Following a 38-14 loss to Ohio State last Saturday, guard Vega Ioane and his Penn State teammates left the field in defeat, like they’d done the previous four games.
With Buckeye fans leaning over railings to heckle the team as it departed for the locker room, Ioane noticed an equipment manager struggling to push a trunk up a ramp. Without hesitation, he hopped the barrier and helped what he called his teammate.
“That’s one of my teammates, just in a different version,” Ioane said Wednesday. “A lot of people don’t know who they are outside the building, don’t know that we don’t run without guys like that, like we can’t practice without them. We can’t go to games without them. Just simple as helping out our teammate.”
The moment, captured by Mark Brennan of Lions247, showcased Ioane’s selfless personality even during a time of adversity following the team’s fifth consecutive loss. The redshirt junior said he never expected to go viral for such a simple action, but credited his upbringing.
“A lot of love getting shown, a lot of people saying I was raised right, which is exactly right,” Ioane said. “Shoutout to my parents. They did a fine job.”
He said friends and family reached out after the incident, and his mom even got emotional seeing the response to her son’s actions.
“They never thought their son would go viral for something like that, you know,” Ioane said. “But pretty cool moment for my parents to see, you know, a little bit of the outcome that was their hard work.”
Ioane called his parents his rock for the past four seasons, though none of those years have been as chaotic and challenging as this one. He also credited his teammates, saying they’re the only ones who can understand the feeling of walking off the gridiron after a loss and the emotional baggage that comes with it.
On Monday, interim head coach Terry Smith shared a similar message about his players’ character.
“We’ve got a locker room full of guys that are willing to do things like that, and just do things the right way,” Smith said. “Obviously, we’re going through some tough times right now, but it doesn’t change our character.”
