On the very first day of spring practice, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer was quite blunt with a statement in regards to the confidence he had in his team’s leadership.
“This is as strong a group of leaders that we’ve had,” Meyer said then.
This probably shouldn’t be surprising, of course, as the Buckeyes boast 11 scholarship seniors on their roster for the 2017 season, seven of which are fifth-year seniors. Ohio State had just six scholarship seniors a year ago.
The Buckeyes are, in large part, still young. But the older players on this roster have played quite a bit of football. That experience matters.
| Season | Team Captains |
|---|---|
| 2012 | John Simon, Zach Boren, Etienne Sabino, Garrett Goebel, Jordan Hall |
| 2013 | Jack Mewhort, C.J. Barnett, Kenny Guiton, Corey Linsley, Philly Brown |
| 2014 | Michael Bennett, Curtis Grant, Doran Grant, Jeff Heuerman, Braxton Miller |
| 2015 | Jacoby Boren, J.T. Barrett, Taylor Decker, Joshua Perry, Braxton Miller and Tyvis Powell |
| 2016 | J.T. Barrett, Pat Elflein, Raekwon McMillan, Joe Burger, Tyquan Lewis, Billy Price and Gareon Conley |
All of Ohio State’s upperclassmen will be relied on to be leaders in some way, shape or form. Only a select few, however, will have the official distinction of captain.
The number of captains for Ohio State varies from year to year. Last year, the Buckeyes had seven (!).
What follows is one writer’s prediction for five captains for Ohio State’s 2017 season. There certainly could be more and who knows, perhaps there won’t even be five.
J.T. Barrett
Nobody in the history of Ohio State football has ever been a three-time captain. They’ve been playing football in Columbus for quite some time, in case you hadn’t heard. That streak will come to an end this fall when quarterback J.T. Barrett will be a Buckeyes’ captain for the third time in his career.
There’s not much else that needs to be said here. Barrett is the unquestioned leader of Ohio State’s entire team.
Billy Price
A fifth-year senior, Billy Price will be one of three returning captains for the Buckeyes. He said multiple times last season the offensive line belonged to then fifth-year senior Pat Elflein. This year, it’s Price’s turn to lead that group.
This will be Price’s fourth year as a starter on the offensive line. That’s pretty rare.
Tyquan Lewis
The final returning captain is Tyquan Lewis, a fifth-year senior defensive end who has been a key cog in Ohio State’s defense for the last two seasons. Meyer called Lewis “the J.T. Barrett of the defense” last season because of his ability to lead not only the Buckeyes’ defensive line but the entire defense.
Chris Worley
Worley was not officially announced as a captain like the first three players on this list, but he’s about as much of a sure thing as there is to be named an additional one this fall. The fifth-year senior is moving over to middle linebacker for his final season and he’s widely considered the emotional leader of Ohio State’s defense.
Tracy Sprinkle
There were plenty of options available for this final spot, but because we only made five slots we had to choose just one player and opted to go with someone who missed the entire 2016 season due to injury. Tracy Sprinkle suffered a season-ending injury in the Buckeyes’ first game last year, but after he went down multiple players described the fifth-year senior as the “emotional leader of the defensive line.” Sprinkle may not have the same amount of production as the others on this list — he may not even start this season — but there’s little doubt about his importance to this team.
Other possibilities: Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard, Jamarco Jones, Denzel Ward, more.
