It’s impressive to win back-to-back national championships. It’s almost unthinkable to do it with different schools.

Yet that’s what one Ohio State player has a shot at achieving when the Buckeyes play Notre Dame in Monday night’s College Football Playoff title game (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Joey Velazquez, a linebacker, played for Michigan from 2019 to 2023. He appeared in 20 games over the five seasons, mostly on special teams, recording seven tackles. His biggest contribution was recovering a fumble on a Michigan punt at Wisconsin in 2021.

“Good thing Joey likes to do curls, because he had to curl that ball in and hold it,” then-Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said the next day. “That was a big play.”

Velazquez earned a scout team player of the week award for his work on defense earlier that season and played in Michigan’s playoff semifinal loss to Georgia. He appeared in 11 games in 2022 and none in 2023.

He was also a four-year letterwinner on Michigan’s baseball team. The outfielder appeared in 100 games with 68 starts, batting .255 with nine home runs.

The Columbus, Ohio, native was initially committed to his hometown school to play baseball. When Michigan offered the chance to play baseball and football, he flipped.

“Being from Ohio and decommitting, I got a little bit of (flak), but I really try not to pay attention to that,” Velazquez told MLive in 2020.

He won four Big Ten championships in Ann Arbor: three in football and one in baseball.

Last winter, he transferred to Ohio State.

Crossing over in one of the biggest rivalries in sports is rare, though not unprecedented. Justin Boren, an offensive lineman, played two seasons at Michigan before transferring to Ohio State, finishing his career there in 2010. Michigan has a men’s basketball player this season, Roddy Gayle Jr., who played the previous two seasons at Ohio State.

That Velazquez has a chance to win a second straight national championship makes his journey even more unique.

Michigan went 15-0 last season, beating Washington for the title. A Michigan spokesperson confirmed Velazquez did not travel with the team to Houston for the game.

He’s in Atlanta with the Buckeyes, though. He’s appeared in 13 games, including the 13-10 home loss to Michigan to close the regular season and Ohio State’s playoff opener against Tennessee. He has not played in the two playoff wins since, and has one tackle on the season.

Ohio State is an 8.5-point favorite over Notre Dame.

While Michigan fans are forced to pick between two of their rivals, Velazquez is likely the only Buckeye who, in last year’s championship, was pulling for Michigan.

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