Scarlet Sunrise: Caleb Downs named semifinalist for Thorpe Award

COLUMBUS — Ohio State safety Caleb Downs has been among the best defensive players in all of college football this season. He’s being honored as such.

On Tuesday, Downs was named a semifinalist for the Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the best defensive back in college football.

Downs, who transferred from Alabama last offseason to play for the Buckeyes defense, has started every game for Ohio State this year. He has 31 total tackles, best among Ohio State defensive backs, 5.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups and one quarterback hurry to go along with 0.5 sacks.

He’s part of an Ohio State defense that is No. 8 nationally in pass defense (163.1 passing yards allowed per game), second nationally in total defense (254.4 yards per game allowed) and fourth nationally in scoring defense (11.9 points per game allowed).

Now he’s part of an elite group: he is one of 15 semifinalists for the Thorpe Award.

Ryan Day provides update on star safety Lathan Ransom

Ohio State is set for a top-five matchup at Penn State this upcoming week, and the Buckeyes are hopeful one of their stars could potentially be in line for a return.

Nothing is guaranteed, to be clear, but Ohio State coach Ryan Day provided a promising and hopeful update on star safety and leader for the defense Lathan Ransom ahead of the game in Happy Valley.

“We’re excited to get a full week of practice out of Lathan,” Day said Tuesday. “So we’ll kind of see again how the week goes with him. But good to know that we’ve built some depth back there for Jordan Hancock to move into another position going into last week’s game with just a really a week of preparation I thought was excellent.”

Ohio State turned to freshman safety Jaylen McClain and veteran nickel Lorenzo Styles Jr. in place of Ransom, who missed the narrow win over Nebraska on Saturday. The duo of replacements performed admirably as the Buckeyes had a bounce-back defensive effort against the Cornhuskers.

ICYMI: Big Ten overturns Arvell Reese targeting call, LB won’t be suspended in first half at Penn State

Ohio State will have one of its top three linebackers for the game at Penn State after all.

Following a review from the NCAA and the Big Ten, Arvell Reese‘s targeting ejection was overturned. He will not be suspended for the first half of the game at Penn State.

From the Ohio State Athletic Department:

Ohio State filed an appeal to the Big Ten Conference on behalf of Arvell Reese’s action in the fourth quarter of the game. The Big Ten went to the NCAA Football Secretary Rules-Editor and, after review, it was determined that this was not targeting.Ohio State Athletics

Reese was ejected during the late stages of the fourth quarter in the Buckeyes’ win over Nebraska. He was called for targeting after hitting Nebraska wide receiver Jahmal Banks. After a lengthy video review, Reese was ruled to have hit Banks in the head, giving the Cornhuskers 15 extra yards as they tried marching down the field for a game-winning touchdown. Reese’s afternoon was cut short.

The play also resulted in Buckeyes coach Ryan Day spiking his headset and getting a sideline warning. He was close to earning a 15-yard penalty for the antics. Fans proceeded to throw trash onto the field in protest, causing a delay in action.

READ MORE: Big Ten overturns Arvell Reese targeting call, LB won’t be suspended in first half at Penn State

Counting down

Ohio State at Penn State: 3 days
Ohio State vs. Indiana: 24 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 31 days

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