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Mo Eats: Browns DT Maurice Hurst II, OL Luke Wypler hit Cleveland's Il Rione before The Game

Mo Eats Il Rione
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CLEVELAND — Browns defensive tackle Maurice Hurst II loves food. He's a big guy in the trenches, after all. He also loves calling Northeast Ohio home. So, throughout the season, we'll take Hurst around Northeast Ohio hot spots to try some of the dishes that make them stand out. We're calling this Mo Eats.

With it being rivalry week and Ohio State facing off against Michigan for The Game, who better to bring along for some good food and football talk than offensive lineman Luke Wypler?

Hurst, who played at Michigan, and Wypler, who played at Ohio State, broke bread (crust, really) at Cleveland hot spot Il Rione Pizzeria. Open since 2017, Il Rione serves up New York City-style pies in the city's Gordon Square neighborhood.

The two guys who play in the trenches and need a lot of food to stay up to size find themselves at Il Rione often. The slices may be big, but that doesn't stop them from each taking down two whole pizzas.

Yes, you read that right.

From the Speck Pie—a white pie with speck, lemon ricotta, pistachio and hot honey—to the classic Margherita pizza and the secret menu slices, Hurst and Wypler took down their share of what they call their favorite food.

Wypler, a New Jersey native, said the pizza is a perfect representation of back home and that from the crust to the sauce, Il Rione has created the best pie he's had outside of his hometown.

Now, while the two bonded over crispy thin crust, the two were gearing up for The Game. The two can't bet but issued a challenge: If Ohio State lost on Saturday, Luke Wypler would have to wear Michigan gear for a week. If Michigan lost, Hurst would have to wear Ohio State gear for a week.

Hurst, despite his team entering the matchup 6-5 on the season, was confident in the Wolverines, saying, "Ryan Day doesn't know how to beat Michigan."

That proved true on Saturday, and while the game was happening while Hurst was on the team plane headed to Denver for their Monday night game against the Broncos, he boarded with a Michigan hat on and arrived in Denver, having won his challenge.

Wypler will have to ride the high of the good times at Il Rione for the next week while he's forced to wear maize and blue. Hurst will get to sit back and enjoy the show as Ohio State reels in their fourth straight loss to the rival team up north.

"To the victors go the spoils," as Hurst might say.

You can watch the entire episode at Il Rione in the player above.

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