The players voted and chose six captains for the 2015 Ohio State football team: Jacoby Boren, J.T. Barrett, Taylor Decker, Joshua Perry, Braxton Miller and Tyvis Powell.
Proud to announce the Captains of the 2015 Buckeyes. Incredible honor! pic.twitter.com/zIuS6PV6hG
— Urban Meyer (@OSUCoachMeyer) August 28, 2015
“This was the most players I’ve seen receive votes for captains,” head coach Urban Meyer said in a press release. “We had 14 players receive votes, but these six separated themselves. This is one of the great accomplishments these young men will experience, to be elected by their peers. And it is very well deserved.”
This is the third* season Miller — the two-time Big Ten Player of the year and redshirt senior from Huber Heights, Ohio, has been chosen as captain for the Buckeyes. He also earned the nod following his sophomore campaign and last year, when he served with Doran Grant, Curtis Grant, Jeff Heuerman, and Michael Bennett.
Both Decker and Perry are slated to be senior stalwarts within their respective unit groups. Decker, who hails from Vandalia, Ohio, is the oldest and most experienced member of the offensive line with 29 starts under his belt. He would have been an early selection in the 2015 NFL Draft if he'd elected to turn pro, much like some of his former teammates on the offense line
"Those were the guys who showed me the way,” Decker said of players like Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort, Andrew Norwell, Reid Fragel and Marcus Hall. “They are guys I had a lot of respect for … guys I looked up to. I did things the way they showed, and the honor of being a captain is important. I’m excited my teammates have chosen me and the five others guys to represent this team as a whole."
Perry, from Galena, Ohio, has 24 starts as a Buckeye to his name, leading the team in tackles during it's 2014 national championship season with 124. Both he and Decker joined Adolphus Washington and Meyer in Chicago for Big Ten Media Days in July, showing how highly the head coach and his staff think of them.
"We have a lot of special guys in this locker room and a lot of guys who buy into the program,” Perry said in the release. “We have guys who care so much more about their teammates and this great school and this program than just themselves. And I think it’s huge to have this amount of selfless guys … older guys … leaders and people who we count on viewed that way. It’s huge.”
| Season | Team Captains |
|---|---|
| 2012 | John Simon, Zach Boren, Etienne Sabino, Garrett Goebel, Jordan Hall |
| 2013 | Jack Mewhort, C.J. Barnett, Kenny Guiton, Corey Linsley, Philly Brown |
| 2014 | Michael Bennett, Curtis Grant, Doran Grant, Jeff Heuerman, Braxton Miller |
| 2015 | Jacoby Boren, J.T. Barrett, Taylor Decker, Joshua Perry, Braxton Miller and Tyvis Powell |
Powell, a redshirt junior, is one of the leaders of Ohio State’s defense getting set to enter his second year as the Buckeyes’ starting strong safety. Last season, the Bedford, Ohio, native ranked third on Ohio State’s defense with four interceptions and was fourth on the team with 76 tackles.
Boren, a senior, is one of the vital members of Ohio State’s offensive line. A two-year starter at center, the Pickerington, Ohio, native started all 15 games at center last season for an offense that averaged 264.5 rushing yards per game.
Barrett, a redshirt sophomore from Wichita Falls, Texas, started 12 games at quarterback for Ohio State in 2014. In his first year as a starter, Barrett broke nearly every Big Ten record on his way to 2,834 passing yards, 938 rushing yards and 45 total touchdowns. Barrett’s record-breaking season saw him finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
* Bit of semantics here, but Miller was named one of eight captains prior to the 2013 season – joining Jack Mewhort, C.J. Barnett, Christian Bryant, Kenny Guiton, Ryan Shazier, Corey Linsley and Philly Brown – but Ohio State officially recognizes just five from that batch – Mewhort, Brown, Barnett, Guiton and Linsley – as captains.
