![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/woody-hayes-athletic-center-feature-ydst3h-716bd9df0b81addd.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Woody Hayes Athletic Center serves as the daily home for Ohio State football, where preparation begins long before kickoff inside the program\u2019s fueling zone. Photo Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Sports Editor<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s note: This inside look at the Ohio State football team comes from Jason Moore, a defensive lineman on the Ohio State football team. Moore is also a third-year journalism student at Ohio State.<\/p>\n
On a typical weekday morning inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, workouts may not have started, but the work already has.<\/p>\n
Smoothies are blending. Protein portions are weighed. Hydration levels are being checked. While fans focus on touchdowns and tackles, the real work for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team begins hours earlier in the fuel zone in the Woody.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t just feed football players,\u201d team nutritionist Kaila Olson said. \u201cWe fuel performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Olson, alongside assistant nutritionist Sarah Takach, oversees customized nutrition plans for more than 100 athletes. Every detail, from calories to carbohydrate timing, is carefully calculated based on position, workload and body weight goals.<\/p>\n
An offensive lineman maintaining 310 pounds has dramatically different needs than a defensive back focused on speed and explosiveness, and Takach said there is no \u201cone-size-fits-all\u201d plan.<\/p>\n
\u201cCalories, protein intake, hydration [are] all individualized,\u201d Takach said. \u201cWe look at their training phase, their recovery, even how much they\u2019re sweating in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Players regularly undergo body composition scans and hydration testing.<\/p>\n
Even slight dehydration, Olson said, can affect reaction time and muscle recovery. In a sport where fractions of a second matter, nutrition becomes a huge competitive advantage.<\/p>\n
For defensive back Inky Jones, adjusting to the program changed his understanding of performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first got here, I thought eating more was enough,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut it\u2019s really about what you\u2019re eating and when you\u2019re eating it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones, now a senior, follows a structured meal plan designed to help maintain weight. Heavy training days require increased carbohydrate intake for energy. Recovery days shift toward muscle repair and the control of inflammation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s strategic,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI feel the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sophomore defensive back Miles Lockhart experienced a similar wake-up call.<\/p>\n
During his high school days, Lockhart admitted to eating whatever he wanted, but that changed once he set foot on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, they broke down exactly how much protein I need to build muscle and stay lean,\u201d Lockhart said.<\/p>\n
One of the most visible parts of the program is the fueling station that is stocked daily with recovery shakes, fruit, lean proteins, yogurt and complex carbohydrates. After practice, players don\u2019t have to guess what to eat. It\u2019s already planned and prepared.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it easy,\u201d Lockhart said. \u201cYou finish practice and you know exactly what your body needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
But beyond the meal plans and protein shakes, Olson and Takach emphasize education. They want players to understand the science behind their plates.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is that they leave here knowing how to fuel themselves for life,\u201d Olson said. \u201cWhether that\u2019s in the NFL or in another career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Part of the learning experience is having players take health quizzes every week and having a PowerPoint on the TV screens all over the Woody at all times.<\/p>\n
Nutrition staff members also collaborate closely with strength coaches and trainers. GPS tracking during practice measures workload and exertion levels. If data shows increased strain, post-practice nutrition can be adjusted immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s constant communication,\u201d Takach said. \u201cNutrition is part of the performance team.\u201d<\/p>\n
The payoff, players say, often shows up late in games.<\/p>\n
\u201cFourth quarter used to feel like survival,\u201d Jones admitted. \u201cNow I still feel fresh and explosive.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Woody Hayes Athletic Center serves as the daily home for Ohio State football, where preparation begins long…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":776856,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[110065,110068,110069,110064,7,110066,110067,110074,110076,110072,110075,60,1570,110062,110063,110071,110073,39958,110070,110077,110061],"class_list":{"0":"post-776855","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-athlete-fueling","9":"tag-body-composition-scans-football","10":"tag-college-athlete-meal-plan","11":"tag-college-football-nutrition-program","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-football-performance-nutrition","14":"tag-hydration-testing-athletes","15":"tag-inky-jones-ohio-state","16":"tag-inside-ohio-states-football-nutrition-program","17":"tag-kaila-olson-ohio-state","18":"tag-miles-lockhart-ohio-state","19":"tag-ohio-state-buckeyes-football","20":"tag-ohio-state-football","21":"tag-ohio-state-football-nutrition","22":"tag-osu-football-fueling-station","23":"tag-recovery-nutrition-football","24":"tag-sarah-takach-ohio-state","25":"tag-sports-nutrition","26":"tag-strength-and-conditioning-nutrition","27":"tag-what-college-football-players-eat","28":"tag-woody-hayes-athletic-center"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=776855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/776855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/776856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=776855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=776855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=776855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}