Ohio State has plenty of candidates to be team leaders in 2024.
Thanks to the decisions of many of its upperclassmen to stay in Columbus for another year rather than enter the NFL draft, Ohio State will have no lack of senior leadership this season. The Buckeyes have 24 players on scholarship who are in either their fourth or fifth year of college football, including 16 of its projected starters this season.
As such, Ohio State will face tough choices when deciding who should be its team captains this year.
Ohio State could make that decision earlier by naming a large group of captains. There’s plenty of recent precedent for that, as the Buckeyes named at least six captains every year from 2013 to 2022. Last year, however, Ryan Day made captaincy more selective as the Buckeyes selected just three players for the honor: Tommy Eichenberg, Cade Stover and Xavier Johnson.
How many captains Ohio State names this year could depend on how the voting plays out when the players submit their captaincy votes during preseason camp in August.
“I think every team is different,” Day said last August. “If you don't have one, two or three guys that you feel really strongly about, then sometimes you spread it, four or five. And that usually is indicated by the way it's voted on. This year, there was a pretty strong gap in there.”
With so many seniors who are expected to be team leaders this year, there might not be a clearly defined gap between the top three vote-getters and everyone else like Day said there was last year. It would come as a surprise if Day names as many captains as some of Urban Meyer’s teams had – Ohio State had nine captains in 2017 – but the Buckeyes will have plenty of options to choose from whether they decide to anoint a smaller or larger group of official team leaders for 2024.
Each of the following nine players is likely to be among those who garner consideration. All of them are seniors who have spent their entire careers at Ohio State, who could have moved on after last season but chose to stay at OSU for what they hope will be a championship chase, who are expected to play major roles for the Buckeyes this season and who are regarded as leaders in their respective position groups and across the team as a whole.
Jack Sawyer, DE
No Buckeye played a bigger role in keeping the team’s core together for the 2024 season than Sawyer. A leader of his class since he became Ohio State’s first commit of the 2021 cycle, Sawyer helped convince many of his fellow seniors to stay at OSU rather than enter the 2024 NFL draft.
“He was very passionate about getting us back,” Ty Hamilton said this spring. “He has it in his heart, being a kid from Ohio just like me, having a passion for wanting to win. You're playing for The Ohio State University. You want to win. You don’t want to have to settle for anything less.”
Ryan Day said this spring that Sawyer’s “great leadership” in keeping the team together is “something I won’t forget,” so it stands to reason that he’ll be on the coach’s shortlist of captaincy candidates. Sawyer’s selection as one of the three Ohio State players who will be attending next week’s Big Ten Media Days further confirms his standing as one of the Buckeyes’ top leaders entering 2024.
Every single Ohio State football team except one (1997) since 1947 has had at least one captain from Ohio. Sawyer is the likeliest candidate to continue that tradition in 2024.
Cody Simon, LB
Simon could fill Tommy Eichenberg’s shoes in more ways than one this year. In line to replace Eichenberg as Ohio State’s starting middle linebacker this season, Simon is also expected to be one of the Buckeyes’ top leaders this season just like Eichenberg was.
“Cody is probably the best leader on the team,” fellow linebacker C.J. Hicks said last week. “He gives it his all every day. He's a great example. He leads by example. He's always talking to whoever it is, when he's done working out and you're right next to him, he's gonna be in your ear making sure you give your all.”
At least one linebacker has been a captain on each of Ohio State’s last six teams and 15 of its last 17 dating back to when current linebackers coach James Lauriniaits was a two-time captain in 2007 and 2008. Simon is a good bet to keep that trend going this year.
Emeka Egbuka, WR
Even if Ohio State goes with a small group of captains like it did last year, there will likely be at least one captain on each side of the ball. The top candidate on offense could be Egbuka, who will be the offense’s lone representative at next week’s Big Ten Media Days.
After sharing leadership duties in the receiver room with Xavier Johnson, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Julian Fleming last season, Egbuka enters 2024 as the clear-cut leader of his position group both on and off the field, a role he’s embracing.
“I've always felt like a leader ever since I was growing up,” Egbuka said this spring. “The leadership role is something that I feel a lot of pride about in any area of my life. But something I'm so passionate about such as football, I feel even more drive to be a leader.”
TreVeyon Henderson, RB
Another top candidate for captaincy on offense is Henderson, who’s drawn considerable praise from Day this offseason for his emergence as a leader going into his senior season.
“I think TreVeyon's leadership so far this year as he's transitioned into his fourth year has been tremendous,” Day said in February. “The way that he's gone about his work, the way that he's holding guys accountable, he's got a different look in his eye, and I think that's important.”
Henderson’s unselfish team-first approach has been exemplified by the way he’s welcomed Ole Miss transfer running back Quinshon Judkins, who said this spring that Henderson has “been a leader to the whole room by his actions and vocally as well.” Henderson’s decision to stay at Ohio State for another year, even with Judkins coming in to take some of his carries, is surely appreciated by the entire team, and it could lead to Henderson becoming OSU’s first running back captain since J.K. Dobbins in 2019.
Denzel Burke, CB
Being the team’s best player doesn’t guarantee that a player will be a captain, but Burke has a strong claim to that standing after his dominant junior season. Also the Buckeyes’ most experienced player in terms of playing time as he enters his fourth year as a starting cornerback, Burke usually has a lot to say and his words will carry a lot of weight as the leader of Ohio State’s cornerback unit.
Like Sawyer and Egbuka, Burke was chosen to represent Ohio State at Big Ten Media Days, signaling his standing as one of the team’s veteran leaders. He’s perhaps the Buckeyes’ most confident player, saying this spring that Ohio State has “no excuses” not to win it all this year, and that confidence is something the entire team can rally around as they look to turn things around following a three-year losing streak to Michigan.
Ohio State has had only two cornerback captains in the last decade (Gareon Conley in 2016 and Shaun Wade in 2020), but it hasn’t had many returning senior cornerbacks who have played as much football – and good football at that – as Burke.
JT Tuimoloau, DE
Tuimoloau was viewed as a top candidate to be a captain last year when he made his own trip to Big Ten Media Days as one of Ohio State’s three representatives, so he should be in the conversation for captaincy again this year.
JT emerged as a team leader for the Buckeyes before the end of his sophomore season when he gave a speech that his Ohio State teammates cited as a turning point in their preparation for the College Football Playoff following their 2022 loss against Michigan. Now that he has another full year of experience under his belt, he’ll be looked to even more as a leader alongside Sawyer on the defensive line.
Gee Scott Jr., TE
Scott is another Buckeye who was singled out for his growth as a leader this spring. Ohio State tight ends coach Keenan Bailey said Scott “sets the tone” for his unit, while Day said Scott’s “leadership and just demeanor has been excellent.”
While emerging as the frontrunner to succeed two-time former captain Cade Stover as Ohio State’s starting tight end on the field, Scott has also become known as one of the Buckeyes’ spiritual leaders off the field, leading Bible studies that many of his teammates attend. Ohio State’s captains have often included faith-driven leaders in recent years, such as Kamryn Babb in 2021 and 2022 and Xavier Johnson in 2023, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Scott follow in their footsteps by becoming a captain himself.
Lathan Ransom, S
Ohio State’s captains often include stories of perseverance, and there might not be any senior leader on this year’s team who exemplifies that more than Ransom, who’s had to battle his way back from two season-ending injuries over the past three years.
A fifth-year senior who’s now entering his third year as Ohio State’s strong safety, Ransom will be counted on to provide a leadership presence alongside Burke in the secondary this year. He’s responded to that call this offseason; safeties coach Matt Guerrieri said this spring that Ransom has held his teammates at a “really high level,” and that should garner Ransom consideration for both captaincy and perhaps the “Block 0” jersey next month.
Donovan Jackson, LG
It might not be a bad thing for Ohio State to have a captain on its offensive line to set the tone up front after its struggles in the trenches last year, and the leading candidate among its O-linemen to emerge as a captain is Jackson, who’s now entering his third year as the Buckeyes’ starting left guard.
Jackson has been praised as a leader along the offensive line dating back to even when he was a first-year starter as a sophomore, with fellow linemen often pointing to him as someone they look to for examples and advice.
“I owe Donnie a lot,” said left tackle Josh Simmons. “He's an amazing player. He gives me insight on just about everything. Notre Dame, I've never been more nervous for a game than (the Notre Dame game last year). I just kind of talked to him. He said, 'We got it. Keep doing what you do.' And we got through it. We got the W.”
As perhaps the top leader on the team’s largest position group, Jackson should get plenty of votes during captaincy balloting.
