The night before college football’s national championship game, several Ohio State players will get together to pray the rosary at the team’s hotel before going to sleep. The rhythmic cadence of the prayers brings them a sense of calm while preparing for a clash with Notre Dame that will be watched by thousands in the stadium and viewed by millions of others throughout the world.
Senior long snappers John Ferlmann and Collin Johnson, both practicing Catholics, likely will be joined by a few teammates as they pray their way through the decades of the rosary at the end of a day spent making final preparations for the biggest game of their lives.
There’s a lot of pressure on players and coaches to win in big-time college football, and one way they handle the enormous spotlight is by relying on their faith and reciting prayers such as the rosary.
“The day before the game, there’s a lot going on, a lot of stuff on social media, a lot of meetings and walk-through, so your mind’s kind of buzzing around,” Johnson said. “We usually pray right before we go to bed and it helps you clear your mind. And then you wake up and go attack it.”
When Ohio State takes on Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday night in Atlanta, a sizable number of the players will be praying in the locker room and on the field before the game and then expressing their faith in interviews afterward.
Those who follow college football have noticed that athletes no longer appear reluctant to share their love for God in the public square. What once seemed taboo to talk about, mostly out of fear that someone might be offended, has now seemingly become a common occurrence in interviews.
“I think it has to do with people just being more comfortable with who they are in their faith and not being afraid or ashamed of what they believe in and the God they believe in,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of guys have accepted the fact that I’m a man of God, I’m going to follow what He’s teaching. And if somebody wants to judge me for that, then so be it. But I know who I am.”
While media covering the sport would, in most cases, rather not air an interview with a player talking about Jesus or thanking God, players and coaches have seized the opportunity to use a significant platform to glorify the Lord. Not only have they given thanks for the blessings they’ve received, they’ve shared that they believe their teams’ successes have come as a direct result of faith in God and one another.
As Ohio State and Notre Dame have made their way through the playoffs into the title game, the teams’ Christian players and coaches have not shied away from openly proclaiming their beliefs.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, a former Ohio State player, is a man with strong Catholic faith. After the father of six became the school’s head coach in 2022, he reinstituted the practice of game-day Mass for all players. He’s highly respected as a family man and a mentor to young athletes.
Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard and his counterpart, Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard, have used the spotlight to credit God for their talent. Howard is a practicing Catholic who attends Mass and has participated in Bible study with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionaries on the Ohio State University campus.
Howard will also join the players who pray the rosary on occasion, particularly during preseason training camp when the demands of the season are less hectic.
Despite being a public institution, Ohio State has received an outpouring of media attention during the season for the strong Christian presence that permeates the team.
In August, several current and former players led an on-campus faith-based event that attracted thousands. Players have been spotted wearing JESUS WON shirts. Among the Buckeyes’ most outspoken Christians are running back TreVeyon Henderson, tight end Gee Scott and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
“We have a reflection every Sunday after games, talk about Scripture, and the night before a game a reflection,” Ferlmann explained. “The whole culture started to revolve around Jesus and it’s really cool to see.”
Coaches like to preach the importance of playing together – and the players acknowledge that faith has helped bring them together.
“Everyone is playing for a common goal,” Johnson said. “On a lot of teams, guys are sometimes playing for themselves, trying to make it to the next level and getting what’s theirs. And I think this is bringing us all together for one common goal.”
Ferlmann, the starting long snapper for punts and field goal attempts, is in his second season at Ohio State after transferring from Arizona State. The Phoenix native said he has always faithfully attended Mass and loved receiving the Eucharist, but interacting with the FOCUS missionaries at the St. Thomas More Newman Center has awakened his spirituality.
After meeting the missionaries and attending Bible study in the spring, Ferlmann invited Johnson to come to his apartment to pray the rosary and read Scripture during the week. Over the past few months, Ferlmann shared that he has never felt better and more informed as a Catholic.
“It just gives you a sense of peace going into the game,” Ferlmann said. “It’s easy to look at 100,000 fans and say our job is insignificant to them — until it’s not done right. So, there’s a lot of stress behind that.”
Johnson, who is Ferlmann’s backup, attended New Albany High School and said his perspective on the Catholic faith has changed since he began interacting with the FOCUS missionaries.
“Being a student-athlete here can be pretty stressful,” Johnson said. “And so just having something as strong as Catholicism and faith to fall back onto definitely brings a sense of peace helps you carry the weight of it all.
“Before coming here (to the Newman Center), I was just kind of absorbing the stress and not really finding an outlet for it, so it would weigh me down. But once I got connected and starting coming here more frequently, I realized that I was able to handle this and just the weight of it all a lot better.”
During a “stressful” preseason camp in August, Ferlmann and punter Joe McGuire began praying the rosary each night. Johnson joined them and Howard would stop by on occasion.
Once the season started, Ferlmann, Johnson and McGuire continued to get together, particularly the night before road games, for 15-20 minutes in a room to pray the rosary. Others have joined them from time to time, including kicker Jayden Fielding, who was raised Baptist.
Ohio State’s regular season ended with a fourth straight loss to rival Michigan that resulted in a postgame scuffle and led to outsiders calling for coach Ryan Day to be fired. But the Buckeyes stuck together and experienced a resurgence in the 12-team College Football Playoff, taking care of business against Tennessee, Oregon and Texas leading up to the championship game against Notre Dame.
“A really cool moment was when we had our players meeting right after the game” against Michigan, Johnson said. “A lot of the guys were pretty fiery and some guys were expressing their opinions in their own ways.
“The one thing that stuck with me is Trey (Henderson) bringing everyone together and saying we can’t let the enemy destroy what God’s created for us. That stuck with me.”
“We closed in prayer and it just felt like everyone kind of calmed down and realized what they had to do,” Ferlmann said. “And we’ve been doing it.”
All the way to the championship game.