Tommy Eichenberg is Senior Bowl-bound.
The Ohio State linebacker became the first Buckeye to accept an invitation to the 2024 Senior Bowl when the all-star game announced Monday that Eichenberg will be in Mobile for this year’s pre-draft showcase, which is scheduled to be played on Feb. 3.
OFFICIAL! LB Tommy Eichenberg from @OhioStateFB has accepted his invitation to the 2024 Reese's Senior Bowl! #GoBucks #TheDraftStartsInMOBILE@JimNagy_SB @PaniniAmerica #RatedRookie pic.twitter.com/K9yrVhnYnP
— Reese's Senior Bowl (@seniorbowl) December 4, 2023
Eichenberg is widely projected to be a middle-round pick in the 2024 NFL draft. While the fifth-year senior still has one more season of collegiate eligibility due to the extra year all players received in 2020, accepting his invitation to the Senior Bowl indicates that he does not plan to stay for a sixth year.
Before his Ohio State career ends, however, Ryan Day is expecting Eichenberg to play in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri, where Day hopes to see the Buckeyes' starting middle linebacker show NFL scouts that he should be one of the first LBs off the board come April.
“Tommy really took the next step here this year, really helped himself I think, coming back for his senior year. And I think a lot of it had to do with his ability to diagnose plays, get the defense into checks, tie the front end to the back end, and then just show up, play really hard,” Day said Sunday on a Cotton Bowl teleconference. “I think Tommy is one of the best linebackers in the country and has an opportunity to really play himself even in this last game into one of the top drafted linebackers coming out this year in the draft. But as a captain, he's been a great leader for us, and his production speaks for itself.”
A two-time captain for the Buckeyes, Eichenberg has recorded 266 tackles over the past three seasons, leading the team in tackles in both 2022 and 2023. He was named last week as the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year.
