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Ohio State wide receiver Kamryn Babb won't use final year of eligibility

IMG_7408by: Andy Backstrom01/17/23andybackstrom
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Ohio State graduate wide receiver Kam Babb caught his first career pass, which was a touchdown, in the win over Indiana. (Matt Parker/Lettermen Row)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State wide receiver Kamryn Babb announced Tuesday that his battle-tested and inspiring Buckeyes career has come to an end.

Babb had a sixth and final year of eligibility remaining, but he won’t use it.

“I’m excited to start the next chapter that God has for me by sharing my story with the world,” Babb said in a video he posted to social media.

Dating back to his sophomore year of high school, Babb had suffered five season-ending injuries, including four ACL tears. He was a four-star prospect at Christian Brothers College in St. Louis, however, he couldn’t struggled to stay healthy, particularly when he got to Ohio State.

“My path at Ohio State is not the one I would have chosen,” Babb said in his video. “It was chosen for me to share with the world. To God be the glory.”

Babb fought his way back to the field in 2022 as a team captain wearing the Block O, even after dealing with a tweak to his “lower extremity” this preseason, according to Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day. He did so to record his first and only catch of his Ohio State career — and it went for six.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud sprinted right and fired a dart to a breaking Babb for a touchdown in a blowout win over Indiana. The catch and score resulted in an outpouring of emotion by Babb as well as his teammates and coaches.

Babb dropped to his knees in the Ohio State end zone. He bowed his head and then touched his gloves to the ground before raising them to the sky.

“I would say the past five years, that’s kind of been a dream of mine,” Babb said postgame. “Whenever I catch a touchdown, whenever that moment is, to get on my knees and give praise to him, to Jesus Christ. Because that’s the only hope that I truly have. I love football. I love what it can do for so many people, but I just know there’s a world with a whole bunch of stuff going on.”

The celebration among Babb and his Buckeyes faithful continued on well into the ensuing Indiana drive.

“There will be great wins, and there will be great accomplishments here at Ohio State, but what he’s overcome is one of the great accomplishments,” Day said postgame of Babb. “It’s not something that people will see. But at least they were able to be a part of that right there, and those who were in the stadium were able to be a part of it because that’s as special as I’ve been around.”

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