COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Monday nominated former Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel to be the state’s next lieutenant governor, praising him as a seasoned educator and leader with the skills to take the state’s helm if need be.
Tressel, 72, retired a year and a half ago as president of Youngstown State University, a job he had held since 2014. Since then, he has been engaged in workforce and economic development activities.
“Jim Tressel is Ohio values. He’s a hard worker and shares that vision (I have) for the future of Ohio,” the Republican governor said at a news conference. “He has the ability to pull people together. He has the ability to lead. He will enable me to be assured that if something happens to me, he can walk in and be governor that day and that would be seamless.”
DeWine said Tressel can ably succeed Jon Husted, who left the job last month after DeWine tapped him to fill the U.S. Senate seat left open by JD Vance’s election as vice president.