SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.: Few may have known what defensive tackle Donovan Munger was doing during the 2013 season as he walked laps around the field for two hours while his Ohio State teammates practiced.
Some were unaware that Munger had been diagnosed with blood clots in his lungs that June, threatening the life of the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder from Shaker Heights High School.
But Ohio State co-captain Joshua Perry understood the message those laps were trying to send.
“That was his way of getting work in and showing people he was invested. That was really awesome,” Perry said Wednesday. “Fast forward to what he’s doing right now, he’s come a long ways as a player.”
Munger sat out his first season at Ohio State while taking blood thinners for the pulmonary embolism, which one doctor told him would end his football career. During OSU’s national championship season in 2014, he saw action in 11 games as a reserve.
But in Friday’s BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer is counting on the redshirt sophomore. The Buckeyes are without two starting senior defensive tackles — Adolphus Washington, suspended after an arrest for solicitation, and Tommy Schutt, who broke his right foot in a pre-Christmas practice and underwent surgery.
Defensive coordinator Luke Fickell said Michael Hill will take over for Schutt at nose tackle, while Munger and Tracy Sprinkle will probably share Washington’s spot at three-technique.
“He’s got to play well,” Meyer said of Munger.
“It was kind of hard to watch my son being hooked up to tubes and all that,” Munger’s mother, Deidra Sanders, said, recalling his health crisis. “But to move past that, I’m really excited for what’s next.”
Munger said he tries not to think about the five days he spent at Cleveland Clinic and the frightening diagnosis.
“Sometimes I pray about it and ask God to not let it come back again,” he said Wednesday during Fiesta Bowl media day at the JW Marriott Camelback Inn. “I try to talk to the trainers, listen to them as much as I can and do the things so I don’t get them again. It was really scary for me and my family. Fortunately, I’m still on this team playing.”
Munger’s grandfather, Dr. C. Jay Matthews, is senior pastor at Mount Sinai Ministries in Cleveland. Munger relied on his support, along with that of his mother.
Munger’s nurses gave him articles about other athletes who had overcome pulmonary embolisms, including tennis star Serena Williams, whose started from a bruise on her leg. Munger began to talk via Twitter with Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Jason Pinkston, currently out of football after his second bout with blood clots. They last chatted via social media about a month ago.
“I love talking to him. He’s a great guy,” Munger said of Pinkston.
Faith carried Munger, along with Munger’s determination to resume the sport he loves.
“That’s adversity at its finest. Obviously, you never want anybody to go through anything like that. He’s a tough kid. He did what he was told and got himself ready to play the next year,” Schutt said.
“He’s a very good man, very good family. Devastating, those are serious, serious issues,” Meyer said of Munger. “I was worried.”
During his year out of football, Sanders saw Munger mature.
“Donovan has always been what you would call an old soul. But I would say that during that time period he did have to grow quite a bit,” Sanders said by phone. “Football is something he’s done since he was 6. It’s become a part of him. Having to watch other people do what he’s most passionate about probably was a bit hard for him at first. But he didn’t let it keep him down.
“We both stayed in prayer. I encouraged him as he encouraged me. We really stuck together. I saw him become a man right before my eyes.”
To his OSU teammates, Munger is a player who lifts their spirits. Perry said Munger pokes fun at the Buckeyes, tells jokes, does impressions of players and coaches and quotes movies and television shows, with SpongeBob SquarePants his specialty.
“He’s hilarious,” Perry said. “We really do enjoy what he brings to our locker room in terms of how he breaks up the monotony, but also what he does on the field. He’s a guy who just puts his head down and goes to work and he doesn’t care about recognition or getting his name called. He just wants to make the team better.”
Sanders called Munger “a silly kid.”
“There’s no way for you to be depressed with him in the room. He’s a light in the room,” Sanders said.
Facing the biggest game of his career, Munger doesn’t claim to have survived the toughest challenge of anyone on the Ohio State roster.
“I wouldn’t say that. I wouldn’t say my battle was the biggest,” he said. “Everybody has adversity. How you respond to that adversity decides who you are.”
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.