Football doesn’t always come first for Ohio State offensive lineman Thayer Munford.
The senior chose to return to college for another season of football in the weeks immediately following his team’s CFP Championship loss to Alabama, a somewhat surprising decision for the Buckeyes' active leader in career starts.
When asked why he made such a choice, Munford said it came down to something much bigger than taking the field every Saturday afternoon for one more season.
“I love this question,” Munford said on Friday. “The reason why I came back is because I gotta get my academics together. I’m one semester away until I actually graduate.”
Since arriving on campus in 2017 as a three-star recruit out of Massillon High School, Munford has worked towards a single goal above all others: getting a college degree.
Even after he was forced into a surprise starting spot as a sophomore, worked through multiple injuries, and ended up anchoring a very solid Ohio State offensive line in 2020, that goal has remained constant.
“I really didn’t feel comfortable yet for me leaving, because I knew I needed to get my degree before I moved on,” Munford said. “That’s what I promised my mom and anybody who was around me my senior year of high school. That’s what pushed me to actually stay here and work on my craft.”
More than four years after he promised that accomplishment to those around him, Munford’s mother remains the number one driving factor in his academic life.
Her relentless work is about to finally pay off in a major way: In August, weeks before Ohio State takes the field in its season-opener, Munford will become the first member of his family to graduate from college.
“That’s a big part of me,” Munford said. “Football is good and all, but at the same time, my academics were the more important part for me, because I’m the first generation to actually go to college at all at a big, major school.”
In 2015, after two state championships at La Salle High School in Cincinnati, the 6-foot-5 left tackle packed his bags and transferred to Massillon, a three-hour journey to the north.
That move is what ultimately inspired Munford’s post-football dream.
When his playing career is over-- whether that’s after the 2021 college football season or following an extended professional career-- Munford said he wants to become an athletic director and football coach.
“I had Nate Moore, for instance. He coaches at Massillon right now. He brought me in and just took me in under his wing,” Munford said, referring to his long-time high school coach. “I just looked at that and was like, ‘Okay, I really want to do this.’
"Because there’s more people like myself, in worse situations than I was in, and I want to help them out so they won’t be a statistic in society.”
Now, the rock-steady presence on Ohio State’s offensive line is less than four months away from taking a giant step towards those dreams.
Football may take first priority for Thayer Munford every time he steps on the gridiron in scarlet and gray, but until Ohio State’s summer commencement on August 8, he has more important goals in mind.
“I’m honored to be that first generation. I can tell it to my kids and my grandkids, so they can tell it to their kids,” Munford said. “I’m grateful to be in this position right now.”
