In case you missed it, Columbus has a new (or is it old) Arena League football team that’s going to start play this spring. The team is dusting off the old logo and name of the Columbus Destroyers and looking to build something again in Nationwide Arena.
One might ask how an indoor football team can get its niche in the Columbus market with the Bengals and Browns of the NFL and the big Ohio State gorilla just down the road, but new head coach Matt Sauk actually embraces it. In fact, he wants a little Buckeye flavor to the Destroyers.
Thanks to audio from 610 WTVN’s Lori Schmidt, we got a glimpse into what he’s trying to do with the roster and coaching staff. Wearing a Detroit Lions hat, he had the following to say.
“I grew up in Michigan,” said Sauk sheepishly. “I know I just said that out loud and people hate me.” … “The biggest thing for me is that I’m trying to look at guys from Ohio. There’s so many colleges, there’s more than I thought. When we started looking at film and looking at guys and getting lists together, there’s a lot of kids that may have went out of state to play football, but they came from Ohio. And that’s the type of person I’m looking for because they’re going to know exactly what they’re going to get into.”
Later on, when asked about any surprises or names that might be recognized by fans in Central Ohio on his coaching staff, Sauk dangled a tease.
“I’m sure that there will be. I can’t say, because you don’t know until you get the contracts, but I am going to focus on some local guys. Guys that either grew up in Ohio, lived in Ohio, or played in Ohio.”
There you have it. A Michigan man that is trying to embrace all things Ohio. That’s been a recurring theme here in the off-season of Ohio State football.
