Lathan Ransom and Tyvis Powell are the latest Buckeyes to sit down for a “Tradition Talk” conversation about Ohio State football's past, present and future.
As each episode of the series has, the conversation between the current and former Ohio State safeties started with a discussion about the program's all-time greats. Ransom named Mike Doss, Malik Hooker, Vonn Bell and Malcolm Jenkins, a list Powell supported but claimed had one flaw.
"You have some really good ones, and there are a bunch more that we could throw out there, but you have to put Jack Tatum on there, man," Powell said. "He was before our time, but he was 'The Assassin.' He was the epitome of how you wanted to play safety. Jack Tatum is definitely on my list."
Ransom admitted he hadn't watched much of Tatum's performances for Ohio State but said to "throw him in there, too." Ransom said he would head to the film room after the episode to watch Tatum as a Buckeye. If Ransom didn't start his Tatum deep dive at that point, Powell said he should look up videos on YouTube.
Before their Mount Rushmore talk ended, Powell added three more Buckeyes that deserve to have their names in the discussion of Ohio State's greatest safeties: Jordan Fuller, C.J. Barnett and Christian Bryant, who Powell said "didn't have the accolades... but had the heart of a Lion."
While the conversation continued, Ransom asked Powell what he remembers about the tradition of Ohio State football from his time with the Buckeyes. Powell briefly mentioned "Senior Tackle," where seniors hit the blocking sled one final time in one of the team's last regular-season practices. He then discussed Ohio State's hatred for Michigan, reminding Ransom why the Buckeyes and Wolverines have the greatest rivalry in all of sports.
"It's war," Powell said. "You grow up watching it, and you think you understand, but until you are actually on the field, man, it's really like that. When I had my time to shine, I had that same mentality. It was to dominate those dudes. Show no love to none of them. They don't care about us, so we don't care about them. We will show y'all that we are the most dominant team and the better team. No matter what y'all do – trick plays, or if y'all wanna play in the parking lot – we will beat you in that, too. That tradition of being dominant over them was big to me."
"For sure," Ransom continued. "For me, the first one as a freshman is getting the black stripe off. When you get here as a freshman, you look up to the older guys and want to earn their respect. I was the second one to get my black stripe off. The first one was Kourt Williams. When he came in, he was all business, so that wasn't a surprise to no one. I got mine off in the Shoe, and I think it came after someone broke off a big run, and I chased him down and got him on the ground. I had a couple of PBUs, too. That meant a lot to me."
As the conversation came to a close, Ransom asked Powell to recall what it took for him and his teammates to win a national championship at Ohio State in 2014 and share his opinion on how the 2023 edition of the Buckeyes can do the same.
"That season, we went through a lot," Powell said. "The game that changed everything was Penn State. We were up 14, and I think they came back and tied the game. And I remember during that game, J.T. (Barrett) got hurt. A lot of people may not know that, but J.T. hurt his knee, where he could barely run the ball. Joey Bosa ended up with the walk-off sack. But that game was when we found out that no matter how good or bad things were going, this team would never give up. Every game, that's how we took it. We will keep swinging, keep fighting.
"The thing was, we loved each other. If you could take anything from this conversation, it's about love. And I tell everybody, do you want to know the secret to winning a championship? It's that I love my brother and my teammate way more than you love yours. I don't want to let my teammate down. It means that much. I will run through a brick wall. ... It was such selflessness for that team, such a love for each other, that it didn't matter who we played, we were gonna find a way to win that game. It's about loving your teammate and at the end of the game, you can look your teammate in the eye, and they know they gave you everything you had."
In those remarks, Powell encouraged Ransom to love his teammates this season and to use the bond that The Brotherhood creates to fuel them in 2023. Ransom thanked Powell for the input and said he looks forward to carrying on the legacy of Ohio State's safeties for his fourth season in the scarlet and gray.
The conversation between Ransom and Powell is the seventh episode released by Ohio State as part of its “Tradition Talk” series, which has also featured conversations between Archie Griffin and Ryan Day, Brian Hartline and Marvin Harrison Jr., Steele Chambers and James Laurinaitis, Devin Jordan and Emeka Egbuka, Jack Sawyer and C.J. Barnett and Tim Walton and Denzel Burke.
