There are three new official members of the Ohio State football team.
Urban Meyer may be gone, but several of the traditions that he started continue — and that includes the removal of the black stripe from an Ohio State player’s helmet.
Every new Buckeye has a black stripe running down the middle of his helmet. When he has done enough good things in practice, he gets that stripe removed and is able to sport the same silver helmet as every other established player.
On Thursday, a trio of walk-on linebackers earned this privilege.
Senior Logan Hittle, and redshirt freshmen Ben Schmiesing and Cade Kacherski all had their black stripes removed following Thursday’s practice.
You can see their videos below.
Kacherski is the son of former Buckeye defensive end John Kacherski (1987-1991, captain 1991) and played high school ball at nearby Dublin Jerome High School where he was an All-State selection.
Schmiesing (pictured above) played at Piqua High School and was an All-Ohio selection at linebacker and running back. He was also an all-conference player in basketball.
In talking with linebackers coach Al Washington on Thursday, he said Schmiesing had a great day running with the twos throughout practice.
“‘Schmeezy’ I call him, he’s a freshman walk-on from Piqua got out there and got a lot of two reps today and ran the show,” Washington said. “It’s pretty cool to see stuff like that, and then you see Tuf working with him and talking to him.”
Hittle, as you’ll see mentioned in his video, has repped at both running back and linebacker for the Buckeyes. He played high school ball at Tri-Valley in Nashport.
Logan Hittle
￭?This guy epitomizes Relentless Effort! Congrats to @_hittle20 for losing the black stripe!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/I9rFdKas2i
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 21, 2019
Cade Kacherski
￭? The LB room is on ?! @cadekacherski1, get that black stripe off!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/8cGHTBFKWW
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 21, 2019
Ben Schmiessing
￭? The third LB of the day to lose the black stripe ‼️ Congratulations @Ben_Schmiesing!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/WRZIMDs6fV
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) March 21, 2019
Black Stripe Chart
LB Logan Hittle – March 21
LB Cade Kacherski – March 21
LB Ben Schmiesing – March 21
My sons play youth soccer and I wish I could explain to them exactly what we’re seeing in these videos, such that it leaks through the scull of a teenager:
1) Each freshman was confident in how they spoke
2) Each freshman was humble
3) Each freshman was thankful for his coaching
4) Each freshman was mentored by this teammates
4) The team was genuinely happy for their accomplishment.
That’s culture. That’s winning. That’s Ohio State football.
Congrats to all three. A huge step for them.