Trey Sermon feels 'no pressure' ahead of National Championship
As Monday’s national championship game between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 1 Alabama awaits, Trey Sermon said he feels no pressure.
Despite running for record-breaking yardage and elevating his game in recent weeks, Sermon said he’s confident in his ability and trusts his preparation.
“There’s no pressure, I just know I have to go out there and execute,” Sermon said Thursday. “Do my job to the best of my ability. I know I’m going to be fine.”
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Sermon has had a long buildup to his recent performances as a Buckeye. His first Ohio State moment came when he wasn’t wearing a Buckeyes uniform, rather, as a freshman with the Oklahoma Sooners in 2017.
When the No. 2 Buckeyes hosted No. 5 Oklahoma on Sept. 9, 2017, Sermon scored his first-career touchdown on a 10-yard reception from quarterback Baker Mayfield, a play he recalls vividly.
“I remember everything about that game,” Sermon said. “To me, it felt like my first big college game. I remember being able to make plays. It was an exciting moment. I was trying to enjoy every moment of it.”
Sermon also had to overcome an ACL injury sustained last season as a Sooner. He spent time rehabbing and training in Houston over the summer with Rischad Whitfield, who Sermon said was passionate in building his footwork skills back.
“I didn’t feel really good until about the time when I started working with Rischad,” Sermon said. "He coaches you hard, he doesn’t let you slack off not one bit. He’ll do it first, show you how it’s supposed to be done.”
As Sermon said in the final week of December, he adjusted to the speed of Big Ten football compared to playing in the Big 12.
Sermon had quietly played consistently as the Buckeyes reached the Big Ten Championship game on Dec. 19, building off each game’s reps. He credited getting in-sync with the Buckeyes offensive line that has really catapulted his production of late.
“Trey has been huge for our team,” center Josh Myers said Thursday. “It’s been so fun. Trey never once complained, he never had a bad attitude. He just kept coming to work. I think that’s the most satisfying part for me in watching him succeed now. I can’t say enough how happy I am for him.”
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Sermon's production has allowed Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields to play with an offense that has opened up, especially with the return of Chris Olave against No. 2 Clemson. It will remain to be seen how mobile Fields will be against Alabama after getting hit in the ribs in the second quarter of the Sugar Bowl.
Fields said he and Sermon have known one another since his senior year of high school.
“It’s definitely crazy seeing the position where we are now,” Fields said Thursday. “He’s always been a hard worker. I think we’ll talk about this a few years from now, but I think right now we’re more so living in the moments. I tell him after every big game and say ‘I told you you should’ve came here.’”
The Crimson Tide boast the NCAA’s 13th-best rushing defense behind team sacks leaders redshirt-sophomore defensive lineman Christian Barmore and freshman linebacker Will Anderson Jr., who have seven sacks apiece.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban said Sunday he believes Sermon is an “outstanding player” who contributes to the Ohio State offensive scheme.
“Trey Sermon is a really, really good player,” Saban said Monday. “Trey has taken advantage of all those circumstances and situations and played extremely well, especially against Clemson last week.”
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Sermon ran for 191 yards and a touchdown against the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl, a performance of which Saban said was “phenomenal.”
It was the second-most rushing yards allowed by Clemson this season, and for Sermon to have found success against a team that allowed an average of less than 100 rushing yards per-game, Saban said he’s taken that into account for the national championship.
“We’re always on our heels on defense, which, when you have great balance, that’s always the fear you have for your defensive team,” Saban said. “Trey Sermon has certainly been a guy that’s contributed to that in a very positive and significant way.”
Alabama has a talented running back in Najee Harris, who finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting behind the nation’s most rushing touchdowns with 24 and third-most yardage with 1,387.
The Buckeyes and Crimson Tide have capable running backs that have proven explosive when handed the football. Ohio State senior defensive lineman Haskell Garrett expects to see both running backs put on a show.
“When you get into this March Madness, your talent is going to equate and so it’s how well you’re going to execute like coach Day says,” Garrett said Wednesday. “We have a great challenge ahead of us, he’s a great running back. He brings a lot different dynamic to their offense.”
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Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day said he noticed Sermon started to really pick things up following the Dec. 5 game at Michigan State, when Sermon ran for 112 yards and his first touchdown as a Buckeye.
When opening kickoff is made on Monday night, both Day and Sermon will feel eager to get to work, but pressure won’t be among them.
“What an amazing story,” Day said Thursday. “It didn’t all come at once for Trey. To say I knew he’d be doing this right now, no, this has been a pleasant surprise.
"When his opportunity came to be the guy, he took it and ran.”