COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH)-- We're only a few days away from the Buckeyes taking on that team up north. But one current OSU football player knows a thing or two about playing in maize and blue.
Jason and Erin Velazquez, the parents of now Ohio state linebacker number 39 Joey Velazquez, have been a part of an interesting journey getting to the point of seeing their son play here at home.
"We were Buckeye fans as a family and knowing your son was going to put that helmet on and play in the shoe was, it was special," Jason Velazquez said.
Joey, one of nine children, has always been a Buckeye fan. Most of the time as a child he could be seen covered in scarlet and gray, often dreaming of being a part of that team. However, it wasn't a clear path to OSU for Joey.
After high school, he went on to play both baseball and football at the University of Michigan. His parents said they supported him regardless, but it didn't come without some changes.
"You know, we did have to throw out all our stuff because their loyalty does lie with our children,” Jason Velazquez said. “But it was also nice to, you know, go out and rebuy all that stuff and paint all the rooms and get back to being a Buckeye. I mean it's the greatest rivalry in college sports and maybe even sports."
"We were proud of him no matter where he went,” Erin Velazquez said. “So wearing the maize and blue, you know, that's what we did. You know, if he was anywhere else, that's what we'd have done, too."
From 2019 to 2023, Joey played as a Wolverine. His parents note that his consistency and belief in himself during his time there and throughout his life is why he has made it this far today.
"His work ethic is second to none I mean, it's relentless, it's all the time, It's genuine, there's nothing fake about it," Jason Velazquez said.
Then in the spring of this year, something amazing happened. Joey got the opportunity to come back home and play for OSU, something he had envisioned since childhood. He even wrote in an Instagram post from 12 years ago “I will play there one day.”
This moment in his life comes full circle to where he is now showing exactly what can happen to a dream deferred if you continue to believe.
"We always when our kids write down their goals and then hang them up in their bedroom and then read those goals themselves, then they had daily goals and weekly goals,” Jason Velazquez said. “So to see that, you know, he makes an Instagram post in 2012 that says he'll play in that stadium one day and then do it, it's pretty sweet."
