More preseason honors have arrived for the Buckeyes.
On Thursday, Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke and safety Lathan Ransom were named to a watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award, an honor presented to the best defensive back in college football. The Buckeye ball hawks landed on the list with Kool-Aid McKinstry of Alabama, Kalen King of Penn State, Will Johnson of Michigan and Calen Bullock of USC.
| Best Defensive Back in College Football
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 10, 2023
@King10Burke x @L8thanRansom pic.twitter.com/wVsveeEk6g
Burke has been Ohio State's No. 1 cornerback since he was a true freshman in 2021. That season, he received third-team All-Big Ten and freshman All-American honors for his efforts, which included 36 tackles and 13 pass breakups across 13 starts. With expectations to carry that momentum into 2022, Burke suffered a sophomore slump and recorded only 34 tackles and five pass breakups last season. The Phoenix native will look to produce a bounce-back effort for the Buckeyes in 2023.
Ransom was one of Ohio State's best defenders last season. After he suffered a broken leg in the Buckeyes' Rose Bowl win over Utah, Ransom recovered in a matter of months and contributed from start to finish in 2022, collecting 74 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Ransom's performances earned him honorable mention All-Big Ten honors, and he was also named a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist.
Ohio State's secondary enters 2023 with expectations to improve, as the poor performance from the Buckeyes' cornerbacks and safeties was one of several reasons the team lost to Michigan and Georgia in 2022. If the defensive backs are to return their BIA and DBU, it will be Burke and Ransom who help make that reemergence possible.
The Buckeyes have two previous Jim Thorpe Award winners: Antoine Winfield in 1998 and Malcolm Jenkins in 2008. Jeff Okudah (2019), Shaun Wade (2020) and Ransom (2022) have been Ohio State's recent semifinalists for the honor.
The list of defensive backs will be trimmed down to 12 semifinalists at the start of November. From there, three finalists will be named at the end of November. The Jim Thorpe Award winner will be announced at The Home Depot College Football Awards in early December.
With Burke and Ransom's nominations on the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list, Ohio State has now had 13 players receive preseason recognition. We have included all of those Buckeyes below with their respective honors:
Ohio State Players on Preseason Watch Lists
- WR Marvin Harrison Jr.: Maxwell Award, Biletnikoff Award
- WR Emeka Egbuka: Maxwell Award, Biletnikoff Award, Paul Hornung Award
- G Donovan Jackson: Outland Trophy
- G Matt Jones: Outland Trophy
- DT Mike Hall Jr.: Outland Trophy
- DE JT Tuimoloau: Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott IMPACT Trophy
- LB Tommy Eichenberg: Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lott IMPACT Trophy
- S Lathan Ransom: Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Jim Thorpe Award
- P Jesse Mirco: Ray Guy Award
- TE Cade Stover: Mackey Award
- RB TreVeyon Henderson: Doak Walker Award
- RB Miyan Williams: Doak Walker Award
- CB Denzel Burke: Jim Thorpe Award
