If there were any doubts that Lathan Ransom could return to form after disappointing outings to close last season against Michigan and Georgia, those were erased by his night against Notre Dame.
In a performance that earned him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors, Ransom reminded Ohio State fans what he can bring when at his best.
“Lathan’s super explosive and he’s super tough,” linebacker Cody Simon said. “He’ll play through almost anything that ever happens to him. I’m not surprised by (his performance) because that’s the type of guy he is. He’ll always go as hard as he can and he’s so violent.”
Ransom recorded 13 tackles against Notre Dame, five more than any other player on either team in the contest.
None were bigger than a combined takedown he had with Sonny Styles that stonewalled Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman for no gain on a 4th-and-1 play.
“I just appreciate Coach Knowles and Coach Eliano basically giving us the look before we got it,” Ransom said. “We were literally in the walkthrough the morning before, talking about, ‘If this happens, then this will happen.’ Luckily that’s the look we got and we just executed like we were coached.”
Sonny Styles is him. pic.twitter.com/AVvUStaEUT
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) September 24, 2023
From the perspective of fellow safety Josh Proctor, Ransom is a player who embodies the mentality of this year’s secondary.
“He’s just another guy to bring that dog mentality,” Proctor said. “I feel like we all have that in the back end, but he’s one of those guys that you know he’s going to bring it every play, every chance he gets.”
The numbers reflect that Ohio State’s secondary is willing to stick its face in the fan in 2023. Four of the Buckeyes’ top seven tacklers come from the back end. Ransom is tied with cornerback Davison Igbinosun as having the most tackles among Silver Bullet defensive backs with both piling up 20 through the team’s first four games. That’s good for fourth on the team.
Ransom is no stranger to embracing the role of a rough-and-tumble tackler for Ohio State’s defense. He piled up 74 tackles, third-most on the team and tops among non-linebackers, in his first year as a full-time starter in 2022. He added 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, three pass breakups and an interception.
Now that he’s in his second year both as a starter and in the scheme of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, the game is slowing down for Ransom since he’s seen a variety of offenses, many on more than one occasion.
“When you’re able to watch film and watch these looks and you see them multiple times, it just makes you play faster,” Ransom said. “When you’re prepared going into a game, you don’t do as much thinking. You’ve already seen it so many times, so you’re just reacting.”
From both his performance in games and effort in practice, Ransom’s teammates are confident he’ll continue delivering effective, physical play this season.
“What you guys see on Saturdays, it’s every day for us,” Simon said. “He’s going to go as hard as he can no matter what.”
