Scarlet Sunrise: Seven Ohio State players make Phil Steele preseason All-American teams

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Seven Ohio State players make Phil Steele preseason All-American teams

One point separated Ohio State and Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal. At the moment, the Bulldogs have the best national championship odds this season, and the Buckeyes are right behind them with the second-best title odds, according to FanDuel.

But the programs are dead even when it comes to Phil Steele preseason All-American honorees, which were revealed in Steele’s digital edition of his 2024 preview magazine. Each program landed seven players on the national college football writer’s All-American teams.

Ohio State’s bunch is headlined by left guard Donovan Jackson and defensive tackle Tyleik Williams, both of whom earned spots on Steele’s preseason first-team All-American team.

Here is the complete list of Buckeyes who found their way onto Steele’s preseason All-American teams…

• LG Donovan Jackson – first team
• DT Tyleik Williams – first team
• RB TreVeyon Henderson – second team
• DE J.T. Tuimoloau – second team
• S Caleb Downs – second team
• CB Denzel Burke – second team
• WR Emeka Egbuka – third team

Jackson posted a better pass blocking grade in 2023 (72.7) than in 2022 (60.7) but logged a worse run blocking grade as a junior (67.3 in 2023 vs. 80.1 in 2022), according to Pro Football Focus. He had a slow start to the season and a rough end to the Michigan game, but he still earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades and, with a strong final season, could become a first-round NFL Draft pick.

Williams broke out in 2023, a season in which he posted 54 total tackles. For reference, he combined for 37 his first two years at Ohio State. Williams logged 10.0 tackles for loss last year, including 3.0 sacks, in addition to five passes defended, plus a fumble recovery for a touchdown. And he played a career-high 645 defensive snaps, per PFF.

Henderson rebounded from an injury-riddled 2022 season with a bounce-back 2023 campaign. Although he still missed three games — this time from a “cheap shot” he took at Notre Dame — he managed to pile up more than 1,000 yards from scrimmage with 926 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, not to mention his 19 receptions and 229 receiving yards.

Tuimoloau notched the most tackles (38), sacks (5.0) and, per PFF, pressures generated (37) as well as defensive snaps (677) of his three-year Buckeyes career in 2023. Tuimoloau, notably, created difference-making stops in top-10 wins over Notre Dame and Penn State.

Downs earned AP second-team All-American recognition at Alabama last season. He did so by becoming the first true freshman since at least 1970 to lead the Crimson Tide in total tackles. Downs stacked 107 of them, including 70 solos — the 14th most of any player in the country last year. He also picked off two passes and tallied four pass break-ups.

Then there’s Burke, who adopted what he called a “pro approach” last offseason and went on to help restore the Ohio State secondary’s “Best in America” tag line during the 2023 season. He allowed just one touchdown and 25 receptions on 48 targets as a junior, according to PFF.

Last but certainly not least, Egbuka is the senior leader of the Buckeyes’ wide receiving corps. An ankle injury derailed what could have been another prolific season for Egbuka last year. Nevertheless, he already has a 1,000-yard receiving season to his name, and he needs 78 receptions and 1,042 receiving yards to become the all-time Buckeyes career leader in those categories.

Lettermen Row Recruiting Notebook: Sights and Sounds from Ohio State’s June 18 7-on-7 camp

Just like that, Ohio State’s recruiting camp marathon is over. Things wrapped up with a 7-on-7 camp on Tuesday, and Lettermen Row was on site taking down observations.

The on-campus 7-on-7 tournament included teams from Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and even New Jersey. It featured a collection of individual talent in the 2026 class, such as four-star San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills quarterback Troy Huhn.

A few top 2025 targets were there, too, and four-star Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods EDGE Justin Hill was part of that group.

We unpacked everything we saw here.

Taison Chatman will miss 2024-25 season after suffering season-ending knee injury

Ohio State will be without a potential difference-making bench player this season. Sophomore guard Taison Chatman suffered a season-ending knee injury in a summer workout and will miss the entire 2024-25 campaign.

This summer’s knee injury is unrelated to the meniscus issue Chatman had in the same knee last year. He completed a successful surgery this week and will begin rehabbing for his 2025-26 return.

For more on Chatman’s tough break, head on over here.

Counting Down

Buckeyes vs. Akron: 72 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 163 days

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