Denzel Burke on his message to Ohio State locker room: 'I ain't come back for no BS, we're here to win it all'

Denzel Burke is back at Ohio State for one reason only: to win a national championship with the Buckeyes.

That was his message to the locker room, especially younger players ready to step up. Burke could’ve went to the NFL after his third season.

But with three straight losses to Michigan and no CFP national title, Burke wants to climb the mountain.

“Just kind of put out there just to kind of get the younger guys and all the transfers you know, understand that I ain’t come back for no BS,” Burke said at Big Ten Media Days. “You know, we’re here to win it all. We’re going to need everybody, guys hold each other accountable and every game is a matchup game this year and no matter who were playing, it’s our job to just take them out and dominate them.”

Last year, Burke finished with 24 total tackles, 18 solo tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception, nine pass deflections and one forced fumble. Over the course of his career, Burke has 95 total tackles, 70 solo tackles, six tackles for loss, two interceptions, 26 pass deflections, one forced fumble and one defensive touchdown.

As a member of the Class of 2021, Burke was a four-star recruit out of Scottsdale (Ari.) Saguaro, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 3 overall prospect in the state, the No. 6 athlete in the class and the No. 166 overall prospect in the class.

Denzel Burke back for one last ride at Ohio State

Burke came back to a veteran team for Ohio State in 2024. Similar to rival Michigan doing so in 2023, the Buckeyes are all-in to chase the national title this season.

From Jack Sawyer and TreVeyon Henderson, to J.T. Tuimoloau and Burke, several Buckeyes would have easily been selected in the most recent NFL Draft. But instead decided to run it back in Columbus and purse a national title.

In a recent interview with Joel Klatt, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked about re-recruiting his players to return to the program. Revealing that is was something that they actually decided on independently.

“I don’t know if I’d call it recruiting,” Day said. “I think that for all of the guys they wanted to identify what their opportunity was in the NFL, and we helped them identify what their opportunity was there, and we gave them the information. I’ve never been in a situation where we talked somebody into either decision.”