Last Update: AUg. 22, 2025
The Buckeye 20 is Eleven Warriors’ ranking of the 20 best players on the Ohio State football team’s roster.
Our initial rankings entering the 2025 season are led by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, safety Caleb Downs, linebacker Sonny Styles, wide receiver Carnell Tate and tight end Max Klare.
The full ranking of Ohio State’s top 20 best players entering the 2025 season can be found below. Stay tuned for rankings updates throughout the season, with the first to come in late September before the start of Big Ten play.
01 Jeremiah Smith
Smith isn’t just Ohio State’s best player entering the 2025 season; he’s the best player in all of college football.
The generationally talented wide receiver became an immediate superstar in 2024, obliterating Ohio State’s freshman receiving records with 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, including a national championship-clinching 56-yard catch against Notre Dame. Now bigger, stronger and faster entering his second year, according to Ryan Day, Smith will be a nightmare for opposing defenses to cover.
02 Caleb Downs
A unanimous All-American last season, Downs would likely be one of the NFL’s top safeties this season if he weren’t still a 20-year-old college junior.
A player who can do everything you want in a safety, Downs lined up all over the field for Ohio State’s defense in 2024 and will continue to do so for Matt Patricia’s unit in 2025. Exceptional in both coverage and tackling thanks to elite athleticism and football IQ beyond his years, Downs impacts the game on every play. Ohio State’s defense will be built around Downs for the second year in a row.
03 Sonny Styles
Styles got better and better throughout his first season as a linebacker, finishing last season with a spectacular College Football Playoff run in which he tallied 24 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Now that he has a full year of linebacker play under his belt, he looks ready to be one of the nation’s best LBs in 2025.
The recipient of this year’s “Block O” jersey, Styles is a terrific athlete who can make plays from sideline to sideline and attack explosively downhill. He’s also considered the Buckeyes’ top leader, and his veteran presence provides crucial stability to a defense replacing eight 2025 NFL draft picks.
04 Carnell Tate
Even though he was the clear No. 3 receiver behind Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, Tate caught 52 passes for 733 yards and four touchdowns in 2024. Now that he’s the Buckeyes’ No. 2 receiver behind only Smith, Tate looks to be one of college football’s best wide receivers in 2025.
A silky smooth runner with great hands, Tate proved to be both a reliable intermediate target and a big-play threat last season. He’s also the best blocker among the Buckeyes’ wide receivers, enabling him to impact every play regardless of whether the ball is thrown to him.
05 Max Klare
The top newcomer in the preseason Buckeye 20, Klare has already proven himself to be one of college football’s best receiving tight ends, catching 51 passes for 685 yards and four touchdowns last year at Purdue despite playing in one of the nation’s worst offenses.
Now surrounded by abundantly more talent at Ohio State, Klare will be able to create plenty of mismatches against linebackers and safeties in the middle of the Buckeyes’ offense. A crisp route runner with wideout athleticism, Klare will have more competition for targets in Columbus but will still be a major part of Ohio State’s passing attack.
06 Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
Entering his first year as a starter on Ohio State’s defensive line, Jackson looks poised to be a breakout star for the Buckeyes’ defense this season. The long, explosive and powerful defensive end possesses the skill set to be both a dynamic pass rusher and a stout run stopper on the edge.
His preseason ranking is based on projection rather than production, as he enters 2025 with just three career sacks. But he’s been dominant in offseason practices, leading some of his teammates to believe he could end the year as a first-round NFL draft pick.
07 Arvell Reese
Reese excelled in spot duty for Ohio State last season, recording 43 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss as the Buckeyes’ top linebacker off the bench. Now that he’s Ohio State’s starting middle linebacker, he has the tools to quickly emerge as one of the Silver Bullets’ biggest stars.
Built like a defensive end yet possessing safety-like speed, Reese looks like a create-a-player from a video game. He brings a hard-hitting, violent style of play to the middle linebacker position that hearkens back to past Buckeye greats.
08 Austin Siereveld
No Ohio State player’s stock has soared more than Siereveld’s this offseason. A backup guard for most of the 2024 season, Siereveld is now in line to be the Buckeyes’ starting left tackle.
Siereveld earned that role by impressing his coaches through the winter, spring and summer, earning Iron Buckeye honors twice and being selected as a team captain. While he enters the season without any collegiate experience at tackle, leaving him unproven as a pass protector on the edge, all indications inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center are that the Buckeyes expect Siereveld to be a stalwart of their offensive line this season.
09 Davison Igbinosun
Igbinosun enters 2025 as Ohio State’s most experienced returning starter, having played more than 2,000 snaps in three seasons at the collegiate level. The Ole Miss transfer is in his third year as a starting cornerback for the Buckeyes, having already helped lead elite Ohio State pass defenses for the past two years.
A tall, physical cornerback, Igbinosun is an excellent run defender for his position who’s also stout in coverage. Penalties have been his Achilles heel – he had five more penalties (16) than any other FBS defender in 2024 – but he has All-Big Ten ability if he can clean up that part of his game.
10 Eddrick Houston
A five-star prospect who was initially recruited to Ohio State as a defensive end, Houston moved inside as a freshman and quickly proved to be a disruptive defensive tackle. Now in line to be Ohio State’s starting 3-technique, Houston looks poised to be a breakout star on the Buckeyes’ interior defensive line.
Houston was an effective interior run defender last season even though he began the year at just 270 pounds; with added size and strength to pair with his quickness this year, Houston could become a run-stopping force. Though he didn’t record any sacks as a freshman, Houston’s athleticism and background playing on the edge give him the potential to also be a difference-making interior pass-rusher.
11 Brandon Inniss
After waiting his turn behind Emeka Egbuka for the past two years, Inniss looks ready to be Ohio State’s next star slot receiver.
Possessing a similar combination of short-area quickness, burst and route-running ability to that which made Egbuka and Jaxon Smith-Njigba record-setting stars for the Buckeyes, Inniss has the skill set to be both a short-yardage chain-mover and a dynamic after-the-catch playmaker. Highly regarded for his competitiveness and energy, Inniss also enters 2025 as one of Ohio State’s top leaders, having been selected as one of four team captains.
12 Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Mathews excelled when called upon as Ohio State’s top backup cornerback for the past two years, allowing just 21 catches for 193 yards and two touchdowns on 43 targets. Now entering his first year as a full-time starter, Mathews could be one of college football’s best CBs if he can play at that level consistently.
A high-energy player who exudes confidence on and off the field, Mathews is a fluid athlete who’s proven he can go toe to toe with top receivers in coverage on big stages. How he fares as an every-down run defender will be the biggest test, but he’s shown plenty of willingness to stick his face in the proverbial fan and play with physicality.
13 Kayden McDonald
With a prototypical combination of size, power and burst for a nose tackle, McDonald will be the anchor of Ohio State’s interior run defense in 2025.
Already a difference-maker in Ohio State’s goal-line and short-yardage defense last year, McDonald will now look to prove he can be a three-down impact player as a first-year starter. Stamina and pass-rush ability are the biggest questions, but all the tools are there for the Suwanee, Georgia native to establish himself as a dominator in the middle of Ohio State’s defensive front.
14 Julian Sayin
A pure passer with a lightning-quick release and a demonstrated ability to throw the ball with precise accuracy, Sayin enters his first year as a starter surrounded by expectations that he could be Ohio State’s next first-round NFL draft pick at quarterback.
He begins the year unproven at the collegiate level, as he played in just four games in end-of-game situations as a true freshman. How he’ll handle pressure and what he can give Ohio State in the run game are both big questions with his limited size. But he was the No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class for a reason, and he could skyrocket up the rankings if he proves to be the passer he’s expected to be.
15 Carson Hinzman
After struggling as Ohio State’s starting center in 2023 and losing his starting job to Seth McLaughlin last season, Hinzman bounced back during OSU’s College Football Playoff run. Following a season-ending injury to McLaughlin, Hinzman regained his role as the pivot man on Ohio State’s offensive line and did well enough manning the middle for the Buckeyes to win a national championship.
With 21 career starts now under his belt, Hinzman looks to prove he can be a true anchor of Ohio State’s interior offensive line. How he holds up against powerful interior pass rushers will be crucial, as many of Hinzman’s past struggles have come with handling bull rushes in pass protection.
16 Beau Atkinson
Atkinson enters the season as the most proven defensive end on Ohio State’s roster. He was North Carolina’s top defensive end last season and was productive as both a run stopper and pass rusher, recording 35 tackles with 12 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.
The Tar Heel transfer showed last year that he can win with technique, quickness and power, bringing a well-rounded skill set to Ohio State’s defensive end rotation. While his ceiling may not be as high as some of Ohio State’s other defensive linemen, his track record of production at the Power 4 level gives him the highest floor entering the season.
17 James Peoples
A physical, compact running back who’s effective at both cutting and breaking tackles, Peoples has drawn comparisons to Ohio State great J.K. Dobbins entering his second year as a Buckeye.
The Texas native didn’t get many opportunities to play as a freshman behind TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, but he’s expected to be the Buckeyes’ lead running back as a sophomore. While he ran for only 197 yards and two touchdowns last season, with all of his reps coming in backup duty, a big uptick in production is expected now that he’ll be running behind the starting offensive line.
18 Luke Montgomery
Montgomery got his first chance to play a major role for the Buckeyes in last season’s College Football Playoff, and he took it and ran with it. The Findlay native played well enough as a rotational guard in Ohio State’s wins over Tennessee and Oregon that he moved into the starting lineup for the national semifinal and final against Texas and Notre Dame, and he was one of Ohio State’s best offensive linemen throughout its four-game championship run.
A gifted athlete who has a gregarious personality off the field but plays with a mean streak on the field, Montgomery is a strong run blocker who has the physical makeup to also be an excellent pass blocker. He could quickly establish himself as one of the Big Ten’s top guards if he can pick up where he left off at the end of last year.
19 Jaylen McClain
Despite being ranked as just the 373rd prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, McClain immediately emerged as Ohio State’s top backup safety as a freshman, putting him in position to be the Buckeyes’ starting strong safety as a sophomore.
A hard-hitting tackler who’s also shown great instincts in coverage, McClain looks like a natural successor to Lathan Ransom. He hasn’t played in many high-leverage situations yet, but there’s a lot of optimism at Ohio State about his ability to be both a playmaker and a reliable cog on the back line of the defense.
20 CJ Donaldson
Donaldson was a consistently productive runner throughout his tenure at West Virginia, tallying 2,058 yards and 30 touchdowns with an average of 4.9 yards per carry across three seasons. He looks ready to take his game to another level at Ohio State after slimming down to increase his speed.
Even after losing a little weight, Donaldson is still built like a truck. His size and power give him the potential to be a Carlos Hyde-esque runner for the Buckeyes, especially if he’s able to run “like the Flash” as he said he could this offseason with his leaner frame.
