ROSE BOWL BOUND
Ohio State demolishes Tennessee, 42-17, and advances to the Rose Bowl to face top-seeded Oregon.
With the second month of the season now complete, it’s time for our second in-season update of The Buckeye 20, Eleven Warriors’ year-round ranking of Ohio State’s best players.
Marvin Harrison Jr. remains in the top spot as he has been for all of our rankings this season, but Denzel Burke and Tyleik Williams move up to the second and third spots this month, jumping Emeka Egbuka, who slides down two spots after missing three of Ohio State’s four October games with an ankle injury. The same players fill out the top five as last month, albeit in a different order, as Tommy Eichenberg rounds out the top five.
Two Ohio State defenders make their Buckeye 20 debuts this month while a pair of offensive players slid out of the top 20 from last month; as a result, this month’s Buckeye 20 includes 13 defensive players and just seven offensive players, a reflection of which side of the ball has carried Ohio State this season.
| Rank | Pos | Player | Previous Rank | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WR | MARVIN HARRISON JR. | 1 | – |
| 2 | CB | DENZEL BURKE | 3 | ▲1 |
| 3 | DT | TYLEIK WILLIAMS | 5 | ▲2 |
| 4 | WR | EMEKA EGBUKA | 2 | ▼2 |
| 5 | LB | TOMMY EICHENBERG | 4 | ▼1 |
| 6 | DE | JT TUIMOLOAU | 9 | ▲3 |
| 7 | RB | TREVEYON HENDERSON | 6 | ▼1 |
| 8 | TE | CADE STOVER | 8 | – |
| 9 | FS | JOSH PROCTOR | 12 | ▲3 |
| 10 | SS | LATHAN RANSOM | 10 | – |
| 11 | DT | MIKE HALL | 11 | – |
| 12 | QB | KYLE MCCORD | 7 | ▼5 |
| 13 | CB | JORDAN HANCOCK | NR | ▲9 |
| 14 | CB | DAVISON IGBINOSUN | 15 | ▲1 |
| 15 | DE | JACK SAWYER | 20 | ▲5 |
| 16 | S | SONNY STYLES | 14 | ▼2 |
| 17 | LB | CODY SIMON | NR | ▲10 |
| 18 | LG | DONOVAN JACKSON | 17 | ▼1 |
| 19 | RG | MATT JONES | 18 | ▼1 |
| 20 | LB | STEELE CHAMBERS | 13 | ▼7 |
Who’s In: Jordan Hancock, Cody Simon
Hancock, who narrowly missed the cut after the first month of the season, debuts in the Buckeye 20 at No. 13 this month after emerging as a staple of Ohio State’s defense at nickelback. Simon makes his first Buckeye 20 appearance as the team’s 17th-best player after becoming a regular in the linebacker rotation and recording 17 tackles with two tackles for loss in the month of October even though he has yet to start a game.
Who’s Out: Chip Trayanum, Josh Fryar
Trayanum earned the No. 16 spot in our last rankings on the heels of his game-winning touchdown at Notre Dame, but was the first player to miss the cut after this month after averaging just three yards per carry in four October games. Fryar was ranked 19th after the first month of the season but falls out of the top 20 after a rough October in which he got beat for four sacks.
Biggest Risers: JT Tuimoloau, Josh Proctor, Jack Sawyer
Both of Ohio State’s starting defensive ends, who recorded zero sacks in September, moved up the rankings this month – Tuimoloau from ninth to sixth, Sawyer from 20th to 15th – after elevating their game as both pass rushers and run stoppers in October. Proctor, who began the season outside of the Buckeye 20, now finds himself in the top 10 after two months of excellent play at free safety.
Biggest Fallers: Kyle McCord, Steele Chambers
McCord’s performance plateaued in October after steady improvement in September, leading to a five-spot drop for Ohio State’s starting quarterback in this month’s rankings. Chambers slid seven spots to the bottom of this month’s Buckeye 20 after losing some snaps to Simon and performing inconsistently in recent games.
Visit our Buckeye 20 page for more on each of Ohio State’s top 20 players after the first two months of the season. Bookmark that page to keep up with the rankings all year long, with the next update scheduled to come following the conclusion of the regular season.
