Former OSU defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle took over the business of his late uncle

During his time at Ohio State, Tracy Sprinkle went from practice player and one-time occupant of coach Urban Meyer's doghouse to starting nose tackle and team captain.

"My last couple years playing for the team, it was a lot of growing that I had to experience personally off the field and also on the field," Sprinkle said. "Things were just happening too quickly and not on my side when I was 19 years old, so I had to shift that gear."

He pointed to a season-ending knee injury his junior year as being particularly impactful in bringing about that shift.

"It made me face adversity ... that I never really experienced before," he said. "There were conversations that there was a 70% chance that I would never play football again."

Oh, but he went on to play again.

"I played in four different professional leagues, probably in eight different states and two countries," Sprinkle said with a laugh.

He was a member of the Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans and, very briefly, the Cleveland Browns. He spent time in the Alliance of American Football until it shut down due to financial issues. He was a starter for the DC Defenders in the XFL until the COVID-19 pandemic struck. In 2021, he signed with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League.

In fact, he signed a two-year extension at the end of his first season, but life intervened.

"I get back home to Pittsburgh, where I live, in Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania, and my uncle who was my mentor picked me up from the airport," Sprinkle said. "Everything was good. Then on Tuesday of that following week, he had a heart attack and passed away in his sleep."

His uncle, Don Williams, had a long history in business, and he had taught Sprinkle entrepreneurship and brought a "positive energy" into his life.

"We got together, it was like a force every time," Sprinkle said.

There was no way he could allow his uncle's company to fold. So Sprinkle and his cousin, Williams' daughter Brandy Weatherspoon, took over Weatherspoon & Williams, LLC.

"We're a steel contractor in the construction business," Sprinkle said. "We work with (departments) of transportation, hospitals, airports, universities, you name it. We supply and install structural steel and miscellaneous metals."

Sprinkle said he also still co-owns the small clothing line, How She Gone Eat, LLC, which was started by Sprinkle and former Buckeye teammates Tyquan Lewis, and Jalyn Holmes. And he's just getting involved in fitness training in his hometown of Elyria through Access Performance.

As the name indicates, Sprinkle is hoping that Access Performance provides instruction to the underserved, and not just in terms of athletics. The goal is to start a professional mentorship program. Sprinkle said his passion is to help young football players grow the same way he did at OSU.

"We don't know nothing other than play football," Sprinkle said. We don't nothing but run hard. We don't know nothing but hit hard. That's all we know because it's all we've been exposed to since we were 5 or 6 years old."

Sprinkle believes his desire to help others reflects the growth that started in earnest during his time as a Buckeye, and for that, he is grateful.

"My ties, my heart, my body, my spirit will always reside with Ohio State," he said.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Where are they now: Ohio State defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle