Rise Up!

Describing Tyler “Tank” Whaley in 800 words is like trying to lick your own elbows or climb Mount Everest on a unicycle.

It has been 18 years since he graduated from Ohio State on a football scholarship that most people told him he was crazy to pursue. Thankfully, he did not listen. His story will never get old because it is a lesson in the power of the human mindset set on a defined goal. It also teaches us that other people will add to your fire if you ignite them with your passion.

A former All-State defensive lineman and stellar offensive tackle for the Ironton Fighting Tigers, Tank was repeatedly told he was too small, at 5 feet 11 inches and 270 pounds, to play at Ohio State. Bob Lutz, Mark Snyder, and Mike Burcham each played a part. Their résumés would take the rest of my allotted words to describe, but their support, along with Tank’s killer work ethic and attitude, earned him a chance with legendary Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who had just won the school’s first national title since 1968.

At the end of Tank’s senior year at Ironton High School in 2003, there was no interest from major college programs. “I remember getting called out of class to meet Clemson coaches who were recruiting Roman Fry,” he said. “I could see the disappointment on their faces when I walked in. Tommy Bowden, then Clemson’s head coach, asked, ‘Where’s your neck?’”

He was offered preferred walk-on status at Marshall University and was recruited by lower-division schools. But his dreams remained focused on Ohio State. “I visited smaller schools but wasn’t impressed after playing at Ironton in front of so many fans.”

Shortly after high school graduation, his mother, Tammy Vogelsong, ran into Lutz in Ironton. Lutz asked what Tyler was doing. Tammy said he wanted to play at Ohio State. “He called Mark Snyder on the spot,” Tyler said. Along with a recommendation letter penned by Burcham, that call led to a meeting with Ohio State’s then co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. “Snyder put his neck on the line for me. He was only allowed two walk-on spots.”

Tressel agreed to Snyder’s request, and the Rudy Ruettiger comparisons started to form in the shadows, beginning with self-doubt and lots of pain. “My first practice, I was on the ground a lot after getting hit by Will Smith and others. Mark Dantonio, then the co-defensive coordinator, asked, ‘Who is this guy?’ That was how it started.”

“When I went there, there was doubt. I wondered if I could do it, but I wasn’t going to give up. It came down to, ‘Are you coachable?’ I was already naturally strong. Once I learned what they were teaching me, I knew I belonged. I knew why I came here and what I came to do.”

But he could not have realized the impact he was about to make.

After three seasons as a seriously undersized backup lineman, Tressel decided in 2006 to use Tank’s size and strength at fullback. Tank was also awarded a scholarship. The following season, his senior year, he split reps with fullback Dionte Johnson and logged significant playing time in the BCS National Championship Game against LSU.

In 2007, Tank was awarded the team’s Bo Rein Most Inspirational Player Award, which was voted on by his teammates. “When they announced it at a banquet before the national championship game, it was a full-circle moment,” he recalled. “It was such an unbelievable honor, better than anything else I ever received. What I went through for five years meant something.”

Former Columbus Dispatch sportswriter Ken Gordon was so impressed that he wrote a book about Tank titled Buckeye Dreams: The Tyler “Tank” Whaley Story.

Regarding the comparisons to Rudy, he said, “I’m appreciative of that,” noting that he was inspired by the movie as a child. “I had a better playing career, though,” he laughed. “But if you’re comparing me to him, I consider that a great honor.”

Today, 41-year-old Tank lives in Ashland, Kentucky, with his wife, Brittany, whom he proposed to on the Ohio Stadium 50-yard line. He once bench-pressed 225 pounds 34 times at an NFL Combine. That is roughly equivalent to bench-pressing a bathtub full of water, or approximately 500 pounds. They have two children, and he works for Stryker Orthopaedics.

He keeps in touch with Tressel, now the lieutenant governor of Ohio, and is involved in Tressel’s statewide health initiative for children, along with many other Buckeye greats.

I had to save space for this part: his faith in Jesus. “You can strip me of everything I’ve experienced, but I’ll still have my faith as a foundation,” he said. “You have to put your whole heart into trusting Christ. I want to share that with others.”

Seventeen words to spare, but thousands more that could have been included.

O-H!