Josh Myers Speaks in ESPN College Football Piece on Canceled Big Ten Season
Ohio State redshirt junior offensive lineman Josh Myers represented the Buckeyes in a weekend video for ESPN College Football, as players from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mid-American Conferences spoke about the canceling of their fall seasons.
“This was supposed to be an incredible year for us,” Myers said to open the entire piece. “This was supposed to be a national championship for us. This was supposed to be the year that everything we dreamed of came true.”
The MAC became the first FBS conference to cancel fall sports on August 8. Three days later, the Big Ten and Pac-12 followed accordingly. Other players who spoke in the video were Minnesota defensive back Benjamin St-Juste, Western Michigan offensive lineman Mike Caliendo, Northern Illinois offensive lineman Brayden Patton and Oregon State linebacker Hamilcar Rashed Jr.
“When the schedule came out, it felt good,” St-Juste said. “Everybody was happy to be back and optimistic for a season. I still have no idea why the Big Ten and Pac-12 aren’t playing but it’s safe for the others (SEC, Big 12, ACC) to play.”
Myers, recently voted one of seven Buckeye team captains for this season, helps anchor an offensive line that protects star quarterback Justin Fields and was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award last year. Ohio State was once again a sizeable front-runner to win the Big Ten and right there with Clemson atop the national championship favorites.
“This college football season for me has huge ramifications on the outcome of my life and what I want to do in my career,” Myers added. So, having that taken away is so frustrating and I feel like I should be able to have that choice for myself.”
Fields started a #WeWantToPlay petition on August 16 that gained national backing and now has over 250,000 signatures. He spearheaded a collective voice of many teammates and peers across the league, suggesting they want a larger voice and arguing the on-campus facility is safer than being out and about. Myers certainly echoed that statement in ESPN’s piece.
“It’s so hard for me, as a player, to see everyone else playing their sport… and then we just are not,” Myers continued. “I am more comfortable playing a football season than going into a classroom, because I don’t know where those other people have been. But I know where my teammates have been.”
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