Get to know: Buckeye center Luke Wypler
What is a subject you like talking about that doesn't come up often in conversation?
That's really interesting. I like to travel a lot. So I think traveling and experiences outside of just playing football. I have skydived in my life. I have been heli skiing. Kind of like those fun things. Surfing. Just having traveled a lot ... I like talking to people about places they've been, places I've been, comparing them and that kind of thing. I think that's something that really interests me that usually don't come up in conversation a lot.
Where's the coolest place you've been?
I think Queenstown, New Zealand, is probably the coolest place I've been to. It was probably my favorite as well, so I'm a little biased towards it. I spent a week there a few years ago. By far one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.
Is that also the place where you went jumping out of a plane?
Yes.
What inspired you to do that?
For me, it was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I didn't want to look back, and say, 'Oh, I wish I would have done that.' So I was in New Zealand with my brother, and he's a little bit older than me. And, at first, it was a fun week. We went heli skiing. Did a lot of things ... Snowboarding and stuff . ... At the end of the week, we saw a place downtown that said you could go skydiving. But I had joked about it with him, and he said, 'Oh, yeah, I'll do it.' And little did I know, he'd just signed my life away. And I was only 14 at the time. I got on a bus, and he walked down the street. And I went skydiving all by myself.
What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done?
Probably traveling to Australia and New Zealand all by myself is one of the craziest things I've done. At 14 years old ... I was in Australia for a few days with my older brother, and he was working, so I kind of got to tour the city by myself. So that was probably one of the most adventurous things I've done.
What did your family think of you heading off, by yourself, as a 14-year-old, to travel Down Under?
I think my parents trusted my brother for the most part — until he let me jump out of a plane. But they didn't have a problem with it. I am very familiar with flying, so they knew I could get around the airport pretty well. They weren't really too concerned. Just that I made it out there and my brother kept me safe is really
all that mattered.
Would you ever want to get a pilot's license someday?
Actually, it's funny you say that. Yes, I would. One of my good family friends is a pilot, and he took me up in his plane last summer, and I thought it was really, really cool. So that is definitely something I would definitely look into in the future. I think it's something that's really interesting and allows you to be a little bit more mobile.
What else is on your bucket list?
I think one of the things I really want to do is adventure out into Europe. I've only been to a few countries there, and I think I really want to explore Europe. That's probably one of my biggest things.
OK, so what are the few European countries you've visited?
I've been to England and to Italy, and that was it. I have family in Italy, and I played a rugby game in England a couple years ago.
Was rugby something you were really good at?
My dad played football in college, and then when he was older he started playing rugby — around like 23, 24 years old. He played up until around his early 50s, so my whole life growing up, I remember going to rugby games. Like, St. Patrick's Day there's always one, and that's always in my head. Every year, all the men's teams played in a tournament by a parade and program for New York. So from being a little kid, I've always been around the sport, and as I got older, it was something I kind of took to. And it was something I didn't put a lot of focus into. It was just something I played for a club team here and there on the side. And I really enjoyed it, but it was definitely more of a parttime sport than a full-time sport.
With you being a center and a guy who plays with a helmet and pads on, how often do people recognize you?
Ha! It's funny you say that. Because I was actually having a conversation with one of my teammates the other day, and he was saying that everywhere he goes, he's always recognized and everyone always asks for autographs, so it's hard to escape that football world. But for me, I can go places. Like the other day, I was Downtown. I have a 10-month-old Rottweiler, and we were walking around. Someone came up to me and asked about my dog. And they had an Ohio State football sweatshirt one and the whole nine. Obviously, an Ohio State football fan and didn't even recognize me. Didn't even mention football. It was more asking about my dog. So I feel a lot of times, I'm able to escape the limelight as I'm kind of not a high profile player like C.J. Stroud or Treveyon (Henderson). I really like that aspect of it, though.
What's the dog's name?
My dog's name is Thor. He's a 10-month-old dog, but he's 130 pounds, so he's not really a puppy.
Now I know you said you don't mind not being recognized, but we live in an NIL world, and I understand you've been selling $50 sweatshirts?
Ha! Yes, I have been getting a lot of people asking lately, and I stopped the website a while back, just to focus on football. And I was thinking maybe after the season, starting it back up again, and seeing what we can do with it. But for right now, the website's down. Once I put it back up again, I'm hoping to maybe build a little more of a following and then kick it off again.
Have you heard from the Michigan fan whose tweet you were featuring on your sweatshirts, the tweet that said nobody would buy a $50 Luke Wypler sweatshirt?
Yes, I have. He's a really nice guy. I talked to him briefly when I first posted everything. And I understand. It wasn't coming from a place of hate or anything. But it was just funny that it happened, and I was happy with what I was able to do with it.
Please, tell me you sent him one?
Yes, I did. I actually think he bought one for himself. I got one for his nephew and signed it.