Ohio State Football: Iron Buckeyes announced for 2023

The Ohio State football program has announced eight players as Iron Buckeyes for 2023. The Iron Buckeye Award is given out by the Ohio State strength and conditioning staff and recognizes the top athletes during the winter and summer workouts. The staff takes into account things like showing up on time, not missing workouts, showing personal gains, and bringing leadership to all aspects of the team.

The eight Ohio State football players that were awarded were defensive players Tommy Eichenberg, Cody Simon, Ty Hamilton, and Lathan Ransom, as well as offensive players Cade Stover, Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Chip Trayanum.

Being an Iron Buckeye doesn’t necessarily constitute more playing time or being named a team captain. It does however at least give the coaching staff more thought on the possibility of offering more opportunities for a particular player to earn more playing time. For Eichenberg, Stover, Harrison Jr., Egbuka, and Ransom that shouldn’t matter. However, for the other three it most certainly could.

Simon has had to deal with injuries the past couple of seasons. Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles speaks very highly of Simon and believes he can play a big role as his hybrid and backup linebacker.

"“And he’s gonna put himself in a position to play regularly. That’s my vision so that we can have a really nice rotation there. Which, when you’re playing 14, 15 games, is gonna help us at the end of the year. It really is. We need to get Cody to that point where he can play and rotate with those two guys.”"

Hamilton, the younger brother of former Buckeye and Jackson Jaguars lineman DaVon Hamilton, despite being a three-star recruit from Pickerington, Ohio, has developed just like his older brother did under the tutelage of defensive line coach Larry Johnson. Hamilton has had 27 tackles and two and a half sacks in limited playing time through the first two years of his career at Ohio State. Look for Hamilton to have an increased role and compete for a starting position this season.

Trayanum, after transferring from Arizona State, moved from running back to linebacker. However, after there were so many injuries in the running back room, Trayanum moved back to running back where he finished last season with 15 carries and 92 yards. Now that the room is 100 percent healthy, will there be any carries for Trayanum? Only time will tell.