Jake Trotter Oct 29, 2026, 07:00 AM ET

Close

Jake Trotter is a senior writer at ESPN. Trotter covers college football. He also writes about other college sports, including men's and women's basketball. Trotter resides in the Cleveland area with his wife and three kids and is a fan of his hometown Oklahoma City Thunder. He covered the Cleveland Browns and NFL for ESPN for five years, moving back to college football in 2024. Previously, Trotter worked for the Middletown (Ohio) Journal, Austin American-Statesman and Oklahoman newspapers before joining ESPN in 2011. He's a 2004 graduate of Washington and Lee University. You can reach out to Trotter at [email protected] and follow him on X at @Jake_Trotter.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Stephen Fahey finally got to see the Buckeyes -- and his favorite player, Ohio State quarterback Rex Kern -- play in person at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day 1971.

"I couldn't take my eyes off the guy when he was playing," Fahey said.…