Current coach Ryan Day is busy prepping The Shoe for Week 5 against Washington. While Day’s focus stays locked on the Huskies’ defensive fronts, a former Ohio State Buckeyes football coach, just sent out a major announcement. And in doing so, it is going to pave the way for a candidate with immigrant parents in the already tensed political atmosphere of the country.

Jim Tressel, the current Lt. Gov., stated on Friday that he won’t be running for Ohio governor in the 2026 election, which simplifies the process for biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to be nominated by the Republican party. “After considerable thought and prayer, we have decided not to run for Governor in 2026,” Tressel stated on X. It left some Buck nuts feeling like they’d just seen a fourth-quarter fumble.

Had he jumped in, Tressel would have been more than just another candidate. A gubernatorial bid by the former OSU coach could have shaken up a race many already considered a shoe-in for the Cincinnati-born Ramaswamy, who carries endorsements from both President Trump and the Ohio Republican Party. With Tressel stepping aside, the field looks much clearer, at least on the GOP side.

That doesn’t mean Tressel has disappeared into the background. Far from it. Since February, he’s served as lieutenant governor, appointed by term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine to fill a vacant seat. Though technically a political newcomer, Tressel brought with him the kind of leadership portfolio you don’t often find at the statehouse: a national championship-winning coach in 2002, a decade long college administrator, and a man with instant star power among Ohio’s millions of Bucks fans. Tressel made his mark as head coach at Youngstown State, where he built a Division I-AA dynasty with four national championships between 1991 and 1997. His Ohio ties and proven ability to win on big stages made him a natural fit when the Buckeyes came calling.

Even as he bows out of a race, Tressel insists he’s still working for the state, particularly in ways close to his Buckeye roots. “Alongside Ted Ginn Jr., we have launched the Team Tressel Fitness Challenge, serving over 182,000 students in Ohio schools,” his statement continued. “The challenge reflects the administration’s commitment to helping all Ohioans reach their full potential, starting with our youth. By helping students build lifelong habits around fitness, nutrition, and sleep, we’re laying the foundation for a brighter future in the classroom, in the workforce, and across every community in the Buckeye State.”

The political math, meanwhile, keeps shifting. Two other Republican hopefuls who once seemed locked into the race have already stepped back. State Attorney General Dave Yost stopped his campaign in May, and Appalachian entrepreneur Heather Hill recently stated that she was leaving the GOP altogether, but would still pursue her campaign for governor as an independent or third-party candidate.

Buckeye roots still run through Ohio’s political race

Jim Tressel might be out of the race, but the Buckeye connections still run deep inside Ohio politics. The only other Ohio State product currently sitting in the lawmaking house is Amy Acton, who rose to prominence leading Ohio’s health department early in the COVID-19 pandemic. She’s now running as a Democrat. Meanwhile, Ohio State University master’s student Timothy Grady has tossed his hat in as an independent.

Tressel’s own path to politics came earlier this year when Gov. DeWine tapped him to succeed Jon Husted. He was confirmed by lawmakers after Husted pledged to pursue a Senate run instead of governor. And then there’s Tim Ryan. The former Democratic U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate made it clear: he would not seek the governorship if Tressel ran. Ryan played football for Tressel at Youngstown State and still calls him a mentor.

From 2001 to 2010, Tressel transformed Ohio State into a perennial national power. He compiled a 106–22 record, won six Big Ten titles, and led the Buckeyes to eight BCS bowl games. His crowning achievement came in the 2002 season, when Ohio State shocked Miami in the Fiesta Bowl to capture the program’s first national championship since 1968. Tressel also went 9–1 against rival Michigan, cementing his status in Buckeye lore.