Scarlet Sunrise: Former Buckeyes players permanently endow NFF Woody and Anne Hayes Scholar-Athlete Award

COLUMBUS — Former Ohio State football players are making sure the legacy of legendary former Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes and his wife Anne live on.

Several former Ohio State players have come together and will present an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship, which, according to the release from the National Football Foundation, will be awarded each year to one member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class Presented by Fidelity Investments.

“The establishment of the Woody & Anne Hayes Scholar-Athlete Award is a remarkable tribute, honoring the legacy of one of college football’s most legendary coaches,” NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell said in a release. “The connection between a coach and his players is profound, and we are thrilled that Coach Hayes’ former players have chosen to highlight the NFF National Scholar-Athlete program as a meaningful way to celebrate that bond.”

Hayes won at least a share of five national titles and 13 Big Ten championships. Across his career, Hayes was 239-72-10 as a head coach.

What many believe is one of Hayes’ best teams, the 1974 team, will be honored at halftime of the Ohio State game against Iowa on Saturday, so the former Buckeyes decided to make this announcement for a Hayes Award this week in conjunction with the honoring of Hayes and the 1974 team that lost the Rose Bowl by one point to USC after finishing the regular season 10-1, beat Michigan and won the Big Ten.

Jeremiah Smith earns Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors

Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is finally earning some recognition from the Big Ten office.

Smith has been incredible in all four games so far this season. It took two one-handed catches in primetime for the league to give the former five-star prospect the Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. He earned it from his performance against Michigan State on Saturday night.

Smith’s final stat line of five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown isn’t even his best of the year so far. But the highlight reel is certainly his best of his college career to date.

Smith just keeps showing that he can be the top receiver in all of college football as early as this season. He has 19 grabs for 364 yards and five touchdowns through four games. Expect more of that from him as the season goes on.

Buckeyes officially set for primetime kickoff next week at Oregon

Ohio State and Oregon are still the two favorites in the 2024 Big Ten title race.

They’ll meet for the first time as conference foes in less than two weeks — on Oct. 12 — in Eugene, Oregon. The Buckeyes opened as an underdog in that colossal matchup between two teams that are projected to be ranked in the top five in the preseason. Now the Buckeyes are a slim favorite.

No matter the spread, the massive clash now has a kickoff time and TV channel. Ohio State at Oregon will be a primetime top-10 showdown — and it’ll be on NBC with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Ohio State has been elite through the first four weeks of the season, and so has Oregon. As long as the Buckeyes beat Iowa this weekend and the Ducks take care of Michigan State at home, they’ll meet in Eugene as undefeated top-10 teams.

The last time these two teams met, the Ducks upset the Buckeyes inside the Horseshoe early in the 2021 regular season, prompting Ryan Day to demote then-defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs. That season, Ohio State struggled on that side of the ball and missed the College Football Playoff. Following that year, Day parted ways with Coombs and other defensive coaches, leading to the Buckeyes hiring new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Iowa: 4 days
Ohio State at Oregon: 11 days
Ohio State at Penn State: 32 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 60 days

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