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Archie Griffin Honored With Statue At Ohio Stadium · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Saturday, August thirty, first
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  Speaker 1: time your host Tom or the Akron game is today, Yes,
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  Speaker 1: this season, finally here in Columbus, Ohio, the game against Michigan.
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  Speaker 1: Well that's still thirteen weeks away, ninety one days till
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  Speaker 1: the game against Michigan. On yesterday's show, we previewed today's
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  Speaker 1: game against the Akron Zips with Kevin Noonopuckehuddle dot com.
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  Speaker 1: You want to check out that if in case you
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  Speaker 1: missed it. That's where that is normally on Saturdays during
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  Speaker 1: the season. Well, maybe do a look at sort of
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  Speaker 1: the national games to watch or something like that. Not
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  Speaker 1: doing that today, Today is a very different and very
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  Speaker 1: special day in the city of Columbus, Ohio and on
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  Speaker 1: the campus of Ohio State University. Today's day when Ohio
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  Speaker 1: State is honoring Archie Griffin, the only two time Heisman
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  Speaker 1: winner in the history of the sport. We'll be dotting
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  Speaker 1: the I of script Ohio at halftime. He also got
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  Speaker 1: quite an honor on Friday afternoon, Ohio State unveiled a
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  Speaker 1: brand new statue of Archie Griffin. He got one at
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  Speaker 1: the Rose Bowl a few weeks back. Now he has
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  Speaker 1: one at the North Rotunda at Ohio Stadium as well.
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  Speaker 1: If you're going to the game on a little later
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  Speaker 1: on today, well go ahead and check that out right
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  Speaker 1: at the North Rotunda underneath the blue and yellow flowers
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  Speaker 1: up there, you know what we're talking about, right near
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  Speaker 1: the Jesse Owens Memorial sort of on the Woody Hayes
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  Speaker 1: Drive side of the stadium. So if you're going there,
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  Speaker 1: make sure you check that out. They did a really
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  Speaker 1: nice job with that statue, so you can check that
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  Speaker 1: out there. On Friday, there was a special ceremony honoring
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  Speaker 1: Archie Griffin and unvaliling that statue officially, So let's start
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  Speaker 1: with a couple of the speakers from that event. Ryan
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  Speaker 1: Day made a brief appearance there. And it's a Friday
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  Speaker 1: before a Saturday game, the first game of the season,
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  Speaker 1: so it takes something kind of notable to get a
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  Speaker 1: coach to slip away from campus for a few minutes.
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  Speaker 1: But Day definitely felt this was worth a worth a
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  Speaker 1: brief stop over at the stadium to honor the legacy
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  Speaker 1: of the only two time Heisman Trophy winner in the
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  Speaker 1: history of the sport. Here's Ryan Day and his thoughts
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  Speaker 1: on Archie Griffin on.
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  Speaker 2: Behalf of the entire Ohio State football program. I just
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  Speaker 2: I stepped away for a second and can get back
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  Speaker 2: with the team. We got a big kickoff tomorrow three
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  Speaker 2: point thirty to start a great season. But I wanted
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  Speaker 2: to make sure I came over and said thank you
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  Speaker 2: to Archie and thank you to the family. Thank you
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  Speaker 2: for the impact that you've made on the field. They've
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  Speaker 2: been playing college football a long time. It's only one
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  Speaker 2: two time heismand Trophy winner you're sitting right here. But
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  Speaker 2: more importantly, it's the impact you've made off the field.
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  Speaker 2: I didn't have an opportunity to see a play. I've
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  Speaker 2: seen the film and you look fast and you look powerful,
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  Speaker 2: But I have seen the impact that you've made off
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  Speaker 2: the field and your family's made off the field, and
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  Speaker 2: it's tremendous. And it's set an unbelievable example to our
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  Speaker 2: players about the impact you've made in the community, the charities.
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  Speaker 2: It's been unbelievable. And so to see the statue being
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  Speaker 2: unveiled today is a great representation of the legacy that
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  Speaker 2: you've left and you'll continue to lead as we move forward.
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  Speaker 2: And so thanks for both of those things. And you've
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  Speaker 2: done it with unmatched class. When I think Archie Griffin,
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  Speaker 2: that's what I think about unmatched class. So thank you,
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  Speaker 2: Archie Gobocks.
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  Speaker 1: Next up is Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjorke. He
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  Speaker 1: also had a lot of nice things to say about
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  Speaker 1: Archie Griffin. One thing you find as you live around
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  Speaker 1: Columbus is everyone seems to have nice things to say
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  Speaker 1: about Archie Griffin. That was definitely the case Friday at
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  Speaker 1: the Horseshoe as well. Here's Ross Byorke with his thoughts
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  Speaker 1: on Archie's legacy.
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  Speaker 3: Archie has never met a stranger. He talks to everybody.
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  Speaker 3: Think about culture. Archie defines what being a Buckeye means.
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  Speaker 3: He has a scholarship fund that doesn't benefit football student athletes,
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  Speaker 3: it benefits other athletes in our athletic program. He's about excellence.
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  Speaker 3: Archie and I had lunch about a month ago and
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  Speaker 3: he told me a story that during the offseason in
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  Speaker 3: the NFL, he actually went to work, not to make
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  Speaker 3: a little extra money. I'm sure that probably helped to
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  Speaker 3: work to build his resume for life after football. So
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  Speaker 3: we think about excellence, we think about public trust. Archie
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  Speaker 3: was born here at Ohio State. He's Ohio born and bred,
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  Speaker 3: and so Archie is the people, He's the culture, he's
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  Speaker 3: the excellence, the Ohio native, the definition of a Buckeye.
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  Speaker 3: So it's easy to read the stats and the accolades
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  Speaker 3: and those things are nice. But what I've learned is
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  Speaker 3: that anyone who's ever interacted with Archie, they walk away
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  Speaker 3: not saying he's a great football player, but that he's
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  Speaker 3: a great man. And they remember absolutely, let's do that,
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  Speaker 3: and they remember how Archie made them feel. And that's
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  Speaker 3: I think what legacy is all about. So the Woody
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  Speaker 3: Hayes quote, right, Archie was a great football player, but
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  Speaker 3: he was an even better man, right, And so we
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  Speaker 3: understand that, and that's really the essence of greatness and legacy.
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  Speaker 1: And finally, I'm gonna let you hear directly from the
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  Speaker 1: man of the hour himself, Archie Griffin gave a very
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  Speaker 1: nice speech. I think you guys are going to enjoy
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  Speaker 1: this one. It was really nice to see. Not only
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  Speaker 1: was he surrounded by all sorts of family and friends,
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  Speaker 1: he had a ton of teammates there as well, from
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  Speaker 1: his Ohio State years as well as his Eastmore Academy
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  Speaker 1: years of course, he played high school football on the
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  Speaker 1: east side of Columbus at Eastmore Academy. Plenty of his
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  Speaker 1: teammates from the old high school team were there, as
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  Speaker 1: well as a number of Buckeye teammates as well. So
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  Speaker 1: here is Archie Griffin with his thoughts on the unveiling
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  Speaker 1: of the statue.
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  Speaker 4: What an incredible day this is for me. It is
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  Speaker 4: truly one of the great privileges of my life to
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  Speaker 4: be here in my hometown for this occasion. I like
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  Speaker 4: to especially thank my wife Benita for being with me
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  Speaker 4: today by my side, as well as the other members
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  Speaker 4: of the Griffin family who are here. Why don't you
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  Speaker 4: all stand so they can see you. Thank you all
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  Speaker 4: for being here. I appreciate that. I would also like
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  Speaker 4: to thank President Carter, Athlete Director Ross Bjork rose Bow
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  Speaker 4: Legacy Foundation President Deeden Brosino for their kind words today.
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  Speaker 4: Greatly appreciate that. And I also want to say thank
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  Speaker 4: you too and co Insurance who played a key role
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  Speaker 4: in making this time of reality. Thank you all so
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  Speaker 4: very much. As I stand today in the shadow of
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  Speaker 4: Ohio Stadium thinking about what brought me here todave foremost
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  Speaker 4: in my mind are three people who left us a
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  Speaker 4: long time ago. By that, I mean my parents, James
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  Speaker 4: and Margaret Griffin, as well as my great mentor and
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  Speaker 4: coach Withdy Hayes. I think about all three of them
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  Speaker 4: every single day growing up. My parents laid a foundation
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  Speaker 4: for my success with their strong moral values, enduring spiritual
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  Speaker 4: faith and dedicated work, ethic work hard and all you do,
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  Speaker 4: trust in God, and treat others as you want to
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  Speaker 4: be treated. I grew up in a family with seven siblings,
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  Speaker 4: and we learned these lessons from our parents' words, but
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  Speaker 4: also from their actions. I think about my father working
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  Speaker 4: three jobs to put food on our table, teaching me
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  Speaker 4: a powerful lesson about hard work by the simple eloquence
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  Speaker 4: of his example. I think about my mother running our
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  Speaker 4: small family grocery store, teaching me about community as she
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  Speaker 4: extended credit to neighbors who needed something to eat, knowing
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  Speaker 4: that she might not get repaid. When I came to
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  Speaker 4: House State and began to play for Woody Hayes, the
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  Speaker 4: life lessons about hard work and faith and working together
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  Speaker 4: as part of a community for a greater good began
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  Speaker 4: anew wood. He taught us all about the importance of
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  Speaker 4: paying forward. He would say you can never pay back
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  Speaker 4: those who have helped you, but you can always you
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  Speaker 4: can always pay forward to the next generation. But he
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  Speaker 4: also taught us so many lessons about the value and
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  Speaker 4: importance of teamwork. How you must hold each other accountable
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  Speaker 4: for your responsibilities, about how you must sacrifice a piece
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  Speaker 4: of yourself to be a part of a greater good.
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  Speaker 4: About how you must trust other people to do their
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  Speaker 4: job as you do your job to help the team win.
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  Speaker 4: As we dedicate this statue today, I want everyone here
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  Speaker 4: to know that you're not only honoring me today, but
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  Speaker 4: instead recognizing the teams that I played on during my
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  Speaker 4: four years at the Ohio State University. You're honoring my
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  Speaker 4: teammates during those four years, some of who are in
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  Speaker 4: this crowd today, and if you've played with me at
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  Speaker 4: the Ohio State University during my four years, I would
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  Speaker 4: like you all to police stand and be recognized. Thank
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  Speaker 4: you guys for being here with me. I wanted them
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  Speaker 4: to be recognized because either of the guys who fifty
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  Speaker 4: years ago did their jobs exceptionally well. They opened the
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  Speaker 4: holes and carried out the playfacts that allowed me to
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  Speaker 4: run for two Heisman Trophies. I hope when people see
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  Speaker 4: this statue, they think about the great teams we had
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  Speaker 4: years I played, and not just a guy who wore
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  Speaker 4: number forty five who got too much credit. I was
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  Speaker 4: just blessed, as you've heard me say before, I was
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  Speaker 4: just blessed to be in the right place, at the
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  Speaker 4: right time, with the right people to accomplish what I did.
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  Speaker 4: I also have some other teammates here today who did
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  Speaker 4: their job to help pave my way to Ohio State.
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  Speaker 4: Where are my Eastmore Warriors? Stand up, guys, I really
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  Speaker 4: love that you were able to be here today as well.
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  Speaker 4: Thank you for coming across all my experiences in athletics.
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  Speaker 4: This deep and abiding notion the teamwork is at the
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  Speaker 4: core of how we accomplish great things in life has
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  Speaker 4: made me who I am now. There is one last
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  Speaker 4: group that I has stood strong for me that I
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  Speaker 4: want to honor right now, and that is the fans
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  Speaker 4: of Buckeye Nation. You see, I always felt like winning
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  Speaker 4: the heisman at Ohio State. Men. It belonged as much
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  Speaker 4: to you as it did to me, and I want
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  Speaker 4: you to really know how much I appreciate the conversations,
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  Speaker 4: the meals and moments that we've shared. I appreciate that
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  Speaker 4: you still remember me fifty years later. Fifty years is
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  Speaker 4: a long time, so I really appreciate you remembering me
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  Speaker 4: that loan. I please understand that I was just a
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  Speaker 4: slute footed, chubby little kid right here from Columbus, Ohio
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  Speaker 4: who they once called tank because I was slow, slow
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  Speaker 4: running around Maryland Park when I played for the Maryland Acs,
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  Speaker 4: the first organized football team that I played for. But
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  Speaker 4: you've shown me the greatest affection when I became number
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  Speaker 4: forty five, and that law from buck Eyes Everywhere has
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  Speaker 4: meant the absolute world to me. This statue, this statue
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  Speaker 4: will stand outside Ohio Stadium for as long as they
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  Speaker 4: play football here, and I want you to know that
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  Speaker 4: I love the idea that Buckeye fans might stop by
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  Speaker 4: to visit before a game or talk to future generations
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  Speaker 4: of Buck guys about the great teams that I played on.
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  Speaker 4: I'm just really so honored when I think about how
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  Speaker 4: I can now stay connected to the fans of Ohio
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  Speaker 4: State forever. Thank you, and so Buckeye Nation, one final time,
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  Speaker 4: I want them to hear you back on the near
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  Speaker 4: East Side where I played little league football and across
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  Speaker 4: the freeway in London where I went to Lynmore Junior
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  Speaker 4: High School and even on the far east side of
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  Speaker 4: Eastmore High School. I want them to hear you all
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  Speaker 4: across the city of Columbus. Oh ay, oh age, Thank
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  Speaker 4: you all so very much, and God bless speech in
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  Speaker 4: every one of you.
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  Speaker 1: And if you missed Archie Griffin on Friday, you will
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  Speaker 1: have another chance to see him doing something maybe even
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  Speaker 1: more remarkable, a little more special. I don't know, quite
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  Speaker 1: an honor either way, dotting the I in script Ohio.
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  Speaker 1: That'll happen at halftime of the Akron game. We will
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  Speaker 1: be there for that. We will be there for the
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  Speaker 1: football that happens before and after that as well. Buck
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  Speaker 1: Eys and Akron Zips kick off at three point thirty
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  Speaker 1: on Saturday inside Ohio Stadium. You can watch that game
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  Speaker 1: on CBS. You can listen to it on the Ohio
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  Speaker 1: State Football Radio Network. Of course, you can find all
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  Speaker 1: sorts of detail coverage about it at buckeyehuddle dot Com.
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  Speaker 1: Should have a very active game thread on our huddleboard,
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  Speaker 1: presented Brad Jeffreuby Steakhouse. We will have pregame coverage, we
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  Speaker 1: will have postgame coverage, our live postgame show will start
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  Speaker 1: right at the end of the game. Make sure you
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: are subscribed to our YouTube channel. We tell you that
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: all year long, never more important than now heading into
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: the season, got to have live postgame coverage in their
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: interviews analysis here live from Ohio State head coach Bryan Day,
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  Speaker 1: probably some coordinators, will howard a bunch of Ohio State players.
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  Speaker 1: We'll have live and taped interviews with those guys. Probably
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  Speaker 1: let you hear from the opposing coach as well. There's
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  Speaker 1: always a lot to talk about, and then of course
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  Speaker 1: incident analysis, breakdown what we saw, what we heard, what
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  Speaker 1: we learned. That's all after the game at YouTube dot
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  Speaker 1: com slash Buckeye Huddle. Make sure you're subscribed. Make sure
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: you hit that bell so you don't miss a thing.
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  Speaker 1: That'll do it for today. Thank you guys all for
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  Speaker 1: joining us. Have a great day, enjoy the football. We've
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: waited long enough. The season is finally here. We'll talk
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  Speaker 1: to you tomorrow.