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Ohio State football safety Lathan Ransom to return for fifth year
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- Ohio State football safety Lathan Ransom to return for fifth year
Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom is returning for his final year of eligibility.
"The football program and this University mean too much to me," he wrote in an Instagram post , "and we have Unfinished Business."
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Ransom, who's in his fourth year in the program, played in eight games this past season. He injured his foot against Wisconsin on Oct. 28 and missed the rest of the season. Ransom was credited with 34 tackles. He had one interception and forced one fumble.
Ransom was part of a defense that allowed only 11.2 points per game. Several other key players eligible for the NFL draft have yet to announce whether they'd return, though defensive tackle Tyleik Williams said Wednesday that he would return.
Nov 18, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes safety Lathan Ransom takes part in senior day prior to the NCAA football game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Ohio Stadium.
Ransom will return to a talented safety unit that will also feature junior-to-be Sonny Styles . Josh Proctor 's eligibility has expired, but Malik Hartford played 158 snaps as a freshman last season, and the Buckeyes also have Ja'Had Carter, a Syracuse transfer who was injured most of the season.
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Ransom had a breakthrough 2022 season despite spending the offseason recovering from a broken leg sustained in the Rose Bowl. His junior season ended on a sour note when he was beaten for big plays against Michigan and Georgia.
That fueled him for the 2023 season.
"I think about that every time I step on the field," Ransom said during spring practice.
He had considered entering the NFL draft after the 2022 season, but how that year ended changed his mind.
"I fell short of too many goals I wanted to achieve personally and as a team, and that's why I came back," Ransom said. "I came back to improve my game, to be a leader, and to achieve all the goals that you come to achieve when you're at Ohio State – beat the team up north and win the national championship. I haven't achieved that."
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The same scenario still applies, and Ransom is back in hopes of making it finally happen.
Ransom was honorable mention All-Big Ten in voting by both coaches and media.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom to return for fifth year
