Steele Chambers will not use his sixth year of eligibility.
The Ohio State linebacker officially declared for the 2024 NFL draft on Tuesday, opting to forgo the extra year of eligibility provided to all players in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chambers had not been expected to stay for a sixth season, having started all of Ohio State’s last 30 games at Will linebacker dating back to the Buckeyes’ final four games of 2021. While Chambers is not projected to be drafted before the late rounds, he had indicated before Ohio State’s Senior Day in November that he was ready to move forward to the next phase of his life.
“I'm getting old. Been here for a while. Time passes, so you gotta move on,” Chambers said.
With Chambers’ departure, Ohio State is in line to lose both of its starting linebackers from the past two seasons. While Tommy Eichenberg has not yet formally announced he will enter the 2024 NFL draft, all indications have been that he will as he accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl last month.
Cody Simon, who has confirmed he will return for a fifth-year senior season in 2024, is in line to replace Eichenberg at Mike linebacker. C.J. Hicks is a potential candidate to replace Chambers in the starting lineup at Will linebacker, though it’s also possible the Buckeyes could add a transfer linebacker or consider moving Sonny Styles to the position.
After starting his Ohio State career as a running back, Chambers moved to linebacker before the 2021 season. He was productive in his three years playing the position for the Buckeyes, recording 189 tackles with 11.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three interceptions, five pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
