"BELT TO A**": LeBron James' Buckeye pride on full display as Ohio State crushes Ducks in Rose Bowl showdown

LeBron James has long been a fan of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, and he's shown his support for the team in many different ways. His love for the Buckeyes clearly isn't going away as 2025 commences.

During the Buckeyes' showdown with the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, James took to X so that he could passionately cheer for his beloved team.

"KEEP IT GOING!!!!" James said, egging on the Buckeyes. "BELT TO A**"

Indeed, the Buckeyes were relentless on both offense and defense as James and the rest of the Ohio State faithful tuned in. Just a minute into the first quarter, receiver Jeremiah Smith scored the game's first touchdown off a 45-yard reception.

The touchdown was set up nicely by quarterback Will Howard, who connected with wide receiver Emeka Egbuka less than seven minutes later to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 14-0.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Ohio State was comfortably ahead 41-15. Under the watchful eye of Ohio State coach Ryan Day, the Buckeyes showed no signs of letting up — just as a certain King ordered.

LeBron James could have played football for Ohio State

James, in fact, had the chance to play for the Buckeyes himself — not in a basketball jersey, but with a football helmet on.

On the Dec. 3, 2024, episode of the "It's All About the Team" podcast, football coach Jim Tressel told his guest Austin Carr that he'd tried talking a teenage James into playing for the Buckeyes' football program.

"I tried to recruit LeBron as a football player. He was a great wide receiver," Tressel said. "He was a beast. All you had to do was throw it up there. And he could fly, and he was tough, he had everything."

Tressel, who had three stints on the Ohio State coaching staff from the 1980s to the 2010s, knew that James had his choice of routes in his sporting career. All the same, the coach gave it his best shot.

"I said, 'LeBron ... I think you should play one year of football and one year of basketball, and then go ahead on to the NBA,'" Tressel recounted.

Ultimately, James passed on a college career altogether and jumped straight into the 2003 NBA draft out of high school. Had LBJ taken Tressel's advice, the history of the Buckeyes' football program — and, perhaps, the NBA itself — could have been quite different.