Lathan Ransom, Denzel Burke named to Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list
COLUMBUS — A pair of Ohio State defensive backs were named to the preseason watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award: senior safety Lathan Ransom and junior cornerback Denzel Burke.
The Jim Thorpe Award is given annually to the best defensive back in college football. TCU cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, a sixth-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams in this year’s draft, was last season’s Jim Thorpe Award winner.
Ransom was a semifinalist for the honor in 2022. He finished third on the team with 74 total tackles, in addition to posting 3.5 tackles for loss, an interception, three pass break-ups and a forced fumble. Ransom even blocked punts back-to-back weeks against Indiana and Maryland, the second of which he pulled off with a broken thumb.
Although his season ended on a poor note — he tripped, fell and gave up a gut-wrenching, 76-yard touchdown to Georgia in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal — Ransom had himself an impressive junior season. What made it special was that he was coming off a broken leg that he suffered in the Rose Bowl.
The former No. 5 Arizona prospect in the 2020 class responded with a speedy recovery and impactful junior campaign, both at safety and on special teams, where that scary injury occurred the season prior.
Burke was bit by the injury bug last season, albeit in a more nagging than serious fashion. A year removed from starting as a true freshman and playing the most defensive snaps of any Buckeyes first-year defensive player, he dealt with a shoulder injury that played a big role in his early-season struggles. Burke allowed a combined seven catches on 12 targets for 151 yards versus Notre Dame and Arkansas State the first two weeks of the season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Then he sustained a hand injury that called for mid-week surgery and forced him to miss the Wisconsin game. Burke returned, gradually worked his snap count back up and, over the final five games of the season, thrived. In that window, he conceded just 10 receptions for 97 receiving yards on 18 targets, per PFF.
Burke has ran with that end-of-season success and had arguably the best offseason of any Buckeyes defensive player this year. The former No. 3 Arizona prospect in 2021 class adopted a “pro approach”, impressed in the spring game and has continued to earn shoutouts from his coaches, including head coach Ryan Day.
Ransom, meanwhile, has taken advantage of a healthy offseason and put on significant muscle. Both are poised for critical seasons in the second year of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ system.
And both are members of the Jim Thorpe Award preseason watch list.
