By Mallory Mattingly
It looks like faith will be the focus for Ohio State football players again this year.
Players Kamryn Babb, Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Ethan Onianwa, Carson Hinzman, Luke Montgomery and Gee Scott just hosted their second annual Fall Kickoff: An Invitation to Jesus event as they wore “Jesus Won” shirts.
“I think we know that’s where our strength comes from. I think we know that us humanly our power is not enough, our glory that we think we have is not enough,” Downs told the crowd, per ABC 6.
“No play we make on the field — no touchdown, no interception — can compare to the Kingdom of God,” he added. “God is good. I mean, I can’t take credit for it. None of my teammates can take credit for it. At the end of the day, His glory is above anything that we can do, but we know Jesus is real and we know that if you believe in Him, you will be saved.”
Related: Ohio State Football Team Proclaims Gospel After National Championship Win
Those who attended the event expressed their gratitude for the players’ impact on campus.
“Seeing them [the players] 100 feet away on a platform that’s right in front of me, with no mask on, no helmet, just talking about the Lord…them coming out here and just saying I’m a guy, too, that just worships the Lord and loves Him…the unity on campus that we’ve seen between all the different churches and all the different ministries and all the different believers and non-believers…it’s really cool,” student Alex Herrmann said.
Another student, Lucas Torres, added, “They play on our D1 football team, and it’s just so sweet that they’re using that and giving that to the Lord. So like first off, I just really admire that and what they’re doing.”
At the beginning of last season, the team put God first as many of the players wore faith-forward shirts to fall training camp.
That trend continued through the rest of the season, culminating in the team’s national championship win where players pointed back to Christ and even included Christian imagery on their championship rings.
“I think sometimes in the culture, Christianity is perceived as kind of like a weak or pushover religion, but I hope that kind of through events like this, it’s shown that Christianity and excellence actually go hand in hand, and Christianity and success and just striving for greatness even in like a worldly sense, go hand in hand, because the Lord calls us to do difficult and great things,” Torres explained.
The Buckeyes are currently 2-0 on the field, but that record means nothing compared to the ability it gives them to share the gospel.
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