seemingly preclude other activities, such as asking questions.
The Ohio State football program’s Instagram account, which has been the team’s primary method of communication with the outside world this month, shared several additional images and videos from the evening.
One was a selfie from starting offensive lineman Isaiah Prince which also includes players such as Josh Alabi, Chase Young, and Demario McCall (right).
If the team survives exposure to the outside world, it will be back in the Horseshoe on September 1 for the season opener against Oregon State.
You can get a taste of the concert below.
Beyoncé and JAY-Z have hit the stage! #OTRII #Columbushttps://t.co/PqYL1PSYCR pic.twitter.com/UU5rXpxagr
— OTRII (@OTR_II) August 17, 2018