Ohio State Ties Records with 14 Selections in 2025 NFL Draft
4/26/2025 7:20:00 PM | Football
Leads all colleges in picks with seven more players selected Saturday in Rounds 4-7
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State football program had seven more of its players selected in the 2025 NFL Draft on Saturday to finish No. 1 among all schools with 14 total draft picks. The 14 picks tie the Ohio State school record, set in 2004, marks its fifth time since 1994 for 10-or-more players selected and also ties its own Big Ten Conference record for most picks in one draft. (The seven-round NFL Draft started in 1994.)
A highlight Saturday included two more defensive linemen drafted – end Jack Sawyer in the fourth round by Pittsburgh and tackle Ty Hamilton in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Rams – to establish a first for the program: four defensive linemen selected in one draft.
The quartet of linemen, including first-round pick Tyleik Hamilton (Detroit) and second-round selection JT Tuimoloau (Indianapolis), tops the three defensive linemen selected in the 2004, 2018 and 2020 drafts. The four Buckeyes have started alongside each other for the last two seasons and give defensive line coach and associate head coach Larry Johnson 20 players drafted in his 11 seasons on staff, starting with the 2015 draft.
Linebacker Cody Simon got the parade started Saturday by being selected in the fourth round, No. 115 overall, by the Arizona Cardinals. Later in the round, safety Lathan Ransom and Sawyer went back-to-back, Nos. 122 and 123 respectively, to Carolina and Pittsburgh.
Hamilton went No. 148 overall, in the fifth round, to the Rams, while cornerback Jordan Hancock was chosen with the 170th overall pick in the fifth round by the Buffalo Bills. Four picks after Hancock, the Arizona Cardinals selected cornerback Denzel Burke with the 174th overall pick.
Quarterback Will Howard was selected in the sixth round with the 185th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He and Sawyer will now be teammates in the NFL, as will Simon and Burke with Arizona.
Right behind the 14 Buckeyes selected were 13 Georgia Bulldogs, 12 Texas Longhorns and 10 Oregon Ducks.
Day 3 Buckeyes Drafted
LB Cody Simon – 4th Round, No. 115 Overall / Arizona Cardinals
- Simon was a 2024 team captain and Block "O" jersey recipient for character, leadership, toughness and accountability. He led the national champion Buckeyes with 112 tackles while also recording 12.5 TFLs and 7.0 QB sacks. He played in 59 games with 30 starts.
SAF Lathan Ransom – 4th Round, No. 122 Overall / Carolina Panthers
- Ransom earned five Varsity O letters while playing in 55 games, starting 37 times and earning first-team all-Big Ten honors in 2024 after 76-tackle, 9.0-TFL season. He had 228 career tackle and 16.5 tackles-for-loss, along with six forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, three interceptions and 14 pass break-ups.
DE Jack Sawyer – 4th Round, No. 123 Overall / Pittsburgh Steelers
- Sawyer was a 2024 team captain and a scoop-and-score legend who played in 55 games, started 29 times and had 144 career tackles, 28.5 tackles-for-loss (-162 yards), 23 sacks (-152 yards), six forced fumbles, 15 QB hurries and 11 pass break-ups.
DT Ty Hamilton – 5th Round, No. 148 Overall / Los Angeles Rams
- Hamilton and teammate Tyleik Williams are the first pair of Ohio State defensive tackles to be drafted in the same draft since 2020, when DaVon Hamilton (3rd round, Jacksonville) and Jashon Cornell (7th, Detroit) were each selected in the draft. Hamilton played in 57 Ohio State games, including all 55 from 2021-24, and started 29 times. He had 116 career tackles and 13.0 tackles-for-loss.
CB Jordan Hancock – 5th Round, No. 170 Overall / Buffalo Bills
- Hancock played in 51 games and started 23 times and had his best year in 2024 with 48 tackles, eight pass break-ups and an interception, the third of his career. He recorded 98 career tackles plus had 17 total passes defensed (14 pass break-ups, three interceptions).
CB Denzel Burke – 5th Round, No. 174 Overall / Arizona Cardinals
- Burke was a four-year starter for Ohio State and one of only three Buckeyes with at least 50 career starts (51). Burke had 28 career pass break-ups and four interceptions for 32 career passes defensed. He is from Scottsdale, Ariz., and joins a Cardinals team that has drafted Marvin Harrison Jr., Paris Johnson and Cody Simon in the last three drafts.
QB Will Howard – 6th Round, No. 185 Overall / Pittsburgh Steelers
- Howard is the fifth consecutive Ohio State starting quarterback to be drafted (including Kyle McCord, who transferred to Syracuse for the 2024 season and was also drafted today in the sixth round by Philadelphia). Howard was the national championship game and CFP semifinal offensive MVP who set Ohio State single season and career passing percentage (.714) records. He finished his career with 9,994 career passing yards with 85 TDs and 1,147 rush yards and 26 TDs.
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