Ohio State's senior-laden squad has its four captains, all seniors, for 2024.
The Buckeyes announced Saturday that wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, running back TreVeyon Henderson, defensive end Jack Sawyer and linebacker Cody Simon were voted captains by their teammates.
Selected by their peers. 2024 Team Captain: @emeka_egbuka pic.twitter.com/j7zR9R8y4C
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 17, 2024
Henderson is entering his fourth season as Ohio State's top running back, racking up 2,745 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns at a clip of 6.2 yards per carry to this point in his career. He's grown as a leader in his time in Columbus, going through a faith journey that's helped him become a better teammate.
Egbuka is back for his senior year after a 2023 season hindered by injury and is in line to be Ohio State's leading weapon from its talented receiving corps this year. He posted 74 catches for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2022 and should be among the nation's best wideouts.
Sawyer, a native of the Columbus area, has been a leader in the program since he became the first recruit to commit to Ryan Day as part of the class of 2021 way back in early 2019. He's credited with spearheading the collective decision by many seniors in that class, including Egbuka and Henderson, to stay for the 2024 season. Sawyer also might have been the Buckeyes' best defender in the second half of last season, racking up 16 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks with a strip sack in their final three games.
Simon rounds out the captain selections after he was also Ohio State's "Block O" jersey on Saturday. Slated to start and be the backbone of the team's defense at Mike linebacker, Simon was the first of the Buckeyes' players with NFL draft stock to say he'd return in 2024, doing so before the Cotton Bowl against Missouri.
Ohio State's captain selections feature an even spread of two offensive players and two defensive players. All four are captains for the first time.
Ryan Day said the Buckeyes could have named even more captains but chose to go with the top four, giving Ohio State one more captain than last season, when Xavier Johnson, Tommy Eichenberg and Cade Stover were the Buckeyes’ three captains.
“The great news is we have a great group of leaders,” Day said in an Ohio State news release. “Just because you are not a captain doesn’t mean you’re not a leader. You’re still a leader. Leadership is earned and a lot of you guys have earned leadership. There are a lot of captains on this team. The players did a great job voting.”
