John Ohnegian didn’t have the most normal route to becoming a collegiate athlete, but his love for football coupled with his determination and academic prowess has made him one of the most successful centers in FCS football, despite being a preferred walk-on when he first joined the team.
“I started playing flag football in kindergarten or first grade and then I started playing tackle football in third grade,” said Ohnegian. “I always loved sports growing up. My dad played football and it was always a part of our family, so I grew a passion for it when I started playing at a young age and it’s just continued to grow over the years.”
After playing football throughout his youth, Ohnegian didn’t play at the high school level until his senior year, making it very difficult to go through college recruitment since there wasn’t a lot of film on him and schools just weren’t looking in his direction.
“I wasn’t the most sought out recruit coming out of high school just because there wasn’t much of me,” said Ohnegian. “I was still small and undersized, probably around 255 lbs. A lot of the recruitment process for me was through academics because I had to get into the school on my own and then get on the football team after, but it worked out for the best.”
For Ohnegian, his plan was to find the best school he could through having good grades and pushing himself to reach for the stars. Bucknell was one of the schools that Ohnegian was considering for both academics and athletics.
“I had come to the prospect camp my senior year summer, so I was in touch with some of the coaches about getting recruited here,” said Ohnegian. “They were very open with communication, they were just like, ‘we don't have any scholarship spots or spots to help you get in, but if you can get into the school, you'll have a spot on the team’.”
Which is exactly what the Ramsey, N.J. native did, but the choice to attend Bucknell took him some time to make after being accepted to the university academically.
“I applied and got in and the coaches said I could have a spot on the team, but I wasn’t really thinking I was going to get in, so once I did I actually had to figure out if I wanted to go to Bucknell. When it came down to it, it took me a long time to make my decision. I committed here on May 1st, which was the last day for regular students to even put their money in to come. So, it wasn't even just an athletic thing, it was literally just as a student, I waited till the last day.”
Ohnegian sent in his money and had a spot on the Bucknell football team as a preferred walk-on for his freshman year. While he didn’t see game action in 2022 when he first got to Bucknell, he was named Bucknell’s Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year and began making a name for himself.
“I chose Bucknell because I feel like the school, the team and everything kind of fit what I wanted,” said Ohnegian. “This was the school that made me feel most at home and I've loved it here. I don't regret anything about my decision. I just wish I would have made it maybe a little sooner to take the pressure off my parents a little bit though because they were kind of stressing out.”
After his freshman season, Ohnegian became a staple of the Bucknell offensive line, starting every game since his sophomore year at center for the Bison, a feat that is very rare in football.
“I take pride in my recovery and my health,” said Ohnegian. “Just doing whatever I can to stay on the field and doing whatever it takes to be able to play on Saturdays, whether that's weight training, going to treatment, getting sleep, just doing everything to make sure it works out on Saturdays.”
The center has been awarded many accolades over the course of the last three years. So far he has earned Academic All-Patriot League twice, Preseason All-Patriot League twice, 2024 All-Patriot League Second Team and was named the 2024 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Another honor that Ohnegian has received that is a rarity in Bucknell football is being a two-time captain. The senior is just the 13th player in program history to be a multi-year captain.
“It means the world to me to have the trust of my teammates to be in this position,” said Ohnegian, who has been voted in as a captain by his team two-years in a row. “I've been able to learn a lot as a leader. I wasn't a captain in high school, so last year was my first year being in a major leadership role.”
It took some learning for the then junior to get used to being in a leadership position, but he had the help of the other captains to guide him and teach him how to become a better leader.
“Casey Stevenson was a big help as far as helping me be a leader because we were both captains last year on the O-line and that was really helpful,” said Ohnegian. “It allowed me to be more of a leader on my own this year as compared to last year. This year, I am grateful for the group of captains we have in Ralph, TJ, Matt and I and for the team that we have to try to impact everyone and just get everyone on the same page going into Saturdays.”
Four-years of being a part of the Bison have created many memories for the season with every day in the locker room being its own special moment, but there is one memory that stands out to the senior as his favorite.
“The Lehigh game last year was probably one of the one of my favorite memories,” said Ohnegian. “Just the craziness of the game and being able to somehow come up on top was really special. The excitement that we had after that game was, you know, it was almost a shock and a joy all at once. It was really, really special.”
Outside of football Ohnegian is a scholar that is involved in several other organizations at Bucknell including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
“Every week I really like going to FCA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes,” said Ohnegian. “ It's a group that's really helped me stay grounded and rooted. When I can't go to church on Sundays, if we have practice or something, being able to go to FCA every week has really been important for me. Meeting new people throughout that and being able to share my faith with others has really been a special bonding experience here on campus for me and so many others.”
Another organization that Ohnegian has been heavily involved in at Bucknell is Bison Cares. The senior has been a part of the Bison Cares Executive Board for the last couple of years and currently serves as the President for the 2025-26 academic year.
“Being a part of Bison Cares has been really nice,” said Ohnegian. “Mike Hardyway kind of got me into that and then being on the e-board the last couple years and being able to make a difference in the community has really helped keep me connected to everyone here in Lewisburg. I mean, I love it here, and the people in this town are awesome,so being able to make a difference in this town has been nice.”
With a busy schedule of football, extracurriculars and a demanding academic schedule as an economics major, Ohnegian has honed his time management skills over the last couple of years in order to excel in all aspects of being a Bison.
“Being able to plan out my week on Sundays or Mondays and then just trying to stick to that schedule as much as I can to be able to have a balanced life is how I try to operate,” said Ohnegian. “It definitely gets hard sometimes and you know, sleep's not always the best, but it's just what you have to do sometimes to be able to play well on Saturdays and keep the grades high. I think my time management skills I've been able to develop over the past couple years have been really helpful for me.”
Another aspect of his life that helps the senior excel, is the endless support from his family which all starts with his parents.
“My dad, he's kind of been a little bit from a distance just because of his job, but I know he's always there for me and we talk a decent amount so I am able to rely on him,” said Ohnegian My mom is the best. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's always there for me. She's at more games than I'd ever be able to imagine with having to deal with three football games in one weekend a lot of times with my younger brothers and I. She's just, yeah, she's special and I don't think I'd be able to be here without her.”
Alongside his parents, Ohengian has a twin sister and two younger brothers, who he tries to be a role model for.
“It usually takes people a little bit longer to realize that I have a twin sister than I'd like to say,” said Ohnegian. “I tell everyone I have a sister and they're like, ‘wait, you have a twin?’. I also have two younger brothers and they're awesome. One's just starting his sophomore year at Ithaca and he’s starting at tackle, which is great and the other is a junior in high school. They've always been there for me and I've always tried to be a role model for them. Even if I don't say it all the time, I just try to set an example for them and they're doing a really good job exceeding what I've ever been able to do.”
With endless support, a love for football, faith and helping out the community and the high academic and athletic achievements that Ohnegian has fostered over the last four years, he is set to graduate from Bucknell this May with a degree in economics.
“I don't really know what I want to do yet,” said Ohnegian. “But, because I didn't play my freshman year, I'll have an extra year of eligibility so I'm going to try to use that if I can to kind of take sports as far as I can. I’ve kind of realized over the past couple of years that I love sports, whether that's football or other sports. So I think I want to try to do something related to sports when I am done playing, but I haven't really looked into the nitty gritty of trying to find something job related, at least not yet.”
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