Cody Simon first started thinking about the possibility of becoming an Ohio State captain when he was a recruit.
Ohio State’s linebackers coach at the time, Al Washington, told Simon that he thought the four-star prospect in the 2020 class could be a future captain for the Buckeyes. The then-New Jersey resident took Washington’s words to heart and made becoming a captain a goal for his Ohio State career.
“I thank him a lot because he helped me out with a lot of my mentality, especially when I was young and trying to figure a way around here,” Simon said. “And then you realize that you stack one day on top of the other, and it's a tough day, but you stack it, you stack it, you stack it. And big things and great things can happen.”
Nearly five years of stacked days later, Washington’s vision for Simon came to fruition on Saturday when he was not only named a captain of the 2024 Ohio State football team but this year’s recipient of the coveted “Block O” jersey, signifying his status as the Buckeyes’ top leader.
Simon received the most votes of any Buckeye in this year’s captaincy selection, and his teammates’ regard for him is something he doesn’t take lightly.
“I was praying and hoping just to be a captain and for that, to also get Block O, I'm extremely honored and I'm so thankful for the opportunity,” Simon said Tuesday. “To have your teammates think about you in that way, I'm just so thankful. There's really no other words besides thankful and honored to be regarded highly among your teammates.”
Simon’s teammates said it was no surprise to see him get the Block O.
“Everybody saw it coming,” said defensive end Caden Curry. “Cody's a hard worker, day in, day out. He definitely puts the hours in and everybody respects him at the highest level here.”
Exemplifying what it means to be a Buckeye. The 2024 Block O recipient, @Cody_Simon30 pic.twitter.com/HDAKkOvHJX
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 17, 2024
Going into his fifth and final season as a Buckeye, Simon has had plenty of examples of leadership to look up to. That starts with his older brother, former Pittsburgh linebacker Shayne Simon, who was a captain last year in his final season with the Panthers.
“I model so much of what I do around him,” Cody Simon said. “A lot of what you see here for me is a testament to him. ‘Cause he's led me the entire way. Everything I've done, I've been watching him do it.”
In his younger years as a Buckeye, Simon was inspired by the likes of Jonathon Cooper and Thayer Munford, the first two Ohio State players to receive the “Block O” jersey in 2020 and 2021.
“Every day I have to fight to be the best version of myself. And when I look at guys like Coop, Thayer, I look at them now and you're like, ‘Those guys fought,’” Simon said. “So for me, it's ‘How can I be like that?’ Those are the guys who have led the programs for us. So every chance you get, you try to emulate those guys because they are such strong figures in our program.”
“To have your teammates think about you in that way, I'm just so thankful.”– Cody Simon on being selected as a captain
For the last two years, Simon backed up a two-time captain in Tommy Eichenberg, which taught Simon how to lead the Buckeyes from the Mike linebacker position.
“Me as a leader, it's never me just becoming, it's more like I'm taking parts of the guys who have led me. Tommy is probably the best leader I've ever been around. He's tough, will work through anything, he's vocal, physical,” Simon said. “Guys like that, when you can just take a little bit from them and implement it your own way, I mean, it goes miles. And I was just so thankful to have guys like that in my life and on this team, and they've helped me get through a lot of moments.”
Just like every other Buckeye who’s been awarded the No. 0 jersey, Simon’s path to where he is now hasn’t been a straight line. He played in six games as a freshman and was a starting linebacker for most of the 2021 season, but he was a backup for most of the past two seasons. When Eichenberg went down with a dislocated elbow last November, however, Simon stepped up as OSU’s top Mike linebacker for the final five games of the year, recording 29 tackles in those contests.
Now, Simon is in the role he always hoped he’d be as the Buckeyes’ top linebacker and leader. But the ups and downs of his earlier years at Ohio State taught him not to take any of that for granted.
“It's just the struggles of being a college football player. And it's never an easy road,” Simon said. “Everybody's going through ups and downs. So I'm thankful for my path. It's not ever what you really want it to be. It would be amazing to be a three years and out and first pick (in the NFL draft), but I mean, that's not always the reality for everybody. So I'm just thankful for the opportunities I've been able to have. And I keep that perspective because football can be gone at any moment for us. So I just try to go into every day and try to give my best and put out my best on the field.”
