Dec. 7, 2017
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A trio of Ohio State football players earned All-America honors on Thursday, headlined by Billy Price and Denzel Ward, who were first team choices by Walter Camp and The Athletic, respectively. Nick Bosa was a second team selection by The Athletic as well as a second team Walter Camp All-American. Price added first team All-America honors from Sports Illustrated.
A four-year starting offensive lineman for the Buckeyes who converted to center this season after three seasons as a guard, Price has been a dominant performer for the No. 5 ranked Buckeyes, the champions of the Big Ten Conference and who will meet No. 8 USC in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Dec. 29.
The Rimington Award winner and Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year leads an offensive line that has powered the Buckeyes to national rankings of No. 6 in total offense, No. 5 in scoring, No. 15 rushing, No. 28 in passing, No. 1 in first downs and No. 5 in third down percentage.
Ward, a first team All-Big Ten performer, had 17 passes defended — third most in the conference. He had three in last Saturday’s 27-21 victory against No. 4 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship game, including a key first-quarter interception in the red zone. Ward has also contributed 37 tackles and a pair of key specials teams plays — a blocked punt that started a second-half rally against Penn State and a blocked extra point against Michigan.
Bosa, a sophomore from Fort Lauderdale, Fla, leads the Buckeyes and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 14.5 tackles-for-loss, totaling 64 yards, and he also leads the team in quarterback sacks with seven. He ranks second among the team’s defensive linemen with 28 tackles on the season. Bosa had four tackles, two TFLs and a sack as part of a Buckeye defense that limited Big Ten Freshman of the Year Jonathan Taylor to just 42 yards on 15 carries, over 100 yards below his average.
The Walter Camp All-America team is the nation’s oldest All-America team. In all, 33 different schools from nine conferences (including independents) were represented on the All-America First and Second Teams.
