From Michigan to Ohio State: Joey Velazquez’s quest to win a title on both sides of the rivalry

ATLANTA — Joey Velazquez has been at Ohio State long enough to know and respect the rule around his teammates.

He tries to follow it everywhere else, too, but he admittedly slips up with his parents every now and then.

“Sometimes I do say, ‘Michigan,’” Velazquez said.

Any violations are unintentional and understandable. Before he became a backup linebacker and special teams player for the Buckeyes, he was a contributor for the Team Up North.

Which puts him on the verge of history.

If Ohio State beats Notre Dame in Monday night’s College Football Playoff final, Velazquez will have won back-to-back national championships on two different teams — two teams that happen to be among the fiercest rivals in all of sports.

“It’s breathtaking, honestly,” Velazquez said Saturday during CFP media day. “I’m just thankful that God put me in the opportunities to be with these guys and these great players.”

Velazquez started earning those opportunities as a three-star football recruit and three-time all-state baseball player at St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus, Ohio. He initially committed to the hometown Buckeyes’ 2019 class but flipped to Michigan because football coach Jim Harbaugh and baseball coach Erik Bakich agreed to let him play both sports.

“That was my dream come true coming out of high school,” Velazquez said. “They gave me the opportunity, so it was awesome.”

That’s how you start a game!!

Three-run blast from Joey Velazquez!#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/hWa7gNACqI

— Michigan Baseball (@umichbaseball) May 7, 2023

Though his statistics were not eye-popping, he became the first Michigan player since Rick Leach (1978) to win a Big Ten title in football and baseball in the same year.

In football, he appeared in 21 career games on defense/special teams (none last year) and recovered a first-half fumble at the Wisconsin 5-yard line in 2021. In baseball, the lefty outfielder started 68 games over four seasons. He batted .277 in 2022 and had a game-winning pinch-hit home run against No. 21 Maryland and the go-ahead RBI single against Illinois en route to the Big Ten Tournament title.

But his father, Jason, started having health problems in the summer of 2023. Velazquez was far enough away that he didn’t realize how serious things were until he returned home. As the oldest son in a family of nine children, Velazquez decided he needed to be closer to home. The Buckeyes gave him that chance, and he transferred to Ohio State as a walk-on.

A Michigan Man began wearing scarlet and gray.

“You never see it happen,” Buckeyes linebacker Cody Simon said.

Once Simon and his teammates heard the reason behind Velazquez’s decision, they understood. And once they saw him work, they quickly accepted him. Velazquez was twice named one of the Buckeyes’ dudes of the week during offseason strength and conditioning programs. The 5-foot-11, 226-pound Velazquez has appeared in every game and recorded a tackle against Western Michigan.

“He’s really here for the betterment of our team,” Simon said. “He’s grown to be a brother of mine now. He helped our culture as soon as he got here.”

Despite the fierce animosity between the teams — hatred that boiled over into a midfield brawl in November — Velazquez sees cultural similarities. Both have fun and joke around on occasion, but the business-like preparation at both programs is at a level Velazquez has never seen anywhere else. As a sixth-year senior, Velazquez tries to foster it by showing younger players the dedication necessary to succeed. Dedication that has resulted in one Big Ten championship in baseball, three in football, one national championship and, perhaps, another title secured at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday.

Velazquez would not be the first player in the transfer portal era to win national championships at two different programs. Derion Kendrick was a receiver on Clemson’s 2018 title team and a standout cornerback on the Georgia team that won it all three years later. But Kendrick did not have to straddle a white-hot rivalry like Velazquez.

Velazquez’s maize and blue gear is boxed up — a safe middle ground between hanging shirts in his closet and disposing of them. During Thanksgiving week, he didn’t cross out or tape over the M on his Michigan diploma (a degree in American culture), which his parents have stowed away somewhere. He remains in touch with some of his former Michigan teammates, and a few have even reached out this week to let him know they’re rooting for him.

Though the circumstances of Velazquez’s transfer were unfortunate, he’s grateful for the results. His father’s health has improved. The situation let him join another elite program that sits four quarters away from a national title. Velazquez got to experience both sides of a storied rivalry and can consider himself both a Buckeye and a Michigan Man.

“Hopefully, I have the opportunity to win both national championships,” Velazquez said. “I’ll let my kids decide whatever team they want to pick.”

(Photos: Doral Chenoweth / USA Today Network; Mark J. Rebilas / Imagn Images)