Former football star Demario McCall sentenced to 7-10 years for drug trafficking

ELYRIA — Former North Ridgeville and Ohio State Buckeyes football player Demario McCall was sentenced to 7 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug possession and trafficking charges. In August, McCall, of North Ridgeville, pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine, trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound, possession of a fentanyl-related compound, trafficking in drugs, possession of drugs, receiving stolen property and possession of criminal tools, all felonies with firearm specifications in a 2024 case. He also pleaded guilty to trafficking in cocaine, possession of cocaine, trafficking in a fentanyl-related compound and possession of a fentanyl-related compound in a separate 2025 case. On Wednesday, Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Christopher Rothgery sentenced McCall to 7 to 10 years in prison, following the sentencing recommendations laid out in a plea agreement between Lorain County prosecutors and defense attorney Michael Marein. The sentences from the two cases will run concurrently, with the exception of several firearm specifications that under Ohio law must be served before and separate from any other charges. Firearms specifications are applied to charges in which the accused used a firearm in commission of the crime. Before he was sentenced, McCall, 28, had to pause several times while apologizing to everyone he impacted, but especially his family, who were gathered in the courtroom. "I just want to say I'm sorry to my family, I love y'all and I'm sorry I ended up here," McCall said. "I am sorry for being here and I do apologize for all of this. It is not me as a person, but I am man enough to take on accountability, my punishment, as a man. … To my loved ones, and the ones I let down, I just want to let y'all know, I will do better." Marein spoke as well, saying that the crimes which McCall pleaded guilty to did not represent him as a person, and asked Rothgery to follow the recommendations of the plea agreement in sentencing. "I think everyone knows Demario McCall in this county," Marein said. "I mean at one time, this kid was living the dream, playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes, had a chance at the NFL, and the last 48 months have been a huge fall from grace. Unfortunately, and it's it's not an excuse, judge, but his father, frankly, went down the same path of his life, and DeMario saw all these other people around him having success and, frankly, it was too much to comprehend here, it falls into, 'Hey, this is a quick and easy way to make money.'" Marein noted that McCall has a young daughter who was in the courtroom with his family, and that he will likely miss most of if not her entire childhood while in prison. "That is a heavy price to pay, but as he said he is here to accept responsibility, so I just ask the court to adopt the recommendation of the parties," he said. In addition to his prison sentence, McCall's conviction carried a mandatory $10,000 fee, which Marein asked Rothgery to waive. Marein said that McCall had entered a poverty affidavit, a sworn statement arguing that he was low income and therefore unable to pay the fee. Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Koza said the prosecution would defer to Rothgery's judgment on the fee. Rothgery suspended the fee until after McCall had been released from prison. The judge also told McCall that he would be subject to post-release control for between two and five years after his release and, if he commits another felony during that time, he could be returned to prison for a maximum of half his sentence served. A first-team All-Ohio high school football honoree in 2014, McCall helped North Ridgeville reach the playoffs that year. He still holds the Lorain County record for the most rushing yards in a single game, 445 against Elyria Catholic. McCall graduated from OSU in 2021, having played both offense and defense for the Buckeyes. The NFL's Chicago Bears invited him to a rookie minicamp in 2022 but he did not make the team. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.