Students & Intern Staff MVPs in Quick Move to SoFi Stadium – Ohio State Buckeyes

On Dec 31, 2021

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – If Southern California is synonymous with anything, it is sunshine and blue skies. But, it rains sometimes. And this week, that threw the Buckeyes a curve ball in its preparations for the 108th Rose Bowl Game on Saturday versus Utah.

But, like any good organization, Ohio State adjusted. It moved its Thursday practice – originally scheduled to be outside at Dignity Health Sports Park – inside to SoFi Stadium, the spectacular new home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers with an estimated price tag of $5 billion. The MVP’s behind the scene to make such a move happen included a small army of equipment managers, trainers, strength interns and video personnel who sprang into action early on Thursday morning after some late night planning on Wednesday.

The equipment staff – led by Kevin Reis and Kevin Nerl and assisted by a 10-person staff of students – first went to Dignity Health Sports Park at approximately 9:30 a.m. local time and packed up all the gear at the practice site to move it to SoFi Stadium. Additional support came from 10-15 individuals in areas such as video, strength and conditioning, nutrition and operations. Their task was to pack up and move the following:

Athletic training supplies
Coolers
Player equipment (helmets, cleats, pads, etc.)
Staff laundry
Spare equipment
Field equipment (footballs, blocking shields, tackling dummies)
Video equipment
Weight training equipment (Thursday’s practice included strength training afterwards)

From there, the crew arrived at SoFi Stadium around 1 p.m. and immediately started preparing the facility for a 3 p.m. team practice. By the time the team arrived, its locker room, training room, video equipment and strength and conditioning areas were set up and fully operational for the Buckeyes’ fourth practice of the week.

After practice, the same group had a new task: tear everything down and load it into two semi trucks. One was bound for a local high school, where Ohio State will hold its final practice before the game on Saturday. The other was headed to the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena with equipment, training and video supplies for the game.

And, here’s the good news: the rain will be long gone by kickoff. The forecast is calling for sunny skies and temperatures in the 60s. And the even better news: when Mother Nature threw Ohio State a curveball, the Buckeyes power hitters behind the scenes hit it out of the park.