Hot 11: The Championship Run

What a season for the Buckeyes and as we have stated before, it wasn’t always easy.

Would it have been as much fun if it were easy?

I guess that is up for debate.

Also up for debate is who the top 11 players on the team are. Everyone is going to have their own criteria, what matters most and what doesn’t matter as much.

The best part about the last Hot 11 of the season is that it is easier for everyone to look at the season as a whole and maybe escape the bias of recency when it comes to the last game and looking ahead to the next one.

Case in point is several votes for Seth McLaughin this time around. The Ohio State center and Rimington Award winner was injured the week leading up to the Indiana game and he would not play for the final six games of the season. But a few voters wanted to make sure he made the list (would have finished around 15th on an expanded list).

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Who made the cut this time around? With players like Will Howard, Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith all near the top of each and every list, who would end up with the crown for No. 1 on the final vote? How high would an offensive lineman make it and would there be more than one? Which of the two running backs would get the edge? Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau are mentioned in the same sentence often, who would grab the higher spot?

All of that and more in this final Hot 11 of the 2024 season.

Rank	Player	The Details	Last
1.	Jeremiah Smith	What was your favorite postseason Jeremiah Smith moment? There are plenty to choose from as he had 19 receptions for 381 yards and five touchdowns. For many it will be a non-scoring play as he helped ice the win over Notre Dame on his lone 2nd half touch against the Irish.	6th
2.	Will Howard	So often a trip in the portal doesn’t get you exactly what you want but it sure did with Will Howard. Yes, he didn’t go 100-percent passing and he got tripped up by a 20-yard-line, but his numbers were amazing in the postseason, over 75-percent passing, eight touchdowns to just two picks and 1,150 passing yards. It is hard to make a one-year legacy, Howard accomplished that goal.	3rd
3.	Caleb Downs	20 tackles, a sack, an interception, three pass breakups and countless play, drive, and game saving tackles. It was a success for Downs who no longer should be referred to as an “Alabama Transfer” and should just be referred to as a “National Champion” with the Buckeyes. These lists tend to skew to offensive players because it is easier to track their stats, but the voters didn’t get it wrong putting Downs up this high.	2nd
4.	Donovan Jackson	Often whenever an offensive lineman makes the list, it is just considered a placeholder for the entire line. I mean, who can keep track of all of them, right? Wrong. Jackson made a position change late in the season and it would not be out of line to say that he saved the season when the Buckeyes lost their second lineman of the year. Jackson also opened up a lot of eyes as his play at tackle just got better and better after being one of the best guards in the game.	5th
5.	Jack Sawyer	Sawyer will never have to pay for a drink again in the state of Ohio after his scoop-and-score against the Texas Longhorns. Don’t just let one play define his postseason however, 13 tackles, 4.5 sacks and six PBUs also are next to Sawyer’s name as he showed why several years ago he was a five-star recruit and while his journey took him to the Jack position and back, he turned it all on at the right moment.	1st
6.	Emeka Egbuka	Egbuka was a steady performer out there, regardless of where the opposing attention was. Double down on Jeremiah? That’s fine. Try and play Ohio State straight up? That’s fine, too. Egbuka had 21 receptions to lead the team in the final four games with 268 yards and a score. The Buckeyes also tried to use EE in a couple of running plays, to limited success, but Egbuka now leads the Buckeyes in several receiving categories and as a national champion.	10th
7.	TreVeyon Henderson	I almost want to combine the two sections for Tre and Q and write double, but will do my best to keep them separate. Tre ran for a 7.36 YPC clip, four touchdowns, 265 yards and eclipsed the 1,000 rushing yard mark on the year. Oh, by the way, he also took a swing pass 75 yards against Texas when the Buckeyes sorely needed some momentum back in the sails.	4th
8.	Quinshon Judkins	Judkins did his part, running the ball 47 times for 255 yards and six scores. His big run to start the second half against Notre Dame put the Buckeyes in position to go up 31-7 in the game, a drive where Judkins was able to punch the ball himself for a three-TD outing. Judkins also was able to play receiver, catching a Howard pass after the Ohio State QB was forced to scramble and found the Ohio State RB open in the middle of the end zone.	NR
9.	Cody Simon	Simon led Ohio State in the four-game run with 38 tackles, 20 of them solo. He also had four tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble and two pass break ups. He made his intentions known early to Tennessee, cracking helmets and took it all the way down the stretch to the Notre Dame game where he had eight tackles against the Irish.	8th
10.	Lathan Ransom	Ransom had some bad luck earlier in his career with injuries that cost him moments like these. To say he was a man on a mission might not be far off. He had 19 tackles in the CFP including a sack and a PBU. It isn’t as simple as saying to pick your poison between Ransom and Downs, but there really wasn’t a great option for opponents to go after in that secondary group.	9th
11.	JT Tuimoloau	How does JT move down after the last game? I know, I know, but ultimately it is just because the competition is so high for these top spots. Over the four-game run, JT had 23 tackles, 10 TFLs, 6.5 sacks and two PBUs. It is like Ohio State played Penn State for 16 quarters of football because we all know that JT would go up a couple of levels for the Nittany Lions. Well, this is what a prolonged run of that looks like.	7th