For the Ohio State Buckeyes, the quest to bathe in more confetti began Dec. 4 when they learned they will play Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl at 7 p.m. Dec. 31 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Their College Football Playoff run in 2014 should pay dividends this year even if the majority of the starters on that team play in the NFL now.
“It’s very humbling,” Price said Thursday, “to be able to sit back and look at all this stuff around here, and you’re like, ‘I was in that Big Ten Championship Game. I was in that Sugar Bowl game. I was in that Fiesta Bowl game. I was in that national championship game. I played next to those guys.’ It’s very, very humbling to sit here and look at all the things you’ve been able to accomplish and how blessed you really are around this place.”
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Price, an Austintown Fitch graduate who was as first-year starter as a redshirt freshman in 2014. He started every game that season and has started every game since. He was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America first team Wednesday.
Like all Ohio State All-Americans, Price will get a tree in Buckeye Grove.
“Oh yeah, I can’t wait to bring my little one,” Price said. “I don’t have one yet. Everyone is probably thinking, ‘Oh, you got a little one?’ No, slow down. But yeah, I think there’s a huge tradition behind it, and it really was something that I wanted to be a proud of and put my stamp on. You’ll go down in the history books as an All-American.”
Price’s dad was so excited he asked Price to send him a photo of the tree in Buckeye Grove.
“I said, ‘Dad, it’s in the middle of winter. I’m not planting trees right now,’” Price said. “My parents were really, really proud of it. Everybody around me was. It was a surreal moment and once you kind of see it, you’re like, ‘Wow, pretty cool.’”
After this season, Price faces a big decision. He could declare for the NFL draft, or he could follow the path of teammate Pat Elflein, who returned for a fifth season this year, moved from guard to center and won the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s top center.
Price didn’t want to discuss his decision Thursday. Elflein said the two have discussed Price’s situation.
“Just the pros and cons of what I experienced leaving and coming back and what you can still do here and all that,” Elflein said. “It’s a little different, but it was a no-brainer for me and it’s paid off 1,000 percent. I don’t think you could ask for a better fifth year.”
NEXT GAME
Ohio State vs. Clemson, 7 p.m., Dec. 31, ESPN, 1410
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