Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis is opting out of the 2020 college football season and declaring for the 2021 NFL Draft, he told Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports.
Davis, a projected first-round pick, is the first Buckeyes player to decide not to play in the wake of the Big Ten's postponement of the fall campaign.
"It's really heartbreaking," Davis said. "I believe that we would have won the national championship this year. It's really unfortunate. I feel for all those guys, especially the younger players going into this year having that taken away from them. It's tough, but we are in a pandemic. It's just really unfortunate. We had something really special."
Davis noted he could've declared for this year's draft but decided to return for a fourth season at Ohio State in pursuit of a title.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pounder praised head coach Ryan Day's handling of the COVID-19 crisis.
"Everyone (has) truly bought in," Davis said. "Guys were taking the initiative to not be out in public and to truly follow protocols. Everyone wanted to play. Coach Day and (athletic director) Gene Smith were both fighting extremely hard and they still are. Coach Day cares for us, man. He wants nothing but the best for us."
On Thursday, Day called on the Big Ten to better communicate why it can't play amid the pandemic while other Power 5 conferences can.
