Six Ohio State juniors with NFL aspirations met with the media on Tuesday, and all six of them committed to playing in the Cotton Bowl.
Denzel Burke, Emeka Egbuka, Tyleik Williams, Donovan Jackson, Jack Sawyer and Jordan Hancock all remain undecided when it comes to the draft.
But one thing all six are decided on is that they will be on the field when the Buckeyes finish their 2023 season against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29.
"I am playing in the bowl game, that's one thing that's for sure," Egbuka said. "I think it's important to end off the season on the right note with a win against a really good team. Then I'm excited to be on the field with my brothers. As for my future, I'm totally undecided."
The only potential NFL draft entrant who confirmed he’d be returning for another year on Tuesday was senior linebacker Cody Simon, who said he'd be returning for a fifth season at Ohio State.
The six undecided players from the recruiting class of 2021 said there was a collective decision from the group to play in the Cotton Bowl as they look to close the season on a better note than the back-to-back losses to Michigan and Georgia that ended the team's 2022 campaign.
"It happened immediately once we knew where we were going," Sawyer said. "We don't know what a lot of guys are going to do after this year. In case some guys leave or whoever leaves, we want to send guys out the right way and play together one last time and give it all we've got."
Regardless of how the public feels about the Buckeyes' presence in the New Year's Six bowl game, their players across the board expressed a sense of pride in going out and trying to beat the Tigers.
"It's really important for us," Burke said. "We want to finish this season and have something to show for it. Our job is just to go out there, have fun and compete and win the game."
Burke added that he's "pretty sure" everyone is playing for Ohio State.
When it comes to his own NFL draft decision, Burke said that he's "50/50." He's done a lot to boost his draft stock this year, recording a team-high nine pass breakups in a resurgent season, and looks like a likely early-round pick. But unachieved goals – namely no wins over Michigan or Big Ten Championships – give him pause.
"A lot of factors are playing into it. It’s probably one of the hardest decisions of my life and come January I’m going to make that decision," Burke said.
Egbuka, the team's No. 2 receiver behind superstar Marvin Harrison Jr. for the last two years, is playing things a little closer to the vest when it comes to the factors that dictate his own decision.
"That's something that I've just been working through with my corner, my family," Egbuka said. "Stuff that I don't really want to get into right now, but there's positives on both sides. There's negatives on both sides as well. So it's definitely a decision that is going to be important but it's nothing that the people here at Ohio State won't help me with."
Hancock, Jackson and Sawyer all expressed a similar push and pull when it comes to staying or leaving early.
"I think a lot of us are trying to navigate that right now and I think a lot of us are close to making a decision and announcing it," Sawyer said. "I think here in the next couple of weeks you'll see a lot of guys' decisions on what the future holds."
Other potential NFL draft entrants who have not yet commented publicly on whether or not they will play in the Cotton Bowl include running back TreVeyon Henderson and defensive end JT Tuimoloau. Marvin Harrison Jr. said last week that he was uncertain if he would play in the Cotton Bowl as he weighs whether or not he will enter the 2024 NFL draft.
