Iowa has a former Ohio State transfer on its roster that Ohio State players made sure to pay a visit to postgame.
The Ohio State Buckeyes have to be feeling good after Week 5 of the college football season. Ohio State picked up a 31-14 win over the No. 14 Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday . It was the first ranked win of the season for Buckeyes coach Ryan Day and his team.
The matchup with Iowa also meant a reunion with former Ohio State safety Cody Haddad, who transferred to the Hawkeyes last winter. What happened between Haddad and his former teammates after the game has taken off on social media.
The Buckeyes still have quite a few big games left on their 2026 regular season schedule. However, beating Iowa was a step in the right direction for a team that lost its only other ranked game this season in Week 2 against Texas.
Saturday's game also had a familiar face on the other sideline. The transfer portal has opened up paths for players to move around the conference, and Ohio State often finds itself playing against its former players in the Big Ten. Multiple former Buckeyes are on other Big Ten rosters now, and that was the case again against Iowa.
After the final whistle, a group of Buckeyes swarmed Haddad, and they were clearly excited to see him. The social media post on X capturing the moment has gone viral, picking up more than 1.2 million views.
Ohio State linebackers and defensive backs led the way. Linebackers TJ Alford and Riley Pettijohn,, cornerback Devin Sanchez, and safety Jaylen McClain were among the Buckeyes who greeted their former teammate. They were clearly giving Haddad a hard time about the loss Ohio State handed Iowa.
The reaction goes to show the Buckeye brotherhood that sticks with these players. Haddad only spent one year in the program before transferring out, and he never played in a game at Ohio State. That didn't stop his former teammates from being ecstatic to see him after the gamelike he never left.
Haddad is a 5-foot-11, 186-pound safety from Cleveland. He has appeared in just one game for Iowa this season and recorded two tackles in that game. Those are the only two tackles on his college resume so far.
Still, the reaction Haddad got after Saturday's game shows the bond Ohio State players build while they're in Columbus. A player who spent one year with the Buckeyes and never saw the field still drew that kind of response from the guys he practiced with.
It was a small moment after a big win, but it stuck out, and it's making its way around social media. As it should. It's a sign of the program Day is running in Columbus, and Buckeye fans should love everything about it.
Ohio State will look to build on its first ranked win with plenty of big games still ahead. If Saturday was any indication, the bond inside the locker room isn't going anywhere.
This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Postgame video of Ohio State players surrounding a familiar face on Iowa has gone viral for the right reason
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