Former Ohio State linebacker and assistant strength and conditioning coach Anthony Schlegel has reclaimed his role on an interim basis for the team’s winter workouts, a source close to the program confirmed to Eleven Warriors on Thursday. Schlegel is filling in for an unnamed strength and conditioning coach who is currently away from the team due to a surgery.
Schlegel, whose voice could be heard leading the team through winter workouts in a video released by the team on social media, returns to the program after serving as an assistant strength and conditioning coach from 2011-2015. The Cedar Rapid, Iowa, native became a fixture on the Buckeyes’ sideline during head coach Urban Meyer’s tenure, and even followed Meyer to the NFL to serve as the Jacksonville Jaguars head strength and conditioning coach in 2021.
Schlegel also played for the Buckeyes at linebacker from 2003-2005, registering 82 tackles (seven for loss) along with two sacks and a pass deflection in the 2005 season alone. His efforts that year allowed him to be selected in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, where he played just one season and recorded one tackle for the franchise before starting five games for the Cincinnati Bengals in his final professional season in 2006.
It is currently unknown how long Schlegel will remain on Ryan Day’s staff this offseason. Schlegel also runs The Difference USA, a football equipment company he founded after earning his MBA from Ohio State in 2015. While running the company, Schlegel invented the Difference Striking Machine, a portable hand placement/striking machine that is used by football programs all across the country.
