Ryan Day’s Ohio State program named its first Victory Bell Ringer of the 2026 season on Tuesday morning. The choice is connected to a familiar name from the past to the start of a new year in Ohio Stadium.

Ohio State announced that Maurice Clarett will ring the Victory Bell before the September 5 season opener against Ball State. The school’s headline read “Clarett to Serve as First Victory Bell Ringer of 2026 Season.” Clarett is the 2002 national champion and the 2002 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. 

The honor ties to Clarett’s recent work with the current team. Head coach Day said, “Maurice Clarett is an important part of Ohio State football history, and it means a great deal to have him with us inside Ohio Stadium as our first Victory Bell Ringer of the season.” 

Day then added, “What he accomplished for the 2002 national championship team will always be remembered, but the impact he has made around our program in recent years has been just as meaningful. He has a powerful story, and our guys have benefited from the honesty, leadership, and care he brings each time he is around the program.”

Clarett’s honor falls on the same day former coach Jim Tressel enters the Ohio State Ring of Honor. Clarett stands for the players of 2002, and Tressel stands for the coach of that team. Both will be recognized in the same Saturday program. 

Clarett was the first true freshman to start a season opener at tailback since Dean Sensanbaugher in 1943. He ran 222 times for 1,237 yards at 5.6 yards per carry.

Clarett scored 16 rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns for 18 total scores and 108 points. He had seven 100-yard games and set freshman school records for points and touchdowns. 

Two moments still define him. He ran for 230 yards and two touchdowns against Washington State. And against Michigan, he played through the shoulder injury, scored the first touchdown, and caught a 26-yard pass that set up the winning score in a 14-9 win. Ohio State finished 14-0 and beat No. 1 Miami 31-24 in double overtime in the Fiesta Bowl. 

Those 2002 scenes still sit at the heart of why Ohio State wants Clarett on the field Saturday. 

From title-team player to mentor with the current roster

The Victory Bell dates to 1954 and was installed so people around campus who couldn’t get into the stadium or follow the radio could hear that Ohio State had won. 

The pregame Victory Bell Ringer custom is only a year old and was started in 2025. Griffin was the first pregame ringer on August 30, 2025, before Texas. Jaxon Smith-Njigba rang it at the April 18, 2026, spring game. 

Clarett becomes the ninth Victory Bell Ringer since the pregame custom began. He is the first former player from the Tressel era to get the honor. James Laurinaitis is already set for the September 26 Illinois game and would be the first sitting assistant coach to do so.

Clarett’s current tie to the team is mentoring. Day said the relationship has grown over the past three years. Reports placed Clarett around the program during the 2024-25 title run and after. He has been photographed on the sideline greeting running back Bo Jackson. 

Away from the field, Clarett founded The Red Zone in Youngstown in 2016. The behavioral-health nonprofit works with schools, addiction recovery, and social work. Ohio State’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health gave him its 2025 STAR Award. 

In December 2025, Franklin County appointed him to the Parks and Recreation Board that oversees the Clippers. His daughter has worked as an Ohio State football recruiting host. 

The opener is September 5, in Ohio Stadium against Ball State. The Clarett ceremony comes as Day starts another season with Ohio State ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches polls, the first time the Buckeyes have entered an opener at No. 1 in 11 years.