Ohio State will have seven captains for the 2018 season.
The team announced in a Twitter post on Saturday that fifth-year senior wide receivers Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon, senior offensive tackle Isaiah Prince, junior safety Jordan Fuller, junior defensive end Nick Bosa and redshirt sophomore linebacker Tuf Borland will be the team's official leaders for 2018.
Congratulations to the captains of The 2018 Ohio State Football Team@PCampbell21 @j_fuller4 @YoungKing_JD5 @nbsmallerbear @TheTerry_25 @ThePrince_59 @Tuf_Borland #GoBucks #WinTheMoment pic.twitter.com/1Iu1NcG9Mx
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 25, 2018
Ohio State also posted a video that showed offensive line coach Greg Studrawa delivering the news to Prince's father that his son had been named a captain.
Great cheers from the family of @ThePrince_59 as @CoachStudOL delivers the news that he was named a captain for the 2018 season#GoBucks #WinTheMoment pic.twitter.com/IGf5I4mX2y
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 25, 2018
The players voted on captains Friday. Campbell received the most votes among all players, with Dixon just one vote behind, while Fuller was the leading vote-getter on defense.
"We talked about what a special team this could be, and these are the leaders right here," Ohio State interim head coach Ryan Day said after naming the captains. "You've got to set the example moving forward."
Campbell and McLaurin are the only returning captains among Ohio State's nine captains from last season. Ohio State's other seven captains from 2017 – J.T. Barrett, Billy Price, Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Tracy Sprinkle and Chris Worley – are all now playing in the NFL.
It's the third straight year that Ohio State has named at least seven team captains, as the Buckeyes also had seven team captains in 2016. The Buckeyes had never had more than six captains in a season before that.
| Season | Team Captains |
|---|---|
| 2012 | Zach Boren, Garrett Goebel, Jordan Hall, Etienne Sabino, John Simon |
| 2013 | C.J. Barnett, Corey Brown, Christian Bryant, Kenny Guiton, Corey Linsley, Jack Mewhort |
| 2014 | Michael Bennett, Curtis Grant, Doran Grant, Jeff Heuerman, Braxton Miller, Evan Spencer |
| 2015 | J.T. Barrett, Jacoby Boren, Taylor Decker, Braxton Miller, Joshua Perry, Tyvis Powell |
| 2016 | J.T. Barrett, Joe Burger, Gareon Conley, Pat Elflein, Tyquan Lewis, Raekwon McMillan, Billy Price |
| 2017 | J.T. Barrett, Parris Campbell, Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, Terry McLaurin, Billy Price, Tracy Sprinkle, Chris Worley |
| 2018 | Tuf Borland, Nick Bosa, Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Jordan Fuller, Terry McLaurin, Isaiah Prince |
Campbell, McLaurin and Dixon are all regulars in Ohio State's wide receiver rotation. Prince is entering his third season as the Buckeyes' starting right tackle. Fuller is entering his second season as a starting safety for the Buckeyes. Bosa is perhaps the biggest star on the Buckeyes' entire team, widely considered to be college football's best defensive end after earning first-team All-American honors last year. Borland started nine games at middle linebacker last season and is set to retain that role this season, though his availability for the beginning of the year remains uncertain as he recovers from an Achilles injury.
Borland, Fuller and Bosa are the first third-year players to be named captains since Barrett earned the first of his three captaincies in 2015.
