Tony Ranieri grew up just two hours from Columbus, but before he arrived at Ohio State, he considered Oregon-Oregon State to be among the nation’s most heated rivalries.
“Coming to Ohio State, I’ve realized what a rivalry really means,” said the junior wide receiver from Cincinnati. “That rivalry being Ohio State-Michigan, and the way they hammer that home here.”
Football walk-ons have more to learn about than their school’s top foes. And Ranieri, a transfer student from the University of Oregon, has more to learn than most.
“It’s a very welcoming environment here,” he said. “Anybody who knows anything you don’t know, they’re willing to help you improve. I’m here to learn as much as I am to do anything else, because I have a ways to go before I’m up there with those guys.”
The wide receiver walked on at Oregon under former coach and current athletic director Mike Belotti. After out-of-state tuition became too pricey, Ranieri returned close to home to attend OSU.
Just through spring practices, he can already distinguish differences between the demands of both programs.
“It’s much more intense at Ohio State,” he said. “It’s much more focused on technique, form and doing things right. [Wide receivers] Coach [Darrell] Hazell is demanding in a good way. There’s a reason why Ohio State puts a bunch of receivers into the NFL.”
Tony even mentioned to his mother, Jackie, the noticeable distinctions between the schools’ emphasis on football tradition.
“He has said to me, ‘The differences are very obvious as to why Ohio State is constantly in the national hunt,’ ” she said. “Not that the program in Eugene is bad, but the work ethic is very different.”
Having to amp up his work ethic is no daunting task for Tony, who juggles his football commitment with academics and a job in the Philosophy Department.
“He’s very motivated and quite determined to succeed in whatever he does,” his mother said. “Give him a challenge, and he will do it. He gets these visions, and if he says he’s going to do it, he will do everything in his power to make it happen.”
Despite the increased demands, Tony said he feels fortunate to have earned the opportunity to play for such a prestigious program.
“The offense is tough to learn, but everybody’s helpful,” he said. “I’m going to give it everything I’ve got. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle at times, but I’m privileged and fortunate to be given an opportunity to work under the best coaches and work with the best talent.”
As a walk-on, Ranieri is using spring practices to try to make the final, 105-man roster. Though walk-ons don’t initially receive athletic scholarships, he stills feels like an equal part of the team.The process of earning privileges is a fair one, he said.
“They do it exactly how it needs to be done,” he said. “If you’re given every single privilege that players who have earned it have, it wouldn’t seem like the right way to go. If you’re a walk-on, you have to earn your keep, you have to earn the things that you’re given. The scholarship players have been there, they’ve done it. As a walk-on, you have to prove that you belong. I think every day that you do well, you’re more of a part of the team.”
Zack Meisel can be reached at [email protected].
