Looking to build on a stellar freshman regular season, former Liberty County High School football linebacker Raekwon McMillan is prepping to play for Ohio State on Thursday in the All-State Sugar Bowl.
Fourth-ranked Ohio State will go against No. 1 Alabama in the second Football Bowl Subdivision semifinal game in history. The game is scheduled to start at 8:50 p.m. on ESPN, after the first semifinal, the Rose Bowl between Oregon and Florida State, which starts at 5 p.m. on ESPN.
The semifinal winners will play for the national title at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 12 in Arlington, Texas.
McMillan, who turned down an offer from Alabama head coach Nick Saban to attend OSU, arrived in New Orleans with the Buckeyes on Saturday. According to Ohio State’s website, the team arrived in a 747 with multiple levels, 350 seats, 10 seats across separated by two aisles and staffed by 15 flight attendants, one pilot and a first officer who is an Ohio State graduate.
Once the team checked into its headquarters hotel — the New Orleans Marriott — the players had a team meeting and then went to dinner at Basin Street Station/Zea’s.
The players were treated to a menu consisting of rotisserie and barbecue grilled chicken, shrimp breaux bridge pasta, Zea’s famous Thai ribs, rainbow trout, Zea’s signature grits, red beans and rice, sugar snap peas and dirty rice.
The team’s first New Orleans practice took place Sunday morning at the Superdome.
So far this season, McMillan posted 49 tackles, six for loss, 2.5 sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown.