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Head Coach Luke Fickell led Cincinnati to 11-2 in 2018. The Bearcats will be heading to the Ohio Stadium on September 7th. Photo courtesy of TNS
In 50 consecutive Buckeyes starts in the 90s, followed by 16 years of training in Columbus, Luke Fickell's DNA is deeply rooted in the Ohio State football program.
The Cincinnati football head coach not only has ties to the Buckeyes he has recruited, but his legacy in the state of Ohio has left Ryan Day feeling like a coach. Columbus's assistant coach began only a few weeks after Fickell's term ended.
"A lot of people talk to him when you talk about some of the biggest states of Ohio," Day said.
Fickell left a lot of things at Ohio State, but that's what he brought with him to Cincinnati that turned the Bearcats into something you can not take lightly.
Born in Columbus, Fickell was a three-time state champion at DeSales High School before breaking a program record for the start of every Ohio State guard game from 1993 to 1996.
Playing under former head coach John Cooper, Fickell's refusal to sit at the 1997 Rose Bowl despite a torn pectoral was a testament to the firmness that has become his signature.
Barely three years later, Fickell was found on the field for Ohio State, but this time as a graduate assistant coach. After a brief stint as coach of Akron's defensive line, Fickell returned in 2002 to win a national title as coach of the Buckeyes special teams. He spent another eight years under former head coach Jim Tressel before becoming a defensive coordinator.
As a result of the NCAA investigation that led to Tressel's dismissal from the program, it was Fickell who bridged the gap between Urban Meyer's era and an acting head coach.
Returning to the position of defensive coordinator, Fickell would capture his second national title with Meyer and the Buckeyes three seasons later.
By the time he left the Ohio State to take up the post of head coach in Cincinnati after the 2016 season, the Ohio State had amassed a record of 172-36 while Fickell was training there, with a winning percentage of 0.822 when his playing career is included.
Fickell is currently coaching in the AAC and the identity that his Bearcats have assumed is undeniable.
"It's a powerful football," said Ohio State's defensive line coach Larry Johnson. "It's really a Big Ten team. They are really. They run well football. They have a very good diet. "
Fickell, who inherited from a 4-8 team that had won a single conference match in 2016, would only need a transition season to turn Cincinnati into an 11-2 team with the defense No. 9 ranking in the country.
Cincinnati was ranked 19th in 2018, with two losses: a loss to a score against 8-5 Temple and No. 11 counter-UCF. Fickell led the team in his third season of 11 wins in the history of the program and was named coach of the year for the conference.
"It's a very good football team, very well trained," said Day. "Coach Fickell has been very successful at strengthening the rigor in this program."
The Bearcats led by Fickell appear to continue their momentum in 2018 this year, after defeating a Power Five opponent in UCLA 24-14 in the first week.
Ohio State Redshirt senior defensive tackle Davon Hamilton, from Pickerington, Ohio, said Fickell was his main recruiter, besides Johnson, and even visited his home. Hamilton said Fickell's roots in central Ohio helped attract potential customers to the state.
"He's a big leader overall," said Hamilton. "When he was here, he led the defense. He was always there, always prepared, always healthy. We have a lot to wait for Saturday.
With 72 Ohio players on the Cincinnati roster, Fickell will not be the only one to go to the Ohio stadium with a chip on his shoulder for what the young hitter Drue Chrisman called "a battle for the 'Ohio".
They may be ordering opposing forces on Saturday, but Day said that Fickell's contributions to the program over the years have helped to create friendly relations between the two partners, having conversed over the summer and even met the families of each.
That being said, cordiality may not numb the pain of a defeat from one side or the other.
"We have a lot of respect for coach Fickell and for what he's built there," Day said. "I think it's a very strong program, in great shape. So we know that they will come here hungry. Being in the same state, we know that means a lot. "
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