Ohio State football great on Youngstown State sideline

Ohio State football great on Youngstown State sideline #GoBucks

The [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] team will kick off its 2023 season opener against the Youngstown State Penguins at noon today. Although most people are commenting or laughing at the fact Ohio State is playing a lower-level, FCS opponent, there are some pretty cool connections between the two Ohio universities.

Youngstown State has been a frequent transfer destination for some former Ohio State Buckeyes including [autotag]Marcus Hooker[/autotag], who is the starting safety for the Penguins this season. Hooker transferred to Youngstown State last spring along with former walk-on receiver, [autotag]Blaize Exline[/autotag].

Another fun connection that Ohio State has with Youngstown State is that a former Buckeye great roams their sidelines in former quarterback, [autotag]Mike Tomczak[/autotag].

Now most people remember Tomczak for his cameo in the CBS hit comedy, “Yes, Dear”, but he actually played for Ohio State from 1981 through 1984 and had an extremely long NFL career from 1985 through 2000 and has been coaching for the Penguins since 2017. Tomczak is the current advisor to the head coach and we wish him good luck!

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Ohio State receiver enters transfer portal

Ohio State receiver enters transfer portal #GoBucks

The transfer portal has been a whirlwind to monitor with all of the players  coming and going. We had some good news recently with the arrival of former Syracuse safety Ja’Had Carter. Now comes the bad news: an announcement that freshman receiver Blaize Exline is looking for a new home.

Exline was a true freshman walk-on and faced an uphill battle to see any playing time in his career in Columbus. Exline had an eye-popping high school career, notching an insane 237 receptions for 2,769 yards and 37 touchdowns during his junior and senior seasons combined. Exline shattered 10 records at his Salem High School in Ohio.

He received offers from schools such as Dayton before walking on to Ohio State. After seeing no action this season, Exline has likely seen the writing on the wall and is searching for greener pastures. We wish him good luck!

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