Sophomore quarterback Kellyn Gerenstein (4) throws across the middle. Credit: Marianne Thiede, OSU Club Football
Ohio State is home to the nation’s No. 3 Division I football team, but that’s not the only top gridiron program at the university.
At the Lincoln Tower Turf, the university’s club football team is having similar success in its own right.
The team is ranked No. 1 in the National Club Football Association polls for the first time in its 10-year history, and head coach James Grega said that ranking echoes the caliber of the squad.
“This is probably the best team we have ever had, in terms of the overall roster size and the pure talent that we have,” Grega said.
The 42-player team ranges from freshmen to a 31-year-old Army veteran, Grega said.
Club president and senior tight end Adam Bardak and his teammates pay $185 to play for the club team, which contributes to a majority of the club’s funding.
“It’s a player-run organization, so most of our money will come from players themselves, from dues that we have to pay,” Bardak said. “On top of that, we will do fundraisers here and there when we have time for it.”
Among the group are some players who have no experience playing tackle football –– which can be a challenge for the coaching staff –– but all are welcome.
“As a voluntary group, it can sometimes be difficult to have all of the players at the three practices the team has each week,” Grega said.
Grega said he attributes a lot of this year’s success to the group’s current leadership, despite the challenges faced when not everyone is available for practice.
“We’ve got a handful of players who have been in the program for a while now,” Grega said. “The guys who have been on this team three to four years are very hungry to be successful.”
Bardak said the team is his best sports experience.
“In high school, we really didn’t have the freedom to do what we wanted –– talk about what would be better. It was more so coach-ran,” Bardak said. “The fact with club football is a player-run organization, so our players come first, and everything else falls in after that. That’s what I like, the whole group aspect of it.”
The team is limited to three practices a week, with one day dedicated to walk-throughs, another to offense and the third to defense. If a player has class and misses practices, Grega said it’s on them to reach out and figure out what they missed.
“I’ve told them, and this applies to coaches, players and anyone else who is involved, ‘You are going to get out of it what you put into it,’ so if you are at every practice, and you are working hard, then chances are you are going to start and play a lot,” Grega said.
The club team is 5-0, including one win by forfeit, and has beaten opponents by an average score of 42.5-4. Its closest result of the season was a 41-7 win over then-No. 1 Oakland in the first game of the season Sept. 22.
After a 46-2 victory against Wright State this past Sunday, Ohio State moves on to a 6 p.m. game against Miami (Ohio) Saturday at home.
The team’s next matchup is its last of the regular season before a conference title game Nov. 16, the national semifinal Nov. 23 and the national championship Dec. 7.
