Tanner McCalister wants to play in the NFL and win a national championship, and he believes continuing to play for Jim Knowles at Ohio State will give him the chance to do that.
When Tanner McCalister entered the transfer portal on Dec. 22, he did so with the hope that he’d get the opportunity to play at Ohio State.
McCalister had offers from many other schools also come his way over the past two weeks, including offers from numerous SEC schools as well as several other Big Ten schools. He gave those offers serious consideration as well, particularly an offer from LSU, another school with a rich tradition of developing NFL defensive backs.
McCalister is well aware of Ohio State’s pedigree for developing defensive backs like Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore and Malik Hooker who have gone on to be high NFL draft picks. He’s also heard good things about playing at Ohio State from star Buckeye wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who he’s been friends with since they were both kids growing up in Rockwall, Texas.
“I think he’s a guy that’s about his business,” McCalister said. “To me, he seems like he wants to win, which is obviously what any coach wants to do, but for me being a player, we want to win as well, so that’s important for me. And I think he really cares about his players as well. I told him my goals, he told me some of his goals and I think our goals match up.
Of course, McCalister wants to play a major role for Ohio State’s 2022 defense, and he believes his familiarity playing in a Knowles-coached system will enable him to do that. McCalister played a similar role at Oklahoma State to the cover safety position Ohio State used in 2021, and McCalister anticipates he’ll continue playing that role, which will likely mean playing primarily in the slot but also occasionally dropping back to play deep safety or lining up in the box.
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