Ohio State walk-on makes a big impact without playing a snap

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- His official Ohio State bio shows Nolan Baudo as a 5'10" receiver from Chicago. He's now a junior who arrived at OSU as a preferred walk-on. 

He has zero career catches. 

But when you read further down in Nolan Baudo's bio you'll learn a unique fact from the OSU sports information team. In an informal team poll, nearly half of the team said "Baudo" when asked who they hung around with. 

"I think it's a big deal,” Nolan Baudo said about his popularity in the OSU program. "I think life is all about relationships and how you treat people. That's been instilled in me since I was a little kid.”

You will not be surprised to learn Nolan Baudo was elected student council president at Marist High School. At Marist, he met a new teammate named Carnell Tate, who would soon become a 5-star recruit.

"Nolan was the first person I met (at Marist). We've been together ever since then,” Tate said. 

"We're 100% real with each other,” Nolan Baudo said. "If he doesn't like my outfit, he's going to tell me that he doesn't like my outfit."

Nolan Nolan Baudo was an accomplished high school player on his own, but when Tate decided to become a Buckeye, he opted to keep the band together by walking on at OSU. 

"His family fought really hard to help get Nolan here, too, so, you know, that relationship is one that's based on honesty and trust,” Nolan Baudo's father Richard said. 

Their friendship has been tested by tragedy. Shortly after arriving at OSU in 2023, Tate's mother, Ashley, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago. 

"When his mom passed, it was hard on everyone,” Nolan Baudo said.  "I went to my mom right when it happened. I was a 17-year-old kid. I didn't really know what to do and she was like, well, you know, this is why Ashley, Carnell's mom wanted you there, you know, to be with him. I think, ever since then, it's been more of a family relationship.”

Tate said Nolan Baudo's played a critical role for him.

"He's just my guy,” Tate said. “I could connect with him a lot. I could talk to him a lot. Whatever I need to, I could just laugh, whatever. Yeah, he's everywhere.”

Nolan Nolan Baudo does play a critical role on gamedays when he helps with signals to the offense. It's a job Nolan Baudo prepares hard for each week.

"If somebody is, you know, on the field and they don't know what they've got, and they look to me I better have the right answer. It's a big deal to me,” Nolan Baudo said. 

He does this work knowing he will not likely be on the field himself.

"He just works so hard, and to not see the field, I thought he would quit a while ago because of the hard work, Nolan Baudo’s mother Kerry said. 

"There aren't a lot of people who would go through the workouts and the things they do here without a payoff of playing the game,” Richard Baudo said. 

That selflessness develops from life experience, and it's a staple of the Baudo family. Nolan Baudo's younger brother, Parker, was born with Down Syndrome.

"I kind of felt like a protective older brother rather than, you know, just a buddy, buddy, older brother,” Nolan Baudo said.

Parker Baudo is in high school in suburban Chicago and has become one of the more popular students in his school, to the surprise of few people. 

"He (Nolan) saw the things that were difficult for Parker, and he became more empathetic and understanding and patient," Kerry Baudo said. "And similarly with Parker, he watches his older brother, wants to emulate him."

"It definitely teaches you immediate empathy,” Nolan Baudo said. "You're always going to have empathy with someone, what they're going through or how they're feeling on a day-to-day basis. It's a family dynamic that, you know, I wouldn't trade for the world."

Nolan Baudo recently helped Parker start an Instagram profile so he can keep track of many of his Buckeye friends he's made when visiting his big brother.

"He has embraced Parker; this whole team has,” Richard said.  

Nolan Baudo is considering a number of post-OSU options, including as a sports agent or even in coaching. For now, he's embracing his role and aiming to serve with scholarship-quality effort. 

"People are waiting for you to break and people are waiting for you to quit and give up. And, you know, that's just that's not my MO,” Nolan Baudo said. "I think the biggest thing is emotional maturity and knowing that there's nothing that you can't persevere through. Anything in your life, you're going to have an opportunity the next day to prove somebody right and prove somebody wrong."