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The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is the best one in all of sports. The amount of hate that belongs to both football programs is insanely high. When these two teams face off, the stakes are usually extremely high. The Buckeyes and Wolverines like to compete for titles.
There are three players whom the Buckeyes wanted who decided to head to the dark side of the rivalry and who likely regret their decision. One of them is the most recent player in the rivalry to make that decision.
1. RB Jordan Marshall
A Cincinnati native, Marshall decided to commit to TTUN over the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2024. He gave a reason for doing so that looks hilarious now. Since that decision, things haven't gone as he had hoped. Marshall watched the Buckeyes win the national championship in 2024 and lost to the Buckeyes last year at home.
Instead of turning into a bona fide star in Columbus, Marshall failed to run for 1,000 yards last season with TTUN. Michigan is a program in complete turmoil, and it looks like he made the wrong choice. Had he chosen Ohio State, he would have had a shot to start for a program that has produced great running backs.
Next season, Marshall will once again be the starter for TTUN. He will be playing in Columbus for the first time as a starter. Something tells me that it won't go as well as he had hoped it would. There's a chance the Buckeyes could blow out the Wolverines.
2. WR Donovan Peoples-Jones
It's rare that the Wolverines get a five-star receiver in the recruiting process. That's exactly what they got in Donovan Peoples-Jones back in the 2017 recruiting class. He chose the Wolverines over the Buckeyes, but this was right before Brian Hartline took over as the wide receivers coach. It was still Zach Smith stinking up the joint.
Had Peoples-Jones decided to head to Columbus, perhaps he would have been a higher draft pick. The highest total receiving yards he had at Michigan was 612 yards and eight touchdowns in his second season. Ohio State was still producing stud receivers, even back then.
Peoples-Jones also never beat Ohio State in his collegiate career, so that probably made him regret his decision, too.
3. Desmond Howard
Howard is the only one on this list who probably doesn't regret his decision, but he still should have been a Buceye. He's an Ohio native, so the Buckeyes certainly were aware of his talents. Yet, he decided to head across the state border to play for TTUN.
This was early in John Cooper's Ohio State head coaching tenure, and he was trying to recruit more nationally. Had he paid more attention to the state of Ohio, Howard could have won the Heisman for the Buckeyes. Instead, he is one of the most hated players in the rivalry.
Ohio State hasn't lost many recruiting battles for major stars to TTUN. That's a credit to Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, and Ryan Day.
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This article was originally published on scarletandgame.com as 3 players who never should have gone to the dark side of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.
