Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is still pushing for the Big Ten to reverse course and play football this fall, but one of the team’s top players has decided to stop waiting and move on to the next step of his playing career.
Guard Wyatt Davis announced that he is declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s the first Ohio State player to make that decision and joins many others from around the country who have already decided that they are done with college football.
Davis called it “heartbreaking” not to play one more season with the Buckeyes and said that Day was “in full support” of his decision to turn his attention to next year.
“My family and I were waiting to hear any good news that there would be a possibility to play in the fall,” Davis said, via Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports. “As the weeks went on, after the initial cancellation, the news didn’t seem in favor that we would have an opportunity to play for a national championship if there was a season. At this point, my family and I made the decision that it would be my best decision to take the next step.”
Davis is rated as one of the top offensive linemen in the country and is regarded by many as a likely first-round pick. He’ll be continuing a family legacy in the NFL as his grandfather Willie Davis had a Hall of Fame career with the Packers. His father Duane played at Missouri, but his best known football exploits came as an actor in the films The Program and Necessary Roughness.