Ohio State CB Davison Igbinosun announces decision to return to school for 2025 season

Ohio State cornerback Davison Igbinosun is returning to OSU for the 2025 campaign, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Igbinosun is a two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention cornerback, who has been a two-year starter since transferring from Ole Miss.

Igbinosun played in all 16 of the Buckeyes’ games this season, tallying 45 tackles, two tackles for loss, 11 pass deflections, two interceptions and one fumble recovery. Igbinosun arguably had his best game of the season in the Buckeyes’ win over Penn State when he recorded four tackles and an interception.

In his first season with the Buckeyes, Igbinosun made 13 appearances, notching a career-high 59 tackles while recording five pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.

Davison Igbinosun is one of three defensive starters projected to return to Ohio State next season. According to Thamel, Igbinosun “said the allure of being more of a leader next year was a big part in his return.”

Before transferring to Ohio State ahead of the 2023 campaign, Igbinosun spent one season at Ole Miss. In his lone season with the Rebels, Igbinosun played in all 13 games and started 10 times at cornerback.

He collected 37 total tackles and five passes defended. He was named a College Football News freshman All-American for his efforts. Now, Igbinosun will have one more season to add to his collegiate résumé.

Carnell Tate expected to return to Ohio State

Igbinosun isn’t the only Buckeyes star who has confirmed his intentions to return to Ohio State next season. Wide receiver Carnell Tate is expected to return to Ohio State next season as well, per On3’s Pete Nakos and Steve Wiltfong.

On Friday, Nakos reported that outside parties had tampered with Tate, who has not entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Tate was reportedly commanding offers of up to $1 million.

With Ohio State’s players’ five-day window to enter the transfer portal set to expire on Saturday, the Buckeyes have been working overtime to return their top underclassmen for next season. Tate is one of those desirable talents.

Tate finished this past season with 52 catches for 733 receiving yards and four touchdowns. The sophomore standout hauled in a season-high seven receptions for 87 yards in Ohio State’s 28-14 win over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

While Carnell Tate was the third option this past season for the Buckeyes behind Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka, he is expected to be WR2 next season, assuming Smith returns to the Buckeyes for the 2025 campaign.