Ohio State football to welcome back most of its secondary in 2024

The bright spot for this Ohio State football team in 2023 was the secondary. They were lights out all year long. The Buckeyes finished with the number one pass defense in the country. The biggest reason for that is they limited the big plays that had plagued them over the past three seasons.

They were in danger of losing every member of their secondary this offseason. Everyone is draft eligible, and some of those guys played really well. Josh Proctor is out of eligibility, so he's gone for sure. 2024 could have seen a lot of new faces in the secondary.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, Lathan Ransom has decided to come back for another year. Ransom missed the last handful of games because of a leg injury. When he's out there, he's one of the best safeties in the Big Ten so having him return is massive for the Ohio State football team.

Denzel Burke also seems like he's coming back based on what he posted on Twitter. Burke played like his 2021 self when he was healthy and was a lockdown corner all year. He's the most surprising returnee so far.

According to Dave Biddle of Bucknuts, he thinks Jordan Hancock also returns. That would leave the Buckeyes with most of their secondary intact for next season. The defense would once again be leading the way for this Buckeye team.

Add in how good Jermaine Mathews was this season when he was thrust into action, this secondary would be downright nasty if these guys came back. The linebackers would be the weak point of the defense, but there is still some talent in that room even if it's unproven.

Burke had said he was announcing January 10th officially, so we'll know then. Besides Ransom announcing today, Tyleik Williams and Jack Sawyer have already announced their return and Mike Hall declared for the draft. That still leaves a lot of other guys to decide what their future holds.