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Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes reserve quarterback retires from football

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook03/17/21

SpencerHolbrook

Danny Vanatsky by Birm-Lettermen Row
Danny Vanatsky is leaving the Ohio State football program. (Birm/Lettermen Row)

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise. Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Ohio State football, recruiting, basketball and more.

Buckeyes reserve quarterback retires from football

Just days before Ohio State begins spring practice, one of its quarterbacks has announced he is leaving football.

Buckeyes walk-on quarterback Danny Vanatsky is retiring from football to pursue other opportunities in his life. He made the announcement public on his Twitter account Tuesday afternoon.

“With just one semester left until I graduate, I have decided to hang up the cleats for the Buckeyes,” Vanatsky said in his Tweet. “This was one of the toughest decisions of my life, but I am ready to move on from college football and pursue other interests.”

Vanatsky, a former quarterback at Cincinnati Hills (Ohio) Christian Academy, was a preferred walk on in the 2018 class and spent three seasons with the Buckeyes. He was named Academic All-Big Ten in 2019 and never saw the field for the Buckeyes in a game. After a three-year run with the Buckeyes, Vanatsky is finished playing football.

Terry McLaurin breaks down Chris Olave

Chris Olave has been a model of consistency during his three seasons at Ohio State. Whether it’s on special teams, downing punts for the Buckeyes, or scoring touchdowns and torching opposing secondaries, Olave has consistently done it all. And he decided to do it again, opting to come back to Ohio State instead of entering the NFL draft this offseason.

All of his hard work starts in the football facility and on the practice field, which is where Terry McLaurin, Parris Campbell and Johnnie Dixon all saw Olave flourish during his freshman season with the Buckeyes.

One of those three still remembers well what it was like when Olave showed up. And McLaurin recounts those early days and his latest impressions of Olave’s game in the latest episode of BuckIQ.

What makes Chris Olave so special for Ohio State? Are there areas of his game that can still improve as a senior for the Buckeyes? Was there any surprise that he returned for his senior year? Former Ohio State star and current Washington Football Team receiver Terry McLaurin puts on the highlights and breaks it all down in his most recent chat with Lettermen Row.

Roll the tape!

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Kyle Young’s status remains uncertain heading into NCAA Tournament

Ohio State begins its toughest and most important test of the season Friday afternoon — the NCAA Tournament. The Buckeyes still don’t know the status of one of their starters, though.

Forward Kyle Young’s status is unknown as Ohio State enters its Round of 64 game against No. 15 seed Oral Roberts. After exiting the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals with a concussion, he sat out of the semifinals and championship game, too.

Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann announced he doesn’t have any updates on Young’s status at his press conference on Tuesday morning.

“I don’t have any updates on Kyle. We won’t have any updates on Kyle for a little bit now,” Holtmann said.

For more on Young’s status, click here.

New Tim May Podcast

Ohio State is set to open spring football practice later this week, and the Tim May Podcast is here with another episode to break it all down.

Tim welcomes Lettermen Row senior writer Austin Ward on the show to talk about some of the most intriguing storylines about the Buckeyes as they prepare to head into spring practice and who could break out during these 15 practices.

Tim also welcomes on former Ohio State defensive lineman Robert ‘BB’ Landers to discuss the opportunity to participate in the Buckeyes upcoming Pro Day, missing out on Pro Day last year due to the pandemic and much more.

Don’t miss the latest edition.

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