Photo via @OhioStateFB on Twitter
While BSB was busy finishing up the April 19 print edition of Buckeye Sports Bulletin on Monday, Ohio State’s football team traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with the nation’s political leaders at The White House to celebrate their historic 2024 national championship.
After spending the morning and early afternoon around the city — where they visited Lincoln Memorial, took a team photo and had lunch at law firm Jones Day — the Buckeyes were officially honored shortly after 3 p.m. on the South Lawn of the White House by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
The ceremony began when the players — led by captains Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Will Howard, Jack Sawyer, among others — walked out of the White House and onto the lawn while a band was playing the school’s fight song “Buckeye Battle Cry.” The players were followed by the arrivals of Trump, Vance and head coach Ryan Day, who walked together to the platform before Trump gave his first remarks on the team.
Trump began his speech by delivering some praise to Day for the accomplishments he has made since becoming Buckeyes’ head coach in 2019, most notably touting his 70-10 overall record in the role after misspeaking and saying he has won “nine championship wins.”
“To Coach Ryan Day, and I have to read this, this is not part of my speech, but they gave me a little briefing. I knew how good of a coach he was, (but) I didn’t know he was that good,” said Trump, who called Day a “very good looking guy with “a lot of time left.” “Coach Day’s overall coaching record is 70-10. So in other words, Ryan, I’d like to be your agent. I want to represent you. And he won the big one, right? He won the big one, that’s the biggest of them all. That’s fantastic. It’s an amazing achievement at a young age, and the entire team and everybody up here, we want to thank you and congratulate you.”
Trump then recounted the Buckeyes’ impressive four-game title run through the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff, listing off the plays made by Egbuka, Henderson, Howard, Sawyer, Cody Simon, Jeremiah Smith and the entire offensive line during those wins before shaking each of their hands. His most notable commentary may have come when describing Smith and his “unforgettable” 56-yard third-down catch against Notre Dame in the national title game, where he said Day told him behind the scenes that Smith could be the best to ever do it.
“I shouldn’t say this, but coach was giving Jeremiah some major praise backstage,” Trump said. “I said, ‘So, what’s the future?’ He said, ‘Well, we have a guy, he may be the best ever.’ That’s a lot to think about, Jeremiah.”
Trump’s speech was followed by some words from Vance, an Ohio State graduate (2009), who spoke highly of his home state team and the things they accomplished.
“Thanks to Coach Day and the entire team for being here at the White House,” Vance said. “I am so proud to be part of team scarlet and gray today. Congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes on a hell of a 2024 season. … I’m proud of you guys. You were resilient. You were tough. You represented the state of Ohio well. You represented the whole country well.”
It was then Day’s turn to deliver some remarks about the team. After thanking the President and Vice President for welcoming them into the White House, he said that it was a long and arduous journey to be standing at the nation’s capital as national champions, and his players deserve the credit for climbing the mountaintop.
“We are honored and humbled to be here celebrating with you our ninth national championship in our great university’s history,” Day said. “To be here surrounded by our players, staff and university leadership is a moment we’ll never forget. Traveling to D.C. was the easy part. Earning the right to be here was the hard one. This team made history by winning the most difficult series of games in the history of college football, defeating No. 7 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, No. 3 Texas in the Cotton Bowl and No. 5 Notre Dame in the national championship back-to-back-to-back-to-back. No team has ever done that. Through discipline and execution, this team dominated, finished the mission and left no doubt.
“It all started with a group of fourth and fifth-year seniors. They chose each other. They chose Ohio State. They built and lived a culture of toughness, brotherhood and love. When adversity hit, they stood tall, stuck together, showed their true character, rose to the occasion and became champions.”
Day continued to tell the audience about the mental toughness and character his 2024 team had, using a quote from former President Teddy Roosevelt to nail down his point.
“There’s a quote I love from President Roosevelt displayed proudly in our team room, ‘The Man in the Arena.’ It’s not the critic who counts, it’s not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who strives valiantly, comes up short again and again but who does actually strive to do the deeds,” Day said. “This quote reminds us of the true honor that goes to those who rise to the challenge and stand in the arena unwavered. It took every challenge and we responded with heart, with grit and with determination. That is why this moment means so much to us.”
After the speech, Day had his captains deliver gifts to Trump and Vance, which included a white Ohio State No. 47 jersey with the name “Trump” on the back as well as a Buckeye helmet to give to Trump.
It was around this moment when one of the more notable moments of the day occurred involving Vance and the College Football Playoff trophy. While attempting to pick up the trophy from its base, the base became loose and fell out of Vance’s hands and onto the ground, causing the trophy to nearly fall to the ground before being caught by Henderson and Simon.
The moment made national news and went viral on social media, leading Vance to address the incident on his official Twitter account and joke, “I didn’t want anyone after Ohio State to get the trophy so I decided to break it.”
Luckily for Vance and Ohio State, the trophy did not break, and the team went on with their day-long celebration without any more mishaps.
The Buckeyes’ White House visit also included a trip to the Oval Office, where they toured the room and took pictures with Trump and others, which can be seen on the team’s official social media accounts.
An Honor, thank you @WhiteHouse
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 15, 2025pic.twitter.com/lJ6QRwtuEO
President @realDonaldTrump invited the Ohio State Football Team into the Oval Office
— Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) April 14, 2025pic.twitter.com/mKNgKUNLXv
