COLUMBUS, Ohio- A native of Elryia, Ohio, Tracy Sprinkle has had his share of ups and downs throughout his Ohio State football career. Now, he will leave the defensive line putting the best numbers of his college career in 2017.

Coming in as a three-star recruit, Sprinkle was a star at Elryia High School. A 2012 Associated Press first-team all-Ohio selection and Division I co-defensive player of the year, the defensive lineman had 19 sacks and 11 other tackles for loss during his senior season, recording 103 tackles. With offers from Big Ten schools such as Michigan State, Penn State and Purdue as well as offers from Arkansas and Louisville, Sprinkle committed to Ohio State, the overwhelming favorite to land him, in April of 2012, and was a part of the 2013 class that brought players such as J.T. Barrett, Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott to Columbus. As one of five Buckeyes to enroll in January, Sprinkle elected to redshirt his freshman season in 2013.

In July 2014 Sprinkle was dismissed from the football team after being arrested during a bar brawl at Grown and Sexy Lounge in Lorain, Ohio. He pleaded not guilty to charges of rioting, failure to disperse, possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. He was eventually cleared of the drug charges and was reinstated in August 2014.

After not playing very much during the national championship season in 2014, Sprinkle played in all 13 games for Ohio State in 2015, recording four tackles and a fumble recovery in the 12-1 season for the Buckeyes. He earned a starting assignment heading into the 2016 opener against Bowling Green, but suffered a knee injury against the Falcons, ending his season and forcing him to have surgery and repair his knee heading into spring practice in 2017.

In his fifth year, Sprinkle made the most of his playing time on a constantly rotating defensive line. He had a career-high 16 tackles, recording three tackles for loss in his redshirt senior season. He also had a broken up pass and a quarterback hit in his final season with the Buckeyes.

Along with the stats and one of the main starting defensive tackles in the rotation in 2017, Sprinkle was also named as a captain on the defensive line in his redshirt senior season. Many defensive linemen viewed him as an example, with head coach Urban Meyer saying earlier this season that he had earned the respect back of the football program.

Although it may not be clear what is next for the defensive lineman, with a lack of stats and a knee injury in his past hindering his path to the next level, Sprinkle showed a sense of leadership in his final season with the Buckeyes that proved to be invaluable for Meyer and his staff.