Football is a team game, and redshirt junior linebacker Jack Fries knows Ohio’s success boils down to all the players on the field doing their job. He knows that his hard work and preparation is something that will always make a difference, and he plans to continue to prepare just as hard this year now that an opportunity has presented itself.
“As I go out on the defense, I know I've got 10 other guys with me, and if everyone just does their job, we're going to be solid,” said Fries. “Our coaches have prepared, and the schemes that we've prepared, I feel very confident in. So just doing my 1/11 on the field every play, that's all that I really can do.”
Fries, who grew up in Cincinnati, has been at Ohio for three seasons, but only saw true playing time this past year, playing in every game. Fries has put in plenty of work throughout his time at Ohio and will look to pay it off this year as he steps on the field as a starter for the defense.
“These past three years, I've just been waiting for the opportunity to come my way,” said Fries. “It's come my way this year. Once again, I’ve just been falling back on the past preparation that has worked, and it's very motivating. I'm excited for what this team can do this year. I think we can go win the (Mid-American Conference championship) back-to-back. Let’s do it.”
Fries trusts his preparation. That is a big step for a good football player with the ability he has, because as soon as he trusts himself in the film room, it will start to build some confidence on the field as he starts to anticipate plays during games.
“I think it's all instilled in preparation,” said Fries. "If you feel confident in what you're prepared to do, and you really feel confident in your scheme that the coaches have laid out and what the opposing offense may be doing, it's easy to go out there and play with confidence. That's a huge aspect of the game people might not realize is that it's a mental game.”
Fries showed up and bought into the culture here at Ohio, and his dedication to the program has helped grow and bring the team around him together as well. Ohio has been built on gritty teams with hard-nosed defenses, and Fries will fit right into that mold due to the experience he has in Athens and the mindset he continues to play with.
“I love the culture here," said Fries. “(The) coaches really instill it in us, like toughness, hardness, all the guys are bought in. It's a really good feeling when you have teammates around you that want to compete and win every day.”
“It starts in winter workouts, going through tough 6 a.m. workouts with the strength coach, all your guys there early in the morning,” said Fries. “It's a fight. You see what people are made of when adversity hits. We started building that chemistry, and then it leads to spring ball and throughout summer workouts, and then on field is when we can show the bond that we've created and have fun with it.”
The biggest bond on and off the field for Fries here in Athens is the other linebacker, redshirt junior Michael Molnar. They have come up through the program together and are now sharing the field to help Ohio win games in 2025. They have gotten so close they know what the other will do on the field as well.
“We live together now,” said Fries. “We eat together, we hang out, watch movies, everything. Being on the field with him is an easy feeling, like I can go out there and I know how he's going to play. I know what he's thinking pre-snap, so it really helps me just know my assignment and to be able to play off him.”
This connection should set these two up to be a strong duo up the middle for the Bobcats all season this year. They have talked of this moment together since stepping on campus to play football, to be starters for the Bobcats, and now they get to live it out in 2025.
“Mike is my best friend," said Fries. “It's cool that we're both out there being starting linebackers because we've been speaking this into existence, that we both are going out there, and it’s just a great feeling.”
Fries is a hard-nosed player who knows that talent lies beyond the cleats and the gloves. The mental ability of a player can make or break a season, game or even a single play. Football players are always physical and bring tenacity, but the best of them can win the game on the mental side.
“My intelligence and my film watching, just being a student in the game, it's been something that's always been really important to me," said Fries. “I take pride in bettering myself mentally and physically every day. I think my intelligence separates me.”
The team mentality has powered the Ohio team to two consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins. These winning ways have been led by everybody doing their jobs and putting in the work off the field to bring home wins for Ohio. Fries will be right at the top for Ohio this season as he continues to grow as a player in the film room and on the field.
