With the 2020 Ohio State football season in the books, it is time for eligible Buckeyes to make their decisions in regards to their future. Will they declare for the 2021 NFL Draft or return to the Scarlet and Gray for another year of college football? And this year is even more unique, with every player granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA.
On Friday night, punter Drue Chrisman became the second Buckeye player to announce he is headed to the NFL. Chrisman posted a message on his social media accounts with the decision. Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade announced his decision to go to the NFL earlier in the day on Friday. The message is transcribed below.
First and foremost I want to thank family and friends for their endless support during all the years of athletics leading up to this point. I also want to thank the coaches and support staff at Ohio State for developing me into the man I am today. These last five years playing for the Buckeyes have given me friends and memories that will last a lifetime. The brotherhood is real and I loved every second of it. After careful consideration and talking to coaches and family members I have decided to declare for the 2021 NFL draft to continue my football journey. Thank you Buckeye Nation and as always… Go Bucks!
Chrisman was a three-star recruit and the No. 1 punter in the 2016 recruiting class. He redshirted his first year at Ohio State but beginning in 2017, Chrisman took over as the starting punter for the Buckeyes. In his final year with the Scarlet and Gray, Chrisman punted 27 times with an average punt of 45 yards. Chrisman missed the Big Ten Championship Game due to COVID-19 protocols.
Here is info on Chrisman from his bio on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Enters his senior season as one of the best punters in the Big Ten and nationally
• His career average of 43.9 yards per punt ranks fifth in Ohio State history
• Has placed 72 punts inside the 20 yard line, third most in program history
• His 44.3 yards per punt helped the Buckeyes rank No. 3 in the Big Ten in net punting for 2019
• Booted a season-long pint of 61 yards vs. Michigan
• Three of his five punts landed inside the 20 yard line vs. Northwestern
• Relived his high school quarterback days by completing a 21-yard pass on a fake punt in the second quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game vs. Wisconsin
• Keyed Ohio State to the No. 1 ranking in the Big Ten in net punting in 2018 with an average of 41.6 yards, a figure that was sixth-best nationally
• Earned Ray Guy national punter of the week honors after averaging 47.9 yards off nine punts in the come-from-behind win, in bonkers white-out conditions, at Penn State
• Was even better in the win at Michigan State, dropping all five of his second half punts inside of the Spartan 6 yard line, and directly leading to nine Ohio State points, in the fist-fight in the frost won by a foot, 26-6
• Landed 29 punts inside of the 20 during the 2018 season, the second-most in school history
• 15 of his 27 punts last season were downed inside of the 10
• In 2017, as a red-shirt freshman, he was a Ray Guy Award semifinalist and the third-team all-Big Ten punter after averaging 44.2 yards per punt to rank second in the Big Ten Conference and 14th nationally
• Had 25 punts downed inside the 20, 15 over 50 yards
• His net average of 41.1 helped the Buckeyes lead the Big Ten and rank ninth nationally
• Did not have a game where he averaged less than 45 yards per punt through the last five games of the season (all wins), and included was a personal best 48.5-yard day vs. Michigan StateHonors and Awards
2020: Second Team Preseason All-American by Chris Sailer Kicking
2019: Honorable mention All-Big Ten (coaches and media)
Academic All-Big Ten and OSU Scholar-Athlete
2018: Third-team All-Big Ten (coaches and media)
Ray Guy semifinalist
Academic All-Big Ten and OSU Scholar-Athlete
2017: Ray Guy semifinalist
Academic All-Big Ten and OSU Scholar-AthleteFlipping the Field … And Bottles
• Last year, Chrisman became a world-renown bottle flipper. And he still is, adding degrees of difficulty and moving targets to his repertoireA Spring Game Surprise
• Chrisman proposed to his now fiancé – Avery Eliason, of Lawrenceburg, Ind. – at halftime of the 2019 spring game in Ohio Stadium
• He set it up by acting as the holder in a field goal kicking contest with Avery taking a turn. She was stopped, though, and still on one knee, Chrisman proposed. And Avery said “yes.”More About Drue
• Chrisman was considered the No. 1 punter prospect in the 2016 recruiting class with 247Sports ranking him No. 1, the prestigious Kohl’s kicking and punting organization ranking him No. 1 (out of 81 punters) and Scout ranking him No. 2
• Averaged 46.4 and 43.0 yards per punt during the 2015 and 2014 seasons for LaSalle, respectively
• The Lancers, coached by Jim Hilvert, won back-to-back Division II Ohio state championships those seasons
• Named first-team Division II all-state by the Associated Press as a senior after earning second-team honors all-state honors in 2014
• First-team all-Greater Catholic League
• Named all-USA Ohio by USA Today
• A U.S. Army All-American
• Was 38-of-40 on extra points as a senior and kicked a game-winning, 41-yard field goal with 10 seconds to play to help LaSalle defeat Colerain, 39-36, in a key game
• Is the son of Sheila and Travis Chrisman
On top of his ability as a punter, Chrisman is also one of the country’s best bottle flippers. Whichever NFL team selects him will get a multi-sport athlete.
