Desire To Finish Season On High Note Has Ohio State Juniors Opting Into Cotton Bowl

The newest holiday tradition involves college football players announcing that they are either opting in or opting out of their respective teams’ bowl games, and on Tuesday, Ohio State had a bunch of juniors saying that they were opting in and would be playing in the Cotton Bowl against Missouri later this month.

Opting out of bowl games is less than a decade old. It used to be for players who were going to be selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. Then others began opting out — regardless of draft position — so that they could begin preparing for the NFL Combine.

The Buckeyes have a large handful of juniors with those very decisions to make, and most of them have decided they’re playing.

Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, left guard Donovan Jackson, defensive end Jack Sawyer, defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, and defensive backs Jordan Hancock and Denzel Burke all stated on Tuesday that they were going to play in the Cotton Bowl.

Those six juniors were part of a group of Buckeyes who spoke with reporters on Tuesday to talk about the upcoming Cotton Bowl and everything else going on in the Ohio State football program. The statuses of other juniors like receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. and running back TreVeyon Henderson are still unknown, but this was a more sizable group of opt-ins than most onlookers probably expected.

And that number might grow.

“I think so,” Denzel Burke said. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure everyone’s playing. I think so.”

The bulk of the team decided early on once the bowl games were announced that they were going to opt in and finish things the right way.

“It’s really important for us,” Burke said. “We know we want to finish the season, have something to show for it. And our job is just go out there have fun and compete and win the game.”

While the Buckeyes will have a healthy amount of talent on hand to take on a talented Tigers team, they will be starting a new quarterback in redshirt freshman Devin Brown. Brown has assumed the reins as OSU’s starter now with the departure of Kyle McCord to the transfer portal.

Brown will be helped thanks to the announcement from one of his top receivers.

“I am playing in the bowl game,” Emeka Egbuka said. “That’s one thing that’s for sure, I think is important to end off the season on the right note with a win against a really good team. And I’m excited to have another chance to be on the field with my brothers.”

None of the juniors who have opted in have made a decision on whether or not they’ll be entering the draft, but the simple fact that they are planning on playing in the Cotton Bowl isn’t insignificant. They will all announce their future plans on later dates, but for now, their focus is right where it should be.

“I feel like every chance you get to step on the field is something you shouldn’t take for granted,” Egbuka said. “Playing football, we’re blessed to be able to do so. You never know when an injury might come or your opportunities to play with some of your best friends might run out.”

Last month’s loss to Michigan continues to sting, and it has already put a label on this season that isn’t going to go away. But the Cotton Bowl is still an opportunity for the Buckeyes to write the last words of the 2023 football season.

“We’ve got to go out the right way,” Jack Sawyer said. “And it’s unfortunate that we couldn’t finish the season the way we wanted to with the last game for our seniors and guys who deserved it. So we need to really go out with a good win and put on a good performance and send guys out the right way.”

And for anybody who thinks this game doesn’t matter because it’s not a College Football Playoff matchup, they might want to listen up.

“Pardon my French, but I think that’s kind of bullshit,” Sawyer said. “This game means a lot to us and to the fans. It’s an opportunity to go out there and play and put our best foot forward and show the world who we really are after a tough loss to a good team. And so all of us who are playing are super excited to be playing. Got a great opportunity to play in the Cowboys stadium. It’s gonna be a fun trip. It’s gonna be a lot of excitement to get to play a good SEC team in Missouri. They’re a great team and it’s a big game and it matters.”

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