Captain Jack Sawyer has dominated the defensive end of the ball all season but has especially excelled during the Ohio State Buckeyes' postseason run through the 12-team College Football Playoffs. Now, even football fans who hate the Buckeyes have fallen in love with the Ohio State captain.
During ESPN's College GameDay ahead of the National Championship game, ESPN showed a feature of Sawyer, his life off the field, and exactly why this game means so much to him.
The five-minute tribute detailed Sawyer's connection with a fellow Jack Sawyer, to be specific, Jacket Bennett Sawyer, a 17-year-old boy from Ohio, a diehard Buckeyes fan, and a young person who lost his battle with cancer in 2023.
While still battling the disease, an aggressive version of bone cancer, JB Sawyer's story reached the ears of the defensive end on the Buckeyes' roster. Immediately, DE Sawyer reached out to the younger Jack Sawyer with a personal letter and a signed poster.
Ohio State DE Jack Sawyer honors a 17-year-old boy named Jack Bennett Sawyer who died from cancer in 2023 by wearing JBSSTRONG on his wrist tape every game.
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 20, 2025
(via @JenLada) pic.twitter.com/0Ayma9gmMg
In January 2023, JB Sawyer shared that his cancer had gone into remission and he rang the bell as he made his way down the hall of healthcare workers, nurses, and doctors on his team. Devastatingly, just a few months later, the cancer had returned. In October, Ohio State's Jack Sawyer FaceTimed the young man to give him a few words of encouragement.
After the FaceTime call, Jack Sawyer wrote "JBSSTRONG" on his wrist tape for the Buckeyes' game that week. Heartbreakingly, Jack Bennett Sawyer passed away just over a week later.
Ever since Jack. B Sawyer passed away, Jack Sawyer continues to write "JBSSTRONG" on his wrist tape, which has become even more special and meaningful as Sawyer and the Buckeyes have dominated the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoffs.
"Every day I think about him, the strength and inspiration he gave to me is ten-fold what I could ever give to him," Jack Sawyer said.
Sawyer and the Buckeyes were scheduled to kick off the National Championship game at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to crown the ultimate victor of college football.