The votes are in and the Ohio State football team has selected four seniors as captains for the 2024 season.
Steve Helwagen
Four seniors have been selected to lead the Ohio State football team as captains in 2024, the team announced after practice on Saturday. On offense, the captains will be wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and running back TreVeyon Henderson. On defense, the captains will be defensive end Jack Sawyer and linebacker Cody Simon.
Simon was also selected to wear the coveted Block 'O' jersey this season.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day announced the captains and Block 'O' jersey selection after today's scrimmage.
"The great news is we have a great group of leaders," Day said. "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."
The season kicks off in exactly two weeks as Ohio State hosts Akron on Aug. 31 (3:30 p.m., CBS).
Check out bios on the four captains below.
Emeka Egbuka, WR
Egbuka, a native of Stellacoom, Wash., returns for his third season as a starter at wide receiver. He has started 24 games in his Ohio State career. He was selected as an Iron Buckeye for his work in the OSU off-season strength and conditioning program. He was a second-team All-Big Ten pick in 2022 and a third-team pick in 2023.
He enters the 2024 season with 124 career receptions (14th at Ohio State) for 1,857 yards (16th at Ohio State) and 14 touchdowns. He battled through an ankle injury in 2023 that kept him out of three games. He caught 41 passes in 2023 for 515 yards and four touchdowns.
He had an outstanding 2022 campaign in which he finished ninth nationally in receiving yards with 1,151 and ninth nationally with 46 receptions of 10-or-more yards. His true sophom*ore campaign included 74 receptions and 10 touchdowns in addition to his impressive yardage total of 1,151 that ranks sixth at Ohio State for a single season.
Egbuka is a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American (second team), a two-time Academic all-Big Ten honoree and a three-time OSU-Scholar-Athlete who has graduated with his degree in marketing.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB
Henderson, a native of Hopewell, Va., is back for a fourth season as a starting running back for the Buckeyes. He has logged 29 starts and played in 31 games over the last three years. He was selected as an Iron Buckeye for his work in the OSU off-season strength and conditioning program.
He has 2,745 career rushing yards and 37 total touchdowns and will partner with Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins to form one of the nation's top running back tandems. He enters the 2024 season ranked 15th in school history in career rushing yards and is just 808 yards from top five status among Buckeyes. He is eighth all-time in OSU history in touchdowns scored.
In 2021, he ushed for the second-most yards by a freshman in Ohio State history with 1,248 yards, including a school freshman-record 270 yards vs. Tulsa. Last year, he rebounded from an injury-marred sophom*ore year and rushed for 926 yards and 11 touchdowns. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors by both the coaches and the voting media.
Jack Sawyer, DE
Sawyer, a native of Pickerington, Ohio, returns for his second season as a starter at defensive end. He is a veteran of 39 games and 13 starts in his OSU career.
He enters 2024 with 19-1/2 tackles-for-loss (second-most among current Buckeyes) and a team-best 14 quarterback sacks, in addition to 84 tackles. He had a fine 2023 campaign as a full-time starter: ranking second among all defensive linemen with 48 tackles and leading all linemen with 24 solo stops. His tackle totals last year included team-high totals of 10 tackles-for-loss, for 46 yards in losses, and 6-1/2 quarterback sacks.
Majoring in sport industry, Sawyer earned OSU Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Big Ten Conference honors in 2023. Going back to his high school days, Sawyer was instrumental in befriending and helping recruit several other key prospects in his 2021 recruiting class.
Cody Simon, LB
The 6-2, 235-pound Simon is a native of Jersey City, N.J. He has been a four-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and graduated with his degree in finance. He is working on his master's degree in human development and family services. He was one of 10 players named as an Iron Buckeye for his work in the off-season strength program.
He was recruited as a national top-100 prospect (No. 98 overall) in the 2020 recruiting class out of St. Peter's Prep. In four seasons, he is a veteran of 44 games with 15 starts to his credit. He made 10 starts during the 2021 season and five in 2023. Last year, he was the primary backup to Tommy Eichenberg at the middle linebacker spot.
Simon enters 2024 with 147 career tackles and 11 tackles-for-loss. He ranked fourth on the team in tackles in 2023 with 57. His 57 tackles, 24 solo stops and 33 assists were all career high totals
He recorded a career-high 12 tackles in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl vs. Missouri at the end of the 2023 season.
Simon is projected to start this year at middle linebacker. As such, he will wear the communications helmet with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles giving him the defensive scheme calls for each play.
