3 things to know about Ohio State linebacker Tuf Borland

Three things to know about Ohio State senior linebacker Tuf Borland.

►Tuf Borland became the Buckeyes second three-time captain in team history. J.T. Barrett was the first.

“It’s very humbling,” Borland said in a conference call after the announcement. “I’m honored to be with a guy like J.T., who was an unbelievable leader here for a number of years.”

Borland has extensively played for the Buckeyes since starting as a redshirt freshman. In the 130 years of Ohio State football, only one Buckeyes player has been a three-time captain.

►Why he's named Tuf Borland

Borland's father Kyle explained the name to the Columbus Dispatch in 2018.

Kyle Borland, Tuf's dad who was a former linebacker at Wisconsin, in the USFL and for the 1987 season with the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, not only wanted his first son to have a last name to live up to and a first name to aspire to.

“When I first started with Riddell (the football helmet and sporting goods producer), there was a rep for us, a coworker, who was based in Montana, and his name was Tuff, T-U-F-F,” Borland said, referring to Tuff Toldness of Missoula. “I always kind of liked it, and I threw it out there as kind of a joke to my wife, and she said, ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool.’”

►Got his start in Illinois 

Borland is from Illinois where he played for Bolingbrook High School and helped them advance to the playoffs for four straight season. He was a two-time All-State selection. 

He enrolled at Ohio State in 2016. 

On top of being a key member of the Buckeyes' defense, Borland graduated in December 2019 with a degree in human development and family science. 

He has been a mainstay on the Big Ten's Academic All-American team since joining the program. 

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