A native of California, Grant Schwartz had the opportunity to spend his college career playing on the West Coast. But he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and play for Ohio State.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Schwartz said. “To get to be in the same place that he was 30 years ago and be on the same team is something pretty special that not a lot of people get to experience. I’m blessed that I was able to do that.”

Grant’s father, Brian, played defensive back for the Buckeyes from 1976-79. While he was also offered scholarships by both Oregon and Boise State, Grant ultimately decided that the opportunity to play in the same stadium that his father did outweighed staying close to home.

“It definitely had a big influence on it,” Grant said. “Growing up and being a Buckeye fan, and always watching Ohio State, I always dreamed of following in my dad’s footsteps, so when I had the opportunity, I jumped on it.”

Initially recruited as a defensive back, Grant was moved to wide receiver at the beginning of his second season at OSU.

“I was always an offensive player in high school, so having the ball in my hands all the time came natural to me,” Grant said. “As far as being a receiver, that’s an intricate position so it’s taken me a couple of years to really get the ins and outs down, but I got through the transition.”

Despite making the move to offense, Grant needed to retain his tackling skills, as the majority of the playing time he’s seen during his OSU career has come on special teams. Grant didn’t record his first career reception until the 2010 season opener against Marshall.

“Special teams is an intricate part of the team so it’s always a privilege to be a big contributor on that,” Grant said. “Every football player comes here to play offense or defense, so it’s been special to get those couple of catches that I’ve gotten so far this year and hopefully I’ll add on to that with the remaining games that we have.”

Grant’s opportunity to add to his receptions total hit a snag midway through his senior year when he was hospitalized for a night after landing awkwardly while diving for a catch in practice. Fortunately the injury was not as severe as some feared.

“It looked like it was one of those real serious injuries and fortunately, I think he was just whacked real hard on a nerve and got traumatized,” coach Jim Tressel told reporters the day after the injury occurred. “I don’t know if that’s a quick bounce-back. But as I listen to our medical staff, he’s moving around good.”

Despite the injury and having spent his career making his mark on special teams, Grant hopes that he can parlay the attention that the OSU football program gets into a career in pro football.

“We’ll see how the rest of the season goes and take it from there,” Grant said. “Hopefully I’ll have a good pro day and maybe get a tryout or two.”

Having grown up just an hour away from Pasadena, it’s no surprise that Grant’s favorite Buckeye memory involves winning the same bowl game that his father played in 30 years before him.

“The Rose Bowl was an awesome experience,” Grant said. “Watching the Rose Bowl every year, seeing the parade, just knowing how much that means to that area. It seems to be the most prestigious bowl in all of college football, so that was an awesome experience, and obviously winning helped that out a lot.”