Every Ohio State football player is facing unique difficulties as the work to stay in shape right now during this uncertain period.
Offensive lineman Matthew Jones had to fill milk jugs with dirt and use them as dumbbells. Tight end Jeremy Ruckert didn’t have a squat rack, so he and his dad built one out of wood.
But redshirt sophomore WR Kamryn Babb may have one of the toughest challenges right now, as he works to get back on the field after suffering a serious knee injury in March 2019.
Babb was the No. 73 player overall in the 2018 recruiting class, one of 13 players ranked in the top-100 to sign with the Buckeyes that year. He came to Columbus with sky-high expectations, but has yet to step on the field during a game.
No one has questioned his talent; he simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He suffered a season-ending leg injury as a high school sophomore at Christian Brothers College in St. Louis, and then again as a senior.
Babb arrived at Ohio State in the summer of 2018 ready for a fresh start, and then immediately tore his ACL during a non-contact workout a couple weeks later. He redshirted that year as he recovered.
He entered spring ball the next year as an intriguing name to watch, went through a few practices, and then tore up his knee again in March 2019. He missed all of last year as well. That’s four season-ending leg injuries in the span of five seasons.
But Babb has refused to quit. He was back at practice with the Ohio State team this spring, although he had not been cleared for every drill.
After the COVID-19 pandemic shut down spring practice, Babb, like every other Buckeye player, was largely on his own. And like his teammates, he’s doing everything he can to get prepared to play a college football season this fall.
Over the weekend, Babb’s mother posted a video of the wide receiver working out. It’s far more activity than he was doing when spring football practice opened in March, and hopefully a sign that Babb might finally get a chance to get out on the field and fulfill all the potential he has shown.
No has seen is the endless hours of hard work! The silent fight when no has been watching, all have been thinking the negative you have kept your eyes on God, believed in yourself, kept fighting when the world gave you every reason to give up! So proud of u son, I ♥️ u @kamm_o pic.twitter.com/VaUrmLP5vr
— Momma Bear ❤️❤️❤️ (@AlanaTempleton) May 17, 2020
rooting for him–perseverance pays off and root a little extra for the guys who get injured–love the never give up spirit!
following young people who persevere and overcome, especially through multiple setbacks over several years…
what a great example, and inspiration.
and any writer or fan can honor them by… writing descriptively, instead of ‘narrating’ and branding or being branded.
and any writer or fan can choose his values, and choose to follow the standards coach Day has set for Buckeye football followers of all kinds.
I wish the kid the best. 1st Buckeye I remember having that kind of hard luck his whole career was Mike D’Andrea and I hope Kamryn gets a better deal of the cards than that.
Andrew, “IF only we could” rely on the best ever Dealer, instead of ‘better deals’ by far lesser dealers that ‘get me’ so excited… for every marked game in town.
you’d think we’d learn from refs calling or not calling ‘holding’… depending on which team ‘has’ the ball…. LOL
===>anyone remember Clint Eastwood’s movie “The Unforgiven”… coming unbidden to mind? Sidney’s “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner”?
I’m nearly as old as you are and of course I know the kid may well never play a down ever again. But I hope that’s not how it unfolds.