Peach Bowl A Homecoming For Ohio State Linebacker, Georgia Native Steele Chambers
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While this marks the first-ever trip to the Peach Bowl for Ohio State, redshirt junior linebacker Steele Chambers notably played a pair of state championship games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during his high school career.
The results were mixed, as Roswell (Ga.) Blessed Trinity Catholic fell to Westminster in overtime during his freshman season in 2015 before Chambers ended his career with two-score win over Cartersville in 2018.
He nearly played a third game in the venue, as well, which is home to the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, but the 2017 state title game – which the Titans also won – was postponed and moved to a different location due to a snowstorm.
“This is a lot bigger deal, honestly, to me and to all the guys around me,” Chambers said during his media availability on Wednesday. “I try to forget about the past, just try to move forward and think about this game coming up as something bigger than what I’ve been used to in the past.”
Chambers isn’t the only Georgia native on the team, though, as he’s joined by sophomore cornerback Jordan Hancock (Suwanee North Gwinnett), freshman wide receiver Kojo Antwi (Suwanee Lambert) and freshman tight end Bennett Christian (Acworth Allatoona).
Hancock also played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as the Bulldogs participated in the Corky Kell Classic during his sophomore year of high school in 2018. He nearly played the state championship game in the venue the season prior, too, but it was moved due to the aforementioned snowstorm.
“I played in that stadium back in high school and I always went to Falcons games,” Hancock said during his media availability on Dec 14. “It’s going to be electric. Just seeing all of Athens come out is going to be fun, but Buckeye Nation travels well, too, we’re going to feel like home.”
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Of course, their familiarity with Mercedes-Benz Stadium won’t give the Buckeyes any sort of advantage over Georgia in the Peach Bowl on Saturday, seeing as this will be the third game the Bulldogs have played there this season. But playing close to home is a welcome change nonetheless.
“I live like 25 minutes away,” Chambers said. “It’s just been really nice being close to home, just having a lot of people from my family being able to come out to the game. They usually can’t, so it’s just been nice.
“My dog’s pretty close. That will be fun to see him whenever the game is over. I think it’s just really nice being able to come home, play in a place that’s familiar to me before I got into college. I think that will be really fun.”
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