Parents of Ohio State star DB say he won't play if football season is pushed to spring
The parents of one of Ohio State’s top defensive players confirmed what we’ve believed all along: if college football is played in the spring, a lot of star performers won’t participate.
At the end of the 2019 season, Buckeyes cornerback Shaun Wade decided to return to Columbus for one more year in an Ohio State uniform and improve his stock for the NFL Draft. Because he’s likely to be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft regardless of how much he plays, if the B1G football season is delayed until spring, Wade’s parents said their son will not participate.
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“I want him to be smart,” Gwen Wade, Shaun’s mother, told First Coast News. “He could get hurt. Anything could happen. So, why play in the spring? I kind of voiced my opinion to him, talked to him. Pretty much, mama said, ‘We’re not playing.’”
Wade’s father, Randy, was a little more straightforward with his comment. If Ohio State plays football in the spring, Randy says his son is “outta here, baby.”
Last season, Wade finished with 25 tackles, 4.0 stops for loss, eight pass break-ups, a forced fumble and an interception. With Damon Arnette and Jeff Okudah both departing, Wade is expected to be the experienced leader in the Ohio State secondary in 2020.
So far, the B1G has made the decision to go to a conference-only schedule for the upcoming season. As of right now, there are no plans to push the season to the spring, though no final decisions have been made.
If the season pushes to spring Wade likely won’t be the only star player to pass on playing.