FILE - Former Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel watches a scoreboard tribute for the 2002 national championship team during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Ohio State, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/David Dermer, File)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is nominating former Ohio State Buckeyes football coach Jim Tressel as the state’s next lieutenant governor. Tressel retired a year and a half ago as president of Youngstown State University. The Republican governor announced the pick at a news conference Monday. He called Tressel a natural leader who will ably succeed Jon Husted, whom DeWine recently tapped to fill the U.S. Senate seat left open by JD Vance’s election as vice president. He coached the Buckeyes to a national championship in 2002. Tressel’s nomination must now be approved by the Ohio Senate and Ohio House.