Ryan Day is someone who is a serial planner. He famously said, “You can’t just drive with no brakes and think that everything is going to go great, and the minute something goes bad, you fall apart.” But here is the thing: even the best of plans fail, and in football, injuries are bound to happen. In times like this, Day leans on the people whom you rarely hear about. The ones whose work doesn’t show up on the stat sheet or the highlight reel but decides on a player’s season or even his career. Most times, those guys are in the shadows, but this week, one of them just stepped into the light.

Their athletic trainer and Head Physical Therapist, Adam Stewart, received an invitation from the NFL to present the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award. For someone who grew up as a Buckeye fan, watching Ohio State play and falling in love with the program, it was a full-circle moment. And he is passionate about rocking the being a through-and-through Ohio fan.

Recalling an incident, Stewart mentioned to WTOV News 9, “Remember the 2002 National Championship when they played Miami and pulled off the upset, just the feel of that, and what that kind of meant to everybody. Even as a young kid, I could feel how important it was. So to grow up and now be on the other end of it, to be 10 years into a career and finally get that moment, I’d say it was very gratifying for a lot of reasons.”

Day’s staffer shared the stage with Shawny Dutro, Mackenzie Henderson, Derek Wormdahl, and Kara Dart in San Diego.  Moreover, it was a double win for the Buckeyes fam. Tampa Bay rookie Emeka Egbuka, the Ohio State alum, was running the race for the Offensive Rookie of the Year. But ultimately award went to Carolina Panthers wide receiver and Arizona Wildcats alum Tetairoa McMillan. But what led to the Egbuka heartbreak?

Egbuka started hot, looking like the favorite for the season’s top award, but things took a turn soon. In his first nine games, he managed 40 catches for 677 yards and six touchdowns, leaving the defenses scrambling. But as the season went on, the momentum shifted. Targets slipped to 6.3 per game, receptions slowed to 23 catches for 261 yards, and the end zone stayed frustratingly out of reach in the final eight games. 

But if losing Egbuka stung, the Buckeyes still had plenty to celebrate. Jaxon Smith-Njiba, who is now in his third NFL season, claimed the Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year award. “Wow, what an honor. I want to first give all the glory to God,” said former Buckeyes wide receiver. “I wanted to be a top-five draft choice. I wanted to be a Heisman candidate, a bunch of things. And ultimately, I wasn’t able to play.”

It was a perspective, he says, he got from the daily grind he faced at Ohio State. The high bar was set by Coach Brian Hartline in the wide receiver room, and that helped him for the fight and for the long haul. In his first two seasons, Smith-Njigba helped Ohio State to an 18-3 record, punched its ticket to the 2020 College Football Playoff title game, and a 2021 Rose Bowl victory. 

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This Buckeyes alum made a statement in his third season. By season’s end, he had hauled in an eye-popping 119 passes for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns, leaving defenders grasping for air. Now that he lifted the prestigious award in the NFL, it’s an emotional moment for each of the Buckeyes’ fans. 

Another Ohio State Buckeyes alum earns the top of the league award

Mike Vrabel was not there in the Buckeyes camp for long. He first held the linebackers coach role in 2011, and then was shifted to guiding the defensive line between 2012 and 2013. However, the Buckeyes are the only college football team that the alum coached before permanently shifting to the NFL. 

Now holding the reins as the New England Patriots head coach, Vrabel was voted as the NFL’s Coach of the Year for the 2025 season. He emerged victorious after beating his Super Bowl opponent, Seattle Seahawks’ Mike Macdonald, Chicago Bears’ Ben Johnson, and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Liam Coen.

“It’s an honor to be recognized amongst the great coaches of our league,” said Vrabel after winning the award. “This award belongs to a building, it belongs to a staff, and ultimately, it belongs to the men in the locker room who believed when they couldn’t always see it.”

Vrabel, though, still has a test looming, given he stumbled through a below-average interview with Urban Meyer to crack a coaching opportunity at his alma mater. Now on the NFL stage, he is running after making history, and if he wins, then he would be the fifth head coach to win a Super Bowl in their first year with a franchise! Not just that, he will also become the first to get both a title as player and a coach for the same program. 

That’s how the NFL keeps the Ohio State Buckeyes on the edge.