‘Such an honor;’ Players, coaches from Miami Valley ready for CFP National Championship

ATLANTA — The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are preparing to take the field for the College Football Playoff National Championship Monday night.

There are deep Miami Valley connections on both teams.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, players, coaches, and even one of the people calling the game are Miami Valley natives.

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ESPN Analyst and Centerville native Kirk Herbstreit said Dayton is a “big-time Ohio State town.”

He will be one of the people calling the game for ESPN.

“I don’t allow my love for Ohio State to impact me in any way. I just call the game, and then if they win afterward… soon as the game is over, I become a fan,” Herbstreit said.

On the field for the Buckeyes, linebacker CJ Hicks is an Archbishop Alter High School graduate and has been thinking about a game like this since he was a Knight.

“I could definitely see myself playing here. Going to alter, playing for Coach Domsitz and the program there prepared me to be at Ohio State and where I am now,” Hicks said.

On the other side of the ball, Notre Dame Offensive lineman Aamil Wagner is a Wayne High School graduate.

“I remember watching the National Championship as a kid,” Wagner said. “So the opportunity to be in that same position, on the same field, as guys that played years before me, it’s just so it’s such an honor, and I’m so blessed to have it.”

Wagner isn’t the only Wayne Warrior.

“Dayton, Ohio, is always going to be a special place to me,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said.

Freeman graduated from Wayne High School in 2004 and grew up in Huber Heights.

“The foundation of who I am as a person was developed in Huber Heights. So, there’s a lot of people that that they get ‘Thank Yous’ for putting me in the situation I’m in now,” Freeman said.

Notre Dame Defensive Back Coach Mike Mickens graduated from Wayne High School in 2005.

Josh Padilla, an offensive lineman for the Buckeyes, graduated from Wayne High School in 2023.

News Center 7′s Xavier Hershovitz asked Herbstreit his opinion on the Miami Valley being on both sides of the ball.

“I think most people in Dayton are pulling for the Buckeyes,” Herbstreit said. “I think, well, not Wayne, the Wayne Warriors have it, their fan base has it. They’re Buckeyes but they’re Marcus guys, that’s a tough one. That’s a hard one to figure out.”

There can only be one National Champion and the Buckeyes of the Fighting Irish will earn that title Monday night.

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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