Friday, November 24, 2017
By ERIC MAUK
COLUMBUS
It has been so long since the Ohio State University lost to Michigan in football that Austintown native and Buckeyes center Billy Price doesn’t even know anybody that has lost to the Wolverines while wearing the scarlet and gray.
“I don’t know, [former Buckeye All-American and current OSU quality control assistant] Kirk Barton?” Price incorrectly responded Tuesday when asked if he knew anyone that had felt the pain of losing to Michigan.
In fact, not only had Barton never lost to the Buckeyes’ archrival, he was the first player to start and win four Michigan games for the Buckeyes.
Trivia aside, what the Fitch graduate and Ohio State captain does know is that he wants no part of becoming the next person to lose to the squad from Ann Arbor.
“Not many players have a chance to get five sets of gold pants,” Price said, referencing the traditional jewelry given to each OSU player after a win over Michigan. “Every loss hurts, but this means a lot more.
“You have a little bit more fire in your stomach. Even though we haven’t lost, all of these games have been pretty close and if you aren’t ready, you can have problems.”
Price got his first charm as a redshirt freshman in 2013, but has been an integral part of each of the three Ohio State victories earned since moving into the starting lineup the next year.
He and Taylor Decker sprung Ezekiel Elliott on a 44-yard scoring romp on a key fourth-and-one play in his first start in The Game, sending the Buckeyes to a 42-28 victory.
Last year, Price’s reach block on Ryan Glasgow helped spring Curtis Samuel for the game-winning score in double overtime.
“Every single play matters in this game,” Price said. “Really, what your season is predicated on, has always been in part, on what you do against Michigan. It would be a huge sense of accomplishment for me to have five wins against these guys.”
To get that coveted fifth win on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., Price knows that he and his mates on the offensive line are going to have to win its battle with a celebrated Michigan defensive line, led by likely first-round NFL draft choice Maurice Hurst.
“Yeah, everybody keeps wanting to bring that name up to me,” said Price with a grin when referencing the fifth-year senior Michigan defensive tackle. “He’s very physical but at the end of the day it is just going out there and putting a [helmet] on the guy in front of you.
“Their line is very good, but we have guys that we practice against every day that are just as good,” Price said. “Their guys are disruptive, aggressive and it will be a battle to control that line of scrimmage. But whoever does that, puts themselves in a good position to win.”
Winning at Ohio State is something Price is very familiar with as he has helped the Buckeyes to a 46-6 record in his school-record 52 consecutive starts.
The two-time captain moved to center this year after earning All-American and first-team Big 10 honors as a guard a year ago, a move that cemented his legacy in the eyes of head coach Urban Meyer.
“As long as I am here I will make sure he is treated with legendary status,” Meyer said. “He’s done everything I’ve ever asked him to do. And that includes the off-the-field stuff too. He’s a cornerstone of this program.”
Being a strength of the team also means controlling the mindset of not only the huddle, but of the locker room.
The former co-Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Fitch, Price has literally turned his football life around since migrating to Columbus.
A rough redshirt year had him considering a move home to attend Youngstown State, but a heartfelt meeting with Meyer resulted in a move to the offensive side of the ball, where he found his niche.
Now it is hard for Meyer and the Buckeyes to imagine life without him. It was Price that was the first to stand up and set things straight in the locker room after a devastating loss to Iowa two weeks ago, and it was Price that penned a heartfelt letter to his teammates prior to last weekend’s senior day, reminding them not to take anything for granted and to give back to those that helped them.
“People ask me ‘Coach, what did you say to the team’,” recalled Meyer after Price rallied his team after Iowa. “I didn’t say anything. It was Billy.
“I’m deeply indebted to Billy and he’ll be a Buckeye for the rest of his life and a lifelong friend.”