There’s a unique bond between diehard Ohio State fans and a hard-hitting strong safety.
Jack Tatum is the primary reason for it, known as one of the biggest bone-clatterers in not just school but football history. But there are other great examples, most recently Lathan Ransom, who emerged as the enforcer for the Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship team.
Lathan Ransom coming downhill usually ends with this result pic.twitter.com/LfmcWsMODh
— BuckeyeMOB (@Buckeye_Mob) January 2, 2025
That’s why Faheem Delane’s favorite part of playing safety might appeal to a lot of Buckeye fans.
“Hitting,” Delane said when asked on Tuesday. “I would say just coming down and smashing somebody. That's pretty much what I look forward to. And just going out there and dominating my opponent.”
The highly touted incoming freshman projects as a depth piece in 2025 playing behind Caleb Downs, Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain at safety, but as Ransom leaves for the NFL draft, a new enforcer might be waiting in the wings for Ohio State in Delane.
“He brings a physicality to his game,” safeties coach Matt Guerrieri said. “You've been able to see him roll down in the box, blitz, do some of the things that we've been able to do with safeties, but bring a physicality and a mentality with it. Obviously when you get here, it's a totally different level, right, so everybody's as good as you. But I think very highly of him and have high expectations for him.”
Delane comes to campus as the 247Sports composite No. 55 overall prospect and No. 5 safety in the recruiting class of 2025. He put up 97 tackles, seven tackles for loss, two sacks and three interceptions during his senior season at Maryland high school powerhouse Our Lady of Good Counsel.
He enters Ohio State with a college-ready frame, standing 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds. That was Ransom’s exact height and weight in 2024, ironically. His highlight reel is littered with punishment of offensive players and showcases a downhill playstyle.
“It feels great,” Delane said of delivering big hits. “It's just domination. I'd say that's the best feeling on the field, to be honest. Better than a pick, PBU. It's just physically putting yourself on the body, and just, at the point of attack, winning.”
The Buckeyes won a battle with a fellow well-bankrolled Big Ten power, Oregon, for Delane's services when he committed to Ohio State on June 9. Maryland and Virginia Tech composed the rest of his top four, but he also fielded offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Michigan, Penn State and Texas, among many others.
After arriving as a midyear enrollee, Delane is still learning the finer points of playing safety at the collegiate level. But he feels comfortable moving about the field in his first spring.
“You've got cover 2, cover 4, cover 1, but just the alignment, the reads, everything's a little more tedious,” Delane said of what’s been difficult so far in his first offseason. “Not really the football. Football is football at the end of the day, so it's not really too hard for me, but yeah, just the little things.”
His understanding and football IQ are where he feels he’s grown the most in his first few weeks of spring ball. He’s connected with Guerrieri’s method of teaching, and it helps to have veterans like Downs and Hartford to learn from as he develops.
“I think just mentally,” Delane said. “I think Coach G, like the tedious drops and the reads, he makes you play way faster and quicker and just minimizes the guessing. So it's been a great help.”
There's a shot Delane gets some playing time in 2025. He’s competing to be the fourth safety on Ohio State’s two-deep depth chart with redshirt junior Keenan Nelson Jr. and redshirt freshman Leroy Roker III alongside fellow incoming freshmen DeShawn Stewart and Cody Haddad.
Delane isn’t likely to be a starter in year one, but he could become the next entry into Buckeye strong safety enforcer lore before his time in Columbus is done.
“We're excited about him,” Guerrieri said. “He's learning the ways to be a Buckeye, what it means to be a Buckeye, following the older guys and he’s been awesome. He's been awesome.”
