COLUMBUS, Ohio — There's a new football team in Ohio, and as the Columbus Aviators kick off their inaugural season in the UFL, they do so with roads leading back to right here in Cleveland.
"The pipeline is being able to be here in Ohio, where we have great football, where you can be seen playing great football. I think that's the biggest opportunity," said Ted Ginn Jr.
Ginn's football roots are firmly planted in his hometown here in Cleveland. He played at Glenville, coached by his dad, Ted Ginn Sr., and was a standout. His path led him to Columbus back in 2004, where he played for the Buckeyes, which then led to a 13-year NFL career. Now, the next chapter leads Ginn from Cleveland back to Columbus again, as he leads the Aviators as their head coach.
He's not the only Cleveland connection the Aviators have.
Former Browns linebacker Tony Fields II will be playing middle linebacker for the new UFL team. Fields was drafted by the Browns in 2021 and played in Cleveland until 2024. After spending the last two years with the Los Angeles Rams, Fields is back in Ohio playing for the Aviators.
He got connected to the team through a former Browns teammate from Cleveland.
"I had a good relationship with Justin Hardee, who was in Cleveland with me. He has a great relationship with Coach. [Ginn]," Fields said.
The opportunity for Fields is one he hopes will help lead him back to the NFL, but also one full of excitement as he helps build a foundation for Ohio's newest pro football team.
"First impressions are lasting. We have to make an impression that [says] 'Look, we're here to stay. We're going to run this league.' So that's what I'm pushing for the guys all the time. 'Look, we're going to run in this league. We're going to be one team, one heartbeat, and we're going to be in and out every game because we're smashing these teams,'" Fields said.
That's a lesson Fields heard echoed when he was playing for Cleveland. Two Cleveland coaches, one who is still with the Browns, helped to instill that in him.
"Jason Tarver. I give that man the utmost respect with everything I love. He taught me so much about football that I didn't even understand. I hear him all the time, even when I'm out on the field like 'Get after the ball!' 'Set up and break!" Fields said. "Coach [Jim] Schwartz as well. Coach Schwartz was really, really, really inspirational to me just by how he showed up every day, and he attacked the day. He always would tell us all the time, 'We need to be one defense, one heartbeat.'"
The Cleveland connections run deeper for the Aviators as well, with former Browns players like running back Toa Taua, linebacker Storey Jackson and wide receiver Easop Winston Jr. also on the roster.
As the Aviators' season kicks off on Sunday, March 29, against the Orlando Storm, who have former Browns quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson on their roster, the roots of Northeast Ohio lead down to the Columbus UFL team.
