COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Ohio State gets ready to take on Texas in the College Football Semifinals Friday night, one former Buckeye, who’s a native to the Dallas area, is still trying to forgive himself for the way his Ohio State career ended. 

What You Need To Know

  • Rod Gerald played both quarterback and wide receiver at Ohio State from 1975-1978

  • His sophomore year, Gerald broke his back due to a hit in a game and that changed everything

  • The debilitating pain led him to drugs, which ruined his image at Ohio State 

Rod Gerald played football at South Oak Cliff high school 50 years ago, but he still remembers every moment. Looking through his high school year book conjured up a lot of memories, including Woody Hayes coming down to Dallas to recruit him at the last moment.

Gerald inspects the pages of his high school yearbook. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

“Woody came in the picture kind of late," Gerald said. "But when he came in he was driving a Firebird.”

And soon enough, Woody convinced the young quarterback to move to Columbus, where he started his sophomore year — until things went awry.

Gerald playing quarterback in a game against Michigan. (Photo Courtesy of Rod Gerald)

“The next game, is the game that broke my back," Gerald said. "Broke four bones. It was just, really a fluke play, but it's changed my life so much.”

That injury debilitated Gerald. He remembers worrying about telling Woody he couldn’t play in the Orange Bowl.

“I wasn't going to play, but I ended up playing," he said. "And that game is a game I'm most remembered by, is the Orange Bowl.”

And the following season, Gerald was struggling with horrible pain, which he turned to drugs to manage.

“That was the first game that I really began to experiment with additional measures," Gerald admitted. "As you get faster, you get better the first game and, you know, it's so progressive. By the time we played Michigan, I had to keep it in my wristband.”

Gerald still deals with back pain, using a cane or walker to get around. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

After a Dispatch reporter exposed his drug use after his playing career at Ohio State, Gerald fell down a slippery slope of drug addiction and homelessness back in Dallas. But a call from his former coach about finishing his college degree may have saved his life.

“He said, I want you to finish that [degree]," Gerald said of his final conversation with Woody. "And, the following week, he passed in his sleep. And so that was on his mind. And that was one of the things that motivated me.”

Since then, Gerald has struggled to come to terms with his mistakes.

Gerald is still a proud Buckeye and he hopes Buckeye Nation can be proud of him one day, too. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

“I don't think I will ever forgive myself," Gerald said. "Yeah, I don't think I ever will.”

Despite those doubts, he’s grateful for the support of Buckeye Nation.

“The fans are so forgiving," he said. "I think about it more than anybody.”