Hot 11: Post-Western Michigan

It has been several years since I have done the Hot 11 feature, but now is as good of a time as any to roll it out, with a small change.

In previous years, we would roll out a preseason list, and that created some issues as players would start too high and it took several months to re-balance the list. Sort of the like preseason polls having Florida State or Florida ranked too high (or really at all) and it taking a couple of weeks to get the list sorted out with the teams that really should make up the list.

What is the Hot 11?

We will put the call for voters each week to pick the top-11 players on the team, but it isn’t a game-to-game feature.

There is always movement on this list after each game is played. What we don’t do is over-correct from game-to-game. If a player comes out of nowhere to have a big game, he won’t move up to the top-four of the list and conversely, one bad game won’t drop a player off the list entirely if he was ranked highly just a week before.

So without further delay, let’s get to it.

Rank	Player	The Details	Last Week
1.	Jeremiah Smith (124)	A true freshman as the No. 1 player? We have told you before that Jeremiah Smith is no ordinary true freshman. He leads the team with 11 receptions, 211 yards and three touchdowns. And let’s be honest, the numbers could be much higher if JJ played into the second half.	N/A
2.	Lathan Ransom (97)	Ransom is the first member of BIA on the list, but not the last. He leads the team with 11 tackles and also has two for loss and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. As with Smith, and many others, the numbers could be much higher if the Buckeyes had to play their starters beyond the first half.	N/A
3.	Caleb Downs (80)	This is the second new player in the top-three of the list, but Downs had a year of college football under his belt. With members of the secondary, sometimes it is hard to look at the stats and see the numbers jump off the page. Just look at the tape and you will see why the voters voted the way they did.	N/A
4.	Tyleik Williams (71)	Williams is among the team leaders in sacks and tackles for loss. With the defensive ends that Ohio State has, it allows the interior linemen to get a better run. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that the Buckeyes are significantly more dominant than just about anyone on their schedule.	N/A
5.	Quinshon Judkins (66)	Quinshon Judkins made huge waves joining the Buckeyes. Carries have been somewhat even between the top three backs on the roster but someone has to have the most, and that would be Judkins. His three rushing touchdowns also leads the team.	N/A
6.	Jack Sawyer (64)	Sawyer was playing his best ball of his collegiate career to end the 2023 season. He has been right there in 2024 as he has sack, a couple of QB hurries and has just been an overall nuisance to opposing tackles and quarterbacks.	N/A
7.	TreVeyon Henderson (49)	Henderson is the second running back to make the list and he is right there with Judkins as Tre is averaging 7.3 YPC while Judkins has him by a whisker, 7.4 YPC. The goal is to keep Henderson healthy for the entire season and have a largely complete Henderson come time for the postseaon.	N/A
8.	Emeka Egbuka (42)	While Jeremiah Smith has received most of the publicity, Emeka Egbuka is quietly doing his thing with nine catches for 149 yards. He has oddly been kept out of the end zone but Saturday should change that against Marshall.	N/A
9.	Denzel Burke (41)	Burke has played less ball than anyone on this list for the 2024 season with a targeting call. But Burke is the top corner in the eyes of many for the Buckeyes and he will be out there for the first defensive play for Ohio State after serving his punishment.	N/A
10.	Will Howard (38)	Two games in for Howard and things are going great. His completion percentage from game one to game two went up around nine points and Howard seems to be grasping Chip Kelly’s offense. Look for the production numbers to go up, even as competition gets better. Howard is the real deal.	N/A
11.	Ty Hamilton (37)	Through all the years that I have done this series, I don’t remember many times that a pair of interior defensive linemen have made the list. Hamilton has been dominant and should be fresh for when the Buckeyes need to play the 1s more as the Big Ten schedule starts up.	N/A