Ohio State’s Defensive Backs, known as “BIA,” will look to make another statement in 2024 as a dominant unit for Jim Knowles’ defense. 

The cornerback and safety positions are presumed to be huge strengths yet again for the Ohio State football team come the 2024 season. Like some other groups on the defensive side of the ball, almost every player in this room returned to finish the business that was left incomplete last season.

The only departure was free safety Josh Proctor, who was a graduate player who would have been off the team next year either way. The rest of the talented defensive backs all came back, even with some receiving great NFL draft projections.

Unlike other positions, the cornerbacks and safety starters seem to be set in stone, with the only question being who will back them up. Let’s take a look at the best defensive back unit in America.

Defensive Back Group Will Head Into the Season as Arguably the Most Talented in the Country

Starting on the outside at the cornerback spots will be senior Denzel Burke and junior Davison Igbinosun. Burke was a potential high draft pick but was one of many players to return and lead the Silver Bullets next season. He has had three important seasons with the Buckeyes, accumulating at least 24 tackles in each. He has a forced fumble and two interceptions in his three seasons and has been matched up with the other team’s best receiver quite often.

Igbinosun started his career at Ole Miss where he had 36 tackles his only season with the Rebels. Last season he was a force for the defense, registering 59 tackles. The tandem of Burke and Igbinosun will be one of the best, if not the best, cornerback tandem in the country. They started together last season and made plays to keep the Buckeyes in every game they played.

Along with this tandem will be another returning starter, in-slot cornerback and senior Jordan Hancock. Hancock saw very limited snaps in his first two seasons with the Scarlet and Gray, but made all kinds of crucial plays last season. Hancock tallied 41 tackles, four passes defended, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions for the Bucks in 2023. Not to mention he returned one of his two interceptions 93 yards to the house to turn the tide in a battle with Rutgers.

Behind this trio of elite cornerbacks will be sophomore Jermaine Matthews Jr. He saw some time last season and excelled, posting 13 tackles, three passes defended, and an interception in limited snaps. Sophomore Calvin Simpson-Hunt and senior Lorenzo Styles Jr. appear to be the current favorites to round out the two-team lineup. Other notable names in the cornerback room include talented freshman Aaron Scott Jr., Bryce West, and Miles Lockhart.

All-American transfer safety and Sophomore Caleb Downs will immediately step into the free safety spot for the Buckeyes. Downs will move over from the strong safety position he played at Alabama as a freshman, where he put on a clinic. Downs had 107 tackles, three passes defended, one forced fumble, and two interceptions with the Crimson Tide last season. Fifth-year senior safety Lathan Ransom will move back into his strong safety position where he played until an injury took him out for the end of the season in 2023.

Ransom saw little action as a freshman before making some plays during his Sophomore season. His junior year he was big for the Buckeyes defense as he registered 74 tackles, three passes defended, one and a half sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception. Last season he helped lead the defense yet again, but only played in eight games. Ransom still managed 34 tackles, two passes defended, one forced fumble, and one interception.

Backing up Downs and Ransom will be sophomore Malik Hartford and senior Ja’Had Carter. Hartford had ten tackles and two passes defended as a true freshman last season, while Carter saw a limited role after three more impressive seasons with Syracuse. Rounding out the safety core will be sophomores Jayden Bonsu and Cedrick Hawkins.

With the revamped Big Ten and college football landscape debuting in 2024, the Buckeye defense will see both new and familiar faces. The cornerbacks, safeties, and defensive back unit as a whole will be leaned upon as they were last year. If they use their talented players to their full capacity, the group will claim their Best in America title again. They will need to be BIA in order for the Ohio State Buckeyes to hoist the first-ever 12-team playoff championship trophy.