Last Update: JaN. 31, 2025
The Buckeye 20 is Eleven Warriors’ ranking of the 20 best players on the Ohio State football team’s roster.
Our final rankings for Ohio State’s star-studded 2024 national championship season are topped by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, safety Caleb Downs, defensive end Jack Sawyer, quarterback Will Howard and wide receiver Emeka Egbuka.
The full ranking of Ohio State’s top 20 best players for the 2024 season, based on their performance across Ohio State’s 16-game run to a national title, can be found below.
01 Jeremiah Smith
Smith immediately became one of the biggest stars in college football as a freshman, obliterating Ohio State’s freshman receiving records by catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. Combining NFL-ready route-running polish with elite ball skills and physical attributes, Smith became the go-to playmaker in an offense full of stars, making huge plays throughout the season.
He shined in his first College Football Playoff, catching 19 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns, accentuated by his 56-yard third-down catch against Notre Dame that effectively clinched a national championship.
02 Caleb Downs
Downs lived up to all the hype he brought to Ohio State in his first season as a Buckeye, earning unanimous All-American honors as college football’s best safety. Even as a sophomore on a defense full of seniors, Downs was the anchor for the nation’s No. 1 defense, moving all over the field to make tackles while repeatedly making touchdown-saving plays as the last line of defense.
He was excellent throughout the season, recording 82 tackles with 7.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and six pass breakups, but was truly unlocked in the second half of the season when he began lining up closer to the line of scrimmage more frequently, allowing him to make more game-changing plays with his missile-esque closing speed.
03 Jack Sawyer
Sawyer surged in the second half of the season for the second year in a row, becoming an absolute force in the College Football Playoff as he recorded seven pass breakups – the most of any player in the CFP – with 4.5 sacks and one of the most iconic plays in Ohio State history, his 83-yard scoop-and-score touchdown off a fumble he forced himself that secured a CFP semifinal win over Texas for the Buckeyes.
In many ways the heart and soul of the 2024 Buckeyes, Sawyer lived up to his five-star billing as a recruit with the way he finished his career, recording 59 tackles with nine sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception for the season as a whole.
04 Will Howard
Howard proved to be exactly the quarterback Ohio State needed to win a national championship this season, completing a school-record 73% of his passes for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns with 10 interceptions while also running for 226 yards and seven touchdowns. He was at his best with the championship on the line, completing 82 of 109 passes for 1,150 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions in the CFP.
Howard silenced doubts about his deep passing ability by becoming the most efficient deep passer in the country, completing 57.4% of his passes thrown beyond 20 yards, per Pro Football Focus. Beyond his on-field excellence, Howard also provided exemplary leadership for the 2024 Buckeyes, instilling belief in the entire team that they could win a title with the fifth-year Kansas State transfer running the offense.
05 Emeka Egbuka
Egbuka bounced back from an injury-plagued 2023 season to reemerge as one of college football’s best wide receivers in 2024, catching 81 passes for 1,011 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the process, Egbuka became Ohio State’s all-time leader in receptions and just the second receiver in school history (joining Marvin Harrison Jr.) to top 1,000 yards in two separate seasons.
Egbuka’s consistency as an intermediate target and ability to extend plays in the open field was a crucial component of Ohio State’s offense throughout the season, while he was also one of the Buckeyes’ steadiest leaders all year long as one of their four captains.
06 JT Tuimoloau
Tuimoloau had one of the most productive seasons ever for an Ohio State defensive end, recording 21.5 tackles for loss (fourth-most in school history) and 12.5 sacks (fifth-most in school history) across the Buckeyes’ 16 games.
He became the first Ohio State defensive end to earn All-Big Ten honors in three straight seasons for his play in the regular season but took his game to another level in the CFP, recording 23 tackles with 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble in Ohio State’s final four games of the season.
07 Donovan Jackson
Jackson saved Ohio State’s season by making a successful transition from left guard to left tackle after Josh Simmons’ season-ending injury.
Despite having never played tackle at the collegiate level, Jackson emerged as a dominant left tackle in the second half of the season, allowing zero sacks in Ohio State’s final eight games. He continued to be a strong run blocker and stalwart leader for the offensive line despite playing out of position, and it’s unlikely Ohio State would have won the national championship without him.
08 TreVeyon Henderson
Always a dynamic home-run hitter throughout his four years as a Buckeye, Henderson proved himself to be a complete running back in 2024, rushing for 1,016 yards and 10 touchdowns and catching 27 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown while also excelling in pass blocking.
Henderson’s average of 7.06 yards per carry for the season was the best among all running backs who played in the CFP, and he made some of his biggest plays in the year’s biggest games, running for four touchdowns in Ohio State’s CFP wins over Tennessee and Oregon before following that up with a 75-yard touchdown off a screen pass against Texas.
09 Tyleik Williams
Williams was a disruptive force on Ohio State’s interior defensive line throughout the season, recording 46 tackles, eight tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and 21 quarterback pressures while leading the way for the Buckeyes to rank second in the nation with only 2.65 yards allowed per rushing attempt.
Although his box-score statistics weren’t quite as eye-popping in 2024 as they were in 2023, Williams’ impact as a game-wrecker on the inside was clear to those who watched him play all season, with Ryan Day calling him “one of the more dominant players in college football this season.”
10 Quinshon Judkins
Judkins was the thunder to Henderson’s lightning, running for 1,060 yards and 14 touchdowns and catching 22 passes for 161 yards and two touchdown passes while splitting snaps with Henderson throughout the year.
A strong, physical runner who also showed plenty of speed and shiftiness in his lone season as a Buckeye, Judkins was one of the heroes of Ohio State’s national championship victory, scoring three touchdowns on 121 yards from scrimmage in the Buckeyes’ victory over Notre Dame.
11 Cody Simon
Simon blossomed into one of the nation’s best linebackers as a fifth-year senior, racking up 112 tackles with 12.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks and seven pass breakups.
Ohio State’s most improved player in 2024, Simon went from a role player to the consummate leader of Ohio State’s defense, providing stability and making big plays from his middle linebacker position all year long.
12 Lathan Ransom
Another fifth-year senior who saved his best season for last, Ransom was a difference-maker from his strong safety spot all year long, recording 76 tackles with nine tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and an interception.
The presence of Caleb Downs and Jordan Hancock alongside him allowed Ohio State to truly unleash Ransom’s hard-hitting style of play as a downhill attacker, while he was also effective covering the middle of the field all year long.
13 Seth McLaughlin
McLaughlin was so good in his 10 games as Ohio State’s center that he won the Rimington Trophy despite tearing his Achilles in November. The Alabama transfer was dominant before his injury; his excellence in both run blocking and pass protection, paired with his leadership, made the entire offensive line better.
Even after suffering his injury, McLaughlin provided valuable leadership from the sideline, remaining a part of the team throughout the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff run despite knowing he would never play in any other collegiate game.
14 Jordan Hancock
Hancock’s versatility was on full display in his senior season as Ohio State utilized him as both a slot cornerback and a deep safety. Hancock excelled in both roles, allowing just 30 catches for 266 yards on 51 targets against his coverage while also recording 48 tackles, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles and an interception.
The ability of Hancock to be effective against both the pass and run at multiple positions allowed Ohio State to use a variety of coverage schemes and alignments without having to substitute out of its base defense, making it all the more difficult for opponents to find holes in the Buckeyes’ top-ranked D.
15 Sonny Styles
Styles made a successful offseason switch from safety to linebacker and looked more and more comfortable as his first season playing closer to the line of scrimmage progressed. He finished the year with exactly 100 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss and six sacks, plus five pass breakups.
While he made some mistakes as he learned the finer points of playing his new position, particularly in coverage, his presence as a difference-maker for the Buckeyes became undeniable by the end of the year as he recorded 24 tackles with four tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble in Ohio State’s four CFP games.
16 Denzel Burke
Burke might not have reached the All-American heights that many thought he could entering his senior season, but he was still a strong No. 1 cornerback outside of one uncharacteristic game in Ohio State’s regular-season loss to Oregon. Burke never allowed more than four catches for 36 yards against his coverage, per Pro Football Focus, in any of Ohio State’s other 15 games.
Burke was also excellent as a tackler in his senior season, recording 48 tackles while missing just four. His physicality consistently showed up as he blew up screen passes for minimal gains or losses and limited most of the catches he did allow to only short gains.
17 Josh Simmons
Simmons was making a strong case for being the best left tackle in college football until he went down with a season-ending knee injury in Ohio State’s sixth game of the season against Oregon. He was dominant before that injury, allowing just one quarterback pressure in just six games, setting the tone for Ohio State’s offensive line in the first half of the season and earning a spot on our Buckeye 20 for the 2024 season even though he missed the final 10 games of the year.
Despite having his final collegiate season cut short, Simmons is widely projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick because of how well he played before suffering his injury.
18 Ty Hamilton
Much like his older brother DaVon, Ty Hamilton had his most productive collegiate season as a fifth-year senior, tallying 51 total tackles with six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. More than just a gap-filler, Hamilton shed plenty of blocks to make plays throughout the season while consistently holding his ground to keep running lanes closed at the line of scrimmage.
While Hamilton was often overshadowed by Ohio State’s other senior defensive linemen, his reliable play in the trenches played a vital role in the Buckeyes holding their opponents to just 87.6 rushing yards per game, the third-best mark in the country.
19 Carnell Tate
Tate was one of the most productive No. 3 receivers in college football this season, catching 52 passes for 733 yards – tied for the third-most among FBS players who finished third on their team in receiving this season – and four touchdowns.
The sophomore gave Ohio State well-rounded play in all facets of the receiver position, running smooth routes and emerging as both an intermediate and deep weapon while also providing effective perimeter blocking on running plays.
20 Davison Igbinosun
Igbinosun allowed just 32 catches for 368 yards and two touchdowns on 60 targets this season while making two interceptions and nine pass breakups. He was also one of the nation’s best run defenders from the cornerback position, recording 45 tackles with two tackles for loss.
Penalties were a big problem for Igbinosun, who averaged one penalty per game with 16 total penalties, five more than any other defender in the entire FBS in 2024. His play outside of those penalties, however, was enough to earn Igbinosun the final spot in our year-end ranking of Ohio State’s top 20 players.
