Captains named for Buckeyes
COVER PHOTO: Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka gives five to receivers coach Brian Hartline during warmups of their first fall camp practice on Aug. 1. Picture by: Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day announced on Saturday a foursome of seniors who will lead the 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes as team captains: LB Cody Simon, WR Emeka Egbuka, RB TreVeyon Henderson and DE Jack Sawyer.
“The great news is we have a great group of leaders,” said Day. “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.”
WR Emeka Egbuka – 35 Games; 24 Starts
The fourth-year senior receiver out of Steilacoom, Wash. enters the season with 124 career receptions (tied-for 14th at Ohio State) with 1,857 yards (16th) and has scored a total of 14 touchdowns.
Egbuka earned second and third-team Big Ten honors (2022 and 2023, respectively) and was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award in 2022. Coming into 2024, he is a contender for some preseason national honors including the Walter Camp, Maxwell and Biletnikoff awards. A second-team Academic All-American two years ago, he has also been honored twice as an Academic All-Big Ten Conference honoree and three times as an OSU Scholar-Athlete. He graduated in December with his degree in marketing.
RB TreVeyon Henderson – 31 Games; 29 Starts
Henderson is expected to be one of the top running backs in college football this year and is a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker award, which is given to the nation's top running back. The fourth-year senior from Hopewell, Virg. has 2,745 career rushing yards (15th at OSU) and 37 total touchdowns (tied-for 8th). He was a first-team, All-Big Ten selection last year after rushing for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and OSU Scholar-Athlete majoring in sport industry and enters the 2024 season ranked 15th in school history in career rushing yards and is just 808 yards from cracking into OSU's top five.
DE Jack Sawyer – 39 Games; 13 Starts
Sawyer, from Pickerington (North) Ohio, extends a streak of central Ohioans to be named a captain for the past six seasons. Expected to be one of the top defensive ends this year, the fourth-year senior has played in all 39 games the past three seasons and has tallied 85 tackles including 19.5 tackles-for-loss (second among current Buckeyes) and a team-leading 14 career sacks. He comes into 2024 as a preseason Bednarik award nominee.
As a full-time starter last year, he ranked second on the team among defensive linemen with 48 tackles and led all linemen with 24 solo stops. He also had a team-high 10 tackles-for-loss totaling 46 yards which tied fellow fourth-year defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau for the team lead. He also led the team with 6.5 sacks. He is an Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete majoring in sport industry.
LB Cody Simon – 44 Games; 15 Starts
Simon enters the 2024 season with 147 career tackles and ranks among the team’s top five tacklers twice in the last three years. He is a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, a four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and a three-time Academic all-Big Ten honoree who has graduated with his degree in finance and is currently working on a master's degree in human development and family services. According to linebackers coach James Laurinaitis in a video on the team's official X account, Simon received the most amount of votes for captaincy.
The fifth-year senior out of Jersey City, N.J. was also honored on the same day with wearing the coveted Block "O" jersey this season, which is the number zero and is given to a member of the team who has shown grit, determination and dignity both on and off the field.