There is certainly some irony in the fact that the nastiest guy on Ohio State’s offensive line was also the first to break down in tears after the Buckeyes’ win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game this past Saturday.
Sure, everyone on the Buckeye offensive line was happy, and they have all climbed their own personal mountains to get where they’ve gotten, but a year ago at this time, Jonah Jackson had only ever experienced four Big Ten wins in his four years at Rutgers, and just 11 wins total.
After one season as a Buckeye, however, he is now sitting at 13 wins this season and 10 wins against the Big Ten.
Appreciative of his time at Rutgers — and a proud graduate of the university — Jackson transferred after last season, looking for an opportunity to help out a winner.
He eventually ended up at Ohio State and both he and the Buckeyes could not have had a better connection.
Jackson was named a First-Team All-Big Ten selection this season and routinely led the team in knockdowns. He helped to provide a nasty streak that was missing from last year’s offensive line.
Even though Jackson came to Columbus with an eye on a starting job, the Ohio State offensive line welcomed him with open arms upon his arrival.
And those open arms continued Saturday night as teammates found Jackson among the crowd on the field to give him a hug and offer him their congratulations.
For Jackson, he tried to play it cool, but it was unlikely anybody was buying it.
“I had to put my head down, man, I broke down in tears. It was just surreal,” Jackson said, sitting at his locker after the game, eyes still red and puffy with championship tears.
“All the guys were coming up to me ‘Congrats, congrats,’ and they didn’t even know I was crying. I’m acting like I’m still focused, but I’m breaking down in tears, man. That’s first time I cried in a long time. So it was incredible.”
Jackson helped to bring a mean streak to an Ohio State offense that was lacking it last season. Some would say the OSU offensive line wouldn’t have been able to do it without him, though Jackson isn’t one of those people.
“I don’t believe that,” he said. “Those guys in that room, Wyatt, Josh, Thayer, Josh Alabi, Branden Bowen, those dudes. I believe if I wasn’t here, they’d still be in the same position. I just felt like I came in and gave a little extra oomph.”
The opposing defensive lines always felt the oomph, and it gave his teammates an example to follow.
Jonah Jackson left Rutgers for an opportunity like this. He came to Ohio State to experience this very moment. And even though he thought about it and dreamed about it, his expectations still had no shot of preparing him for the reality of a Big Ten title.
“Man, it’s such a surreal moment,” he said. “I was just emotional a second ago, so I’ve lost my voice a little bit, but I’m just so blessed to be here with these guys, this staff and everybody in this organization and the people that are part of the Buckeye history.
“It is a blessing I can’t even have imagined. This is not exactly how I thought it would be, but I had a dream about it. And I feel like I’m still dreaming. I’m still dreaming. This is incredible.”
