The Pittsburgh Steelers subscribe to the assumption that you would be able to by no means have too many high quality edge rushers. They proved that on Saturday after they drafted Ohio State LB Jack Sawyer within the fourth spherical.
Sawyer actually made some affect performs for the Buckeyes throughout his time in Columbus. However simply who’s he?
JBS Robust
In case you’ve watched Jack Sawyer play for Ohio State during the last season-plus, you in all probability observed the phrase “JBS Robust” written on his wrist tape. JBS stands for a younger man who shared Sawyer’s identify, Jack B Sawyer.
When Sawyer performed at Pickerington Excessive Faculty in Ohio, JBS reached out due to their frequent identify. Then JBS was identified with Ewing sarcoma, a type of most cancers, and battled the illness. Sawyer saved in touch with the youthful JBS and began carrying “JBS Robust” on his wrist tape. Sadly, JBS handed away on Nov. 5, 2023.
“Somebody who was actually an enormous inspiration for me was a very good buddy of mine named Jack Sawyer,” Sawyer mentioned in an ABC/ESPN video package deal aired after he was drafted by the Steelers. “He was from Mentor, Ohio. And he was battling a uncommon type of most cancers. I used to be in a position to attain out to him, develop a reference to him that was actually particular, with him and his household.
“It was going into certainly one of my video games my junior 12 months. I used to be simply sitting within the locker room, and I used to be simply excited about Jack and about his combat. And I made a decision to place him on my arm with me, so I wrote ‘JBS Robust’ for him on my wrist tape. It’s one thing that I’ve continued to do since then, and I’ll proceed to do it within the NFL, too. Only a solution to say I’m excited about him, and he’s on the market on the sphere and competing each time I step on the market.”
Answering The Name
It shouldn’t shock that Jack Sawyer was a power to be reckoned with at Pickerington North Excessive Faculty. However throughout his junior 12 months, he stepped in at quarterback after an damage compelled the group’s hand. And Sawyer delivered on each side of the ball. Per his Ohio State bio, Sawyer threw for 1,056 yards and 9 touchdowns to assist carry Pickerington North into the state playoffs.
Even whereas filling in at quarterback, Sawyer continued to be a recreation wrecker on the defensive aspect of the ball. He was named Ohio Capital Convention -Ohio Division Defensive Participant of the Yr with 37 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, and 10.5 sacks.
He one way or the other discovered time to play basketball in highschool, too, making the varsity group as a freshman.
A Household Of Athletes With Pittsburgh Ties
Each of Sawyer’s dad and mom have been athletes in their very own proper. His father, Lyle, performed soccer at Findlay Faculty in Ohio. His mom, Michelle, was a basketball star at Pickerington earlier than taking part in faculty basketball at Bowling Inexperienced.
Nevertheless it’s Michelle’s father who established a connection to Pittsburgh. Gary Shade performed baseball at Ohio College and was chosen by the Pirates within the third spherical of the 1971 secondary draft. He spent one 12 months with the Niagara Falls Pirates (now the Jamestown Jammers) of the New York-Penn League, a Class A farm group of the Pirates. Ed Ott, who was with the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 1979 World Collection championship group, additionally performed for the Niagara Falls Pirates together with former Pirate (and Yogi Berra’s son) Dale Berra.
Solely The Third HS Freshman To Be Supplied A Scholarship By City Meyer
Typically, we hear of younger highschool gamers getting early scholarship presents. One coach who wasn’t recognized for that: former Ohio State head coach City Meyer. But when Sawyer visited Ohio State throughout a spring observe when he was solely 15, Meyer did the unthinkable.
“He was like, ‘I normally don’t do that with freshmen this early. However we’re going to give you a scholarship,’” Sawyer mentioned in an interview with Cleveland.com in 2018. “It shocked me, too, as a result of they normally don’t do that with, particularly Columbus children, this early as a result of you already know, most of them will commit on the spot or one thing like that.”
In accordance with Cleveland.com, Meyer had solely supplied QB Danny Clark and OL Liam Eichenberg as highschool freshmen earlier than Sawyer.
Sawyer ultimately dedicated to Ohio State, however he by no means performed for Meyer. He as an alternative performed for coach Ryan Day.
Strip-Sacked His Former Faculty Roommate In The CFP
When Sawyer first arrived at Ohio State, he roomed with a quarterback. No, not new Steelers QB Will Howard (chosen within the sixth spherical) however Texas QB Quinn Ewers. The latter shortly transferred to Texas, which had nothing to do with Sawyer.
Sawyer and Ewers have been reunited when Texas and Ohio State confronted off within the 2024 Faculty Soccer Playoff semifinals in January. And Sawyer acquired the higher of his former roommate in an enormous method. He got here across the edge and stripped the ball from Ewers’ hand earlier than scooping the ball up and returning it 83 yards for a landing within the Buckeyes’ 28-14 win.
It was an extremely pivotal second for each the Buckeyes and Longhorns. It crushed Texas’s nationwide championship hopes. And it pushed Ohio State into the title recreation, which it went on to win. However even within the aftermath of the high-stakes recreation, the previous roommates have been nonetheless buddies.
“We was strolling off, he mentioned ‘Screw you’ and began laughing,” Sawyer mentioned in a postgame interview with ESPN. “That’s my boy. Clearly, we have been roommates when he was right here. Received a number of respect for him.”
