Peoples Expects Ohio State To Be Great

SAN ANTONIO – The All-American Bowl has been in the same location for years and years and now one of its residents gets to play in the game as Ohio State signee James Peoples is on the East roster for the 2024 edition of the game.

He was all smiles at practice on Tuesday going through the paces, but when he lines up a flip is switched, and it becomes all business as Peoples shows why the Buckeyes coveted him so dearly.

Peoples and his new teammates just recently when through the Signing Day process and have been able to call themselves members of the team and many will report in less than a week with January 7^th the date that the early enrollees will get on campus.

This game gives Peoples the chance to get the jump on getting to know people who were just names in a text thread all the better.

“It’s about building those connections,” Peoples said. “All of us are about to go to college, these are the bonds we can build to take it to the next level.”

With the Buckeyes losing Miyan Williams to the NFL Draft, Chip Trayanum and Evan Pryor to the transfer portal and still no official word yet on TreVeyon Henderson, it could be a very quick introduction from college right into the fire if the room really thins out.

That is where the relationship with Peoples and Tony Alford comes into play.

“He’s always been just straight up,” Peoples said. “That’s the thing about Coach Alford, he’s not going to change on you. He was hard on me in the beginning and he’s still hard on me. The expectations is the same when I come in there.”

Peoples had the chance to watch the bowl games on Monday with all of the players as they got to the team hotel. He was not shy to admit that he was pulling for Alabama in the Rose Bowl because not wanting to let The Team Up North get a big win, but that wasn’t the case.

And as for the Buckeyes who came up short in the Cotton Bowl? It was a tough outcome, but pressure creates diamonds.

“I know going into spring, it’s going to be ramped up even more because the expectation of Ohio State is to be great,” Peoples said. “So, we’ve got to live up to that standard, and that’s what we’re bringing in there.”

Check out more of what Peoples had to say in this exclusive one-on-one interview from East practice at the All-American Bowl.