Dallas Gant getting by just fine at home in Lucas County

Ohio State linebacker has been home since March 14.

By Kyle Rowland / The Blade
Sun, 24 May 2020 13:00:00 GMT

The Ohio State flag outside the front door is confirmation that you’ve reached the correct destination.

The 6-foot-3, 234-pound linebacker mowing the front yard is further verification.

This is life for college football players in the age of the coronavirus pandemic: orders from mom to mow the lawn, clean up the kitchen, and keep your bedroom clean.

Dallas Gant, a former St. John’s Jesuit standout, has been holed up in Lucas County since March 14 after returning from a spring break trip to Florida. Gant was on a Fort Lauderdale beach when he realized the world had changed.

“Being in the house is definitely different,” he said. “I haven't been in the house for this long since high school. Adjusting to that, adjusting to meetings online, at-home workouts, it’s a lot different. I'm a little stressed out, but mostly fine. It's a crazy time. It's like a movie.”

In two weeks, Gant will pull out of his driveway bound for Columbus, almost like leaving home as a freshman all over again. Ohio State has targeted June 8 as the day players can return to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on a voluntary basis. Coaches returned with limited access last Monday.

The palatial football facility will provide players with a safe, familiar, and structured environment to work out. While the atmosphere will be different — temperatures will be taken and players will be given symptom assessments — the state-of-the-art equipment and booming voice of Mickey Marotti will be a welcome sound.

Ten players will be permitted to work out at one time, with the occupied area undergoing a thorough cleaning after the players leave. Then the second group of players will enter. Only 50 players would work out per day.

“I think it'll kill me because it’s an Ohio State workout,” Gant said. “But I don't think it'll kill me as much because I've been doing everything right and doing all my workouts. Trying to replicate an Ohio State workout is tough.”

Returning to football shape will only take two weeks, according to Gant. He’s perhaps on the low end of that spectrum, as access to his father’s gym in downtown Toledo allowed Gant to maintain his playing weight — “His weight is not going to go down on my watch,” mom Rhonda Kimmons said — and perform rigorous workouts.

“It’s a test every day of who we are,” strength coach Marotti told reporters on a conference call. “It’s a test of our program’s culture, of our strength and conditioning program’s culture. It’s a test of what our team is and how accountable they are to each other.”

The NCAA’s Football Oversight Committee in April suggested a six-week period before returning to play. Safety was at the forefront of the six-week number, giving players ample time to return to football-playing shape.

“Everybody is in some sort of shape, but football shape is different,” Gant said.

A typical day includes a 10 a.m. Zoom football meeting, online school work, eating, and working out. You don’t become an Ohio State football player without a strong internal dedication, so being disciplined to eat correctly and work out hasn’t been an issue for Gant.

In fact, he finds it therapeutic. Another pastime is watching tape of himself, jotting down notes about improving his footwork and hands. He also seeks out video of former Buckeyes who play in the NFL.

“You see little things in their game that can help and shape your game,” Gant said.

Ohio State only completed three of its 15 spring practices before the coronavirus outbreak. How and if the practices will be made up remains unknown, but they represent a missed opportunity for Gant, who was in a competition to start.

In two seasons, he has played in all 28 games for the back-to-back Big Ten champions. Gant has served as a backup linebacker and special teams ace, recording 27 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. His goal-line forced fumble against Cincinnati in 2019 helped preserve a shutout.

“That's a difficult situation because a lot could have happened in the spring,” Gant said. “But you never know what would have come of it. We have a lot of good linebackers. Obviously, we’re all talented. Spring is a big part of the year, a time to showcase what you can do.”

The limited practices didn’t go unnoticed, though. Nor did Gant’s production during winter workouts. Entering fall camp, coaches have a mental order of how things stand, cautioning that playing time could be a group effort.

“The guys like Teradja [Mitchell] who are growing up, Dallas Gant, K’Vaughan Pope, those guys are going to be critical to our success,” linebackers coach Al Washington said in April. “They’ll get a lot of playing time and they make an impact. But I couldn’t give you much more than that.”

A month before, Washington referenced Gant and fellow juniors as veterans who “worked their tails off.”

“They've got to play,” Washington said. “And not just play, they've got to play at a high level.”

If the season is canceled, well, that is something Gant isn't remotely interested in pondering.

“I have no idea what I would do without playing football,” he said, shaking his head. “I haven’t done that since sixth grade. I haven’t thought about it. Everyone that asks me, I tell them, ‘We’re going to have a season.’”

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