Going into the season, it was unclear whether Lathan Ransom would even have a consistent role in Ohio State’s secondary this season.
Seven games into the year, Ransom has established himself as one of the best safeties in college football. Ransom currently has the highest Pro Football Focus grade (88.2) among all Power 5 safeties this season and was named earlier this week as one of only 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which honors college football’s best defensive backs.
In Ohio State’s last two games specifically, Ransom’s playmaking ability has been on full display as he made his first career interception against Michigan State and then both forced and recovered a fumble while tying his career-high with eight tackles against Iowa.
Those accomplishments are even more impressive considering Ransom spent most of the offseason recovering from a broken leg and began the season as a backup safety. But while Josh Proctor started the season as the starter at the bandit position, Ransom has played all of the snaps at that spot for Ohio State’s first-team defense over the past two games, and he’s played so well Ohio State will be hard-pressed to take him off the field in the future.
“He's got a hot hand,” Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said Tuesday. “He's one of those safeties that can see the forest through the trees and pull his trigger and go. So guys playing like that, you want to keep them going.”
Knowles isn’t surprised by Ransom’s success. He’s consistently praised Ransom since he returned to the field in preseason camp, and he described Ransom on Tuesday as “a guy that I've been totally impressed with since he was able to practice.”
A big key to Ransom’s ascension from last season, when he had a PFF grade of 64.4 for the year, is that he’s now playing the position that best fits his skill set. While the previous coaching staff primarily utilized Ransom as a nickel safety for his first two years at Ohio State, he’s played exclusively as a deep safety this year. That was the position he was recruited to play for the Buckeyes, and he feels like he’s now playing where he always belonged.
“I mean, I'm playing the safety position. That’s what I came here to play. So I feel way more comfortable every day,” Ransom said last week. “And I'm learning new things every day from (safeties coach Perry Eliano), from Coach Knowles, and I'm just excited. I'm excited to be learning more football, be learning more schemes, more stuff that I didn't learn last year that is just opening up my game.”
Ransom has been one of numerous defensive players, like Tommy Eichenberg and Zach Harrison, whose performance has improved substantially this year after they fell short of expectations last year. In Ransom’s case, Day sees that as a direct result of how Ohio State’s new defensive coaches are utilizing him within the new scheme, as well as how hard Ransom worked through his injury this offseason.
“I think what we're doing with Lathan on defense really fits his skill set, and he's taken off,” Day said Tuesday. “You're starting to see the best version of him. I think he's got a great relationship with Perry. I think, coming off that injury last year, you see how tough he is. Because that was a quick return after a very difficult injury. And it's great to see him making plays. And I think again, this style of defense really fits him.”
Ransom says Knowles’ coaching has given him a new sense of confidence – both in himself and in his teammates – that has enabled him to take his game to a new level.
“I think Coach Knowles does a great job of putting all of us, all the defensive players into situations to where you have a chance to make the play and it's really on you to make the play. And I think that's why it's so fun playing in Coach Knowles’ defense,” Ransom said. “We just all have confidence in each other. That's one thing that Coach Knowles brought here and just instilled in us. We believe in Coach Knowles. He believes in us.”
“I think what we're doing with Lathan on defense really fits his skill set, and he's taken off.”– Ryan Day on Lathan Ransom‘s improvement
Ransom says he maintained a team-first attitude while playing in the slot, and he feels the experience he gained there over the past two years gives him the versatility to play any of Ohio State’s three safety spots now. But he acknowledges he felt some frustration about not playing the position he knew he was best suited to play.
“I mean, at the end of the day, I just want to do what's best for the team,” Ransom said. “If I did feel comfortable, I didn’t feel comfortable. It doesn't matter. I was put there to play nickel, so I needed to play nickel. So I was showing up every day to play nickel.
“There was some times I was really frustrated. I mean, I can't lie about that. But at the end of the day, I just put my faith into God, put my faith in the coaching staff here, and it works out.”
Even now that he is experiencing individual success, Ransom has continued to prioritize the team’s goals above his own. When asked if he had seen his lofty ranking from PFF, Ransom said he had seen it but didn’t want to let it get to his head.
“I try not to pay too much attention to that stuff, negative or positive,” Ransom said. “It just pays tribute to how much work I put in the offseason. But at the end of the day, that's not my goal and that's not the team's goal.”
When asked if he had thought about how he could now be a prospect for next year’s NFL draft because of how well he’s played this season, Ransom said he wanted to keep his focus on what Ohio State is trying to accomplish this year.
“We got three goals here … beat the team up north, win the Big Ten, win the national championship,” Ransom said. “Those are my three goals right now. And that's all I'm thinking about.”
Ohio State’s improvement on defense is increasing its chances of achieving those three goals after the Buckeyes accomplished none of them last year, and Ransom’s emergence has been a significant factor in the Buckeyes’ defensive success this year. Ohio State’s other starting deep safety Ronnie Hickman, who said back in August that Ransom “had one of the best camps I've seen since I've been in this program,” is among those who have been impressed with what Ransom has brought to the defense.
“He's a fast, aggressive safety, and what Coach Knowles has him doing in that position, what it requires of him, I think it fits him perfect,” Hickman said last week.
When Ransom thinks back to where he was less than 10 months ago, laying on the grass at the Rose Bowl with a broken leg, he’s proud of how far he’s come. But he doesn’t want to get complacent with what he’s done so far, knowing bigger challenges lie ahead for him and the rest of the Buckeyes.
“We're not done yet,” Ransom said. “Our team has bigger goals, I’ve got bigger goals and I'm just ready to try to achieve them.”
