On every championship team in any sport, there is always a backbone for the team. An inspiration is there that keeps the team fighting throughout the grind of a long season. The Ohio State Buckeyes are no exception. Even through their spark plug wasn’t on the official roster, there was no doubt that it was with them throughout.

Fifteen-year-old Jacob Jarvis and his seven-year-old brother, Noah Studebaker were the inspiration to the program this season. Both boys have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The disease is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed during childhood. Currently, there is no cure for the disease.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a disease that causes the muscles to deteriorate over time. Jacob and Noah are not expected to live past their mid 20’s.

In the summer of 2013, Buckeyes head coach, Urban Meyer, stumbled upon a teenage boy who was sitting under the goalposts in a wheelchair.

According to the Big Ten Network, Meyer said about meeting the two boys; “It really hit me right in the heart.”

After teaching the young boy how to properly throw a football in a wheelchair, the rest is history. Meyer ultimately invited Jarvis to everything the team did, including practices, workouts, film sessions and team dinners. Basically, Jarvis was a part of the team.

“It’s great that I am a part of this great organization and Ohio State does everything the right way,” Jarvis said.

During one particular home game against the University of Cincinnati, Meyer asked the boys to be honorary captains during the coin toss ceremony. Jarvis piloted his wheelchair while holding his favorite Buckeye’s hand, senior tight end, Jeff Heuerman, with Noah riding on back of the chair. They joined Heuerman and captains Michael Bennett, Curtis Grant and Doran Grant at the center of the field opposite Cincinnati’s captains.

According to an ESPN interview with Heuerman, the tight end said, “We talk about a lot of things. We talk about girls; we talk about movies. Things friends talk about; things brothers talk about.”

The most inspirational part of the season was after the victory against Cincinnati. Heuerman gathered the whole team to talk and recognize their biggest fan. Heuerman gave a speech to Jarvis and admired how his fight has been a true inspiration to the team. He finished the speech by giving the teary eyed Jarvis the game ball. As Jarvis took the ball from the captain’s hand, coach Meyer hugged Jarvis.

Jarvis then cleared his throat, wiped his tears from his eyes and said the one thing that everyone wanted to hear, “Go Bucks.”