Episode 021: James Laurinaitis tells his story from a no name from Minnesota to an OSU Legend
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James Laurinaitis’s journey to Ohio State was as unusual as they come. The son of a professional wrestler, “The Animal” was a legendary member of the Legion of Doom. Joe, his father, raised him in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, where hockey, not football dominated the sports landscape. James’s hockey skills were so legendary, that had he chose hockey, many of his coaches thought he would be a 2nd or 3rd round NHL draft pick.
James instead elected to focus on football and became the hidden gem of the 2005 recruiting class. Doc Tressel, brother of Jim, was credited with his discovery and Luke Fickell was the position coach who sealed his commitment. He was forced into duty his freshman year against Michigan and the rest was history. 3 All American nods and a Butkus Award later, the kid from the Twin Cities had etched his own line at Linebacker U. Find out his thoughts on his time with Coach Tressel? How he developed into the player he became? Did Cam Newton handle the Super Bowl Press conference the right way? All that and more on this episode of According to Carp.
Topics:
Journey to OSU
Losing back to back National Championship Games
How Jim Tressel recruited him
His relationship with Luke Fickell