Ohio State’s Grant Schwartz plays role of tour guide
What was arguably the biggest play of Grant Schwartz’s Ohio State career took place not on a field but in a tunnel.
About an hour before the Buckeyes’ annual showdown with Michigan, the junior wide receiver from Dana Hills High was walking toward the locker room as the maize-clad Michigan team left its dressing room to take the field.
Ahead of him, Schwartz says he saw two teammates swerve out of the way of a Michigan player, but he decided not to move, throwing a shoulder into his opponent and touching off a melee that was captured -- and replayed endlessly -- on national TV.
“I definitely heard there was a lot of support for that,” said Schwartz, whose team won that game, clinching its berth in today’s Rose Bowl.
“It was something that Woody Hayes would have been proud of,” said Schwartz’s father, Brian, who played for the irascible Hayes at Ohio State and was on the Buckeyes’ 1980 Rose Bowl team.
“Woody Hayes had always said, ‘Hey, you see something blue, you hit it. I don’t care whether it’s a cheerleader or a player.’ ”
Schwartz isn’t likely to be starting any fights today. Whatever game action he sees is likely to be limited to special teams. But as the only Southern Californian on the Buckeyes’ Rose Bowl roster, he has been useful as a tour guide over the last week.
“They call me Google Grant,” he said of his teammates. “It’s definitely a cool experience to be with all my Ohio State teammates and finally be on my own home turf where there’s more Lakers jerseys than Cavs jerseys.”
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