Scarlet Sunrise: 190 Ohio State athletes named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

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190 Ohio State athletes named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars

No school had more Big Ten Distinguished Scholars in 2022-23 than Ohio State.

The Buckeyes had 190 of them, the second most in school history. Ohio State had a staggering 232 honorees back in 2020-21.

Three Big Ten schools had more than 150 honorees this time around: Ohio State (190), Penn State (174) and Michigan State (153).

Here are the requirements for Distinguished Scholar Award recipients, according to the Ohio State Athletics release:

• must have earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition the previous academic year
• must have been enrolled full time at the institution for the complete previous academic year
• must have earned a grade-point average (GPA) of at least a 3.70 during the previous academic year

Four Ohio State football players hit those marks in 2022-23: wide receiver Kam Babb, offensive guard Donovan Jackson, long snapper Max Lomonico and punter Jesse Mirco.

Those four are included in a total of 55 Buckeyes football players who received academic recognition this past school year — that is, through graduating or earning either Academic All-Big Ten, Big Ten Distinguished Scholar or Ohio State Scholar-Athlete honors.

The program posted a GPA of 3.03 this spring.

Aaron Scott Jr. sees Ohio State vision after official visit, decision process underway

The Buckeyes received a commitment from four-star Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville cornerback Bryce West last weekend. He was taking his official visit to Ohio State.

So was four-star Springfield (Ohio) cornerback Aaron Scott Jr.

Scott didn’t pledge to the Buckeyes. He’s still deciding between Ohio State and Michigan. But the visit answered important questions for Scott. What he said he heard from Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day was particularly striking.

“He made it clear that I’m not someone they want,” Scott said, “I’m someone they need.”

Check out the full story here.

Why ‘little things’ will help J.T. Tuimoloau lead way for Buckeyes defensive line

Ohio State defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau was a top-five recruit in the 2021 class. The former five-star prospect is one of the most talented edge rushers in the Big Ten. He has demonstrated first-round potential. Actually, he showcased all-world ability last season at Penn State, where he served as the catalyst for four Buckeyes takeaways, including his own game-clinching pick-six.

But if you set aside that performance, Tuimoloau posted only 1.5 sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss in the other 12 games. In order to take the next step, he must be more consistent.

He’s well aware of that going into his junior season.

“Just staying consistent with all the little things like Coach Knowles is teaching us,” Tuimoloau said in spring ball. “So that’s one thing I want to push on myself: just pay attention to the small details and all the little things that can make a difference. The little things matter, and that’s one thing I want to focus on.”

For the full story on Tuimoloau, go here.

RELATED

• How they got here: Mapping out career path of each Buckeyes defensive end so far

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 66 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 150 days

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