Buckeye Captains Talk to Media Following Wednesday's Practice
8/27/2026 9:09:00 AM | Football
How he found his voice as a leader:
“This summer, that’s when I feel like you know I found my voice for real, for real. It’s not normal for me, but I still got to step out of my comfort zone and do things people around the facility want me to do.”
If being a captain caught him by surprise or if he knew it was coming:
“No, I didn’t feel it actually. It caught me by surprise. That’s why I dropped a little tear.”
How he feels about his last year:
“Got to go out with a bang. So yeah that’s what I’m focused on and I’m ready to put on a show week in and week out.”
How it feels to be an upperclassman amongst younger teammates:
“It’s pretty crazy, time flies, now I’m a junior and probably not the oldest guy, but probably the third oldest in the room. Got a lot of experience, got a lot of playing time. So, you know, they always open to help, asking questions, wanting to learn and always got to have open hands because you know God did it for me. So always got to mentor young guys and show them the right way of doing things.”
If he likes the idea of playing guard at the next level:
“Yeah, I mean, I think me personally it will get me better for the next level. Whatever the team wants, um, whatever they need if I need to play a left guard, left tackle, right guard, even center…whatever they need me to play I’ll play.”
How the chemistry between the interior 3 helps gameplay:
“Yeah it’s very uncommon for you to have your three interior guys play three years together, so we’ve got to take advantage of that. And our connections we have with each other is unreal, like we just vibe, we click.”
What it means to be a two time captain:
“It means a lot, especially being from Ohio it means even more. And then even O-line, I mean shoutout to all the guys out there for trusting me and voting me as captain and that's all, it’s all them.”
When asked how the interior lineman are going into this year:
“Like I said, we have a very high standard. We know what it's going to take. Obviously the schedule is very probably one of the hardest in the country and we know what it's going to be up front and we know what it's going to take every week.”
What it means to him to have the most votes out of any captain:
“It means a lot, you know that means a ton to me. I didn't know if I was going to be voted captain or not. The night before I was kind of thinking about it a little bit. So it was reliving hearing my name being called and it just means a ton to me. It means more than a lot of things because being voted by your peers to lead them is a huge honor. And it's like one of the biggest honors in this program..I know the standard I have to play at and lead and so I'm ready to go do that.”
If he felt like he needed to be a leader on the team as middle linebacker:
“Yeah 100% as a middle linebacker you got to be a leader. You got to get guys lined up and uh got to encourage guys and you know be calm within the storm. Also, you know, go downhill and make some plays, but you got to lead the guys around you.”
What does it mean to have captains on all three levels of the defense:
“Yeah 100%. I think it's kind of what you want on a defense is having someone at all 3 levels that can get everyone together and get stuff situated. And you know I'm super grateful to have Jaylen and KJ, you know, being captains with me. It means a lot and it’s good having other guys around you because we can all enforce the same message.”
If he has confidence in this defense to be just as dominant as in years past:
“Yeah I have 100% confidence that we can be what last year was. I think what we need to focus on is just doing our job one day at a time. Like we can't control you know what happens next week or the week after, we can just control the next practice so…I think instilling that mentality in everyone is kind of key.”
On what does it mean to him being selected captain:
“It means so much to me to be a captain. The history and the tradition of this program, I really can’t put it into words that my teammates selected me and the six others because it’s just truly a great honor.”
On the things he did during the offseason confirmed him to become a better leader and captain:
“Yeah, obviously a great honor that they selected me, but we have other leaders on this team that weren’t selected as captains and they’re still leaders in their own right. They’re still going to keep pushing and keep leading in their own way.”
On how he thinks the seven captains will work well together:
“I think its very cool to have seven guys up there. It shows how much leadership we do have on this team and its been a great group and love being a part of that group, be a part with these guys.”
On his knowledge of the offense:
“I think definitely just having the experience of last season but then also having the offseason to work with Coach Smith and just me and spring compared to me now, the understanding the offense has grown so much.”
On what it meant to get Block O:
“Yeah, I wore number one for a lot of my football career, it just felt like me. So, when I first thought about it, I was kind of iffy on it, if I’m being honest and then I thought about it more as we got closer and I kind of knew who it was between so then I probably got a pretty good chance of getting it. Then when I got, I just kept hearing a voice in the back of my head, it was Coach Day saying, we have core values on our team and one of them is unselfishness and for me, it’s an honor of course, like all the great people who wore (it) before, leaders, tremendous leaders, but to be unselfish to give the number. It means so much to me, number one, to come in this number zero. The block O and just have that honor is something I wanted to do not only for me but for Buckeye Nation and for my teammates who all wanted me to have this number and coaches as well.
On being a captain with Jeremiah:
“Yeah, so I was thinking about it the day we voted and JJ sits next to me in the team room and I'm not going to get in how the voting works and stuff, but I was just thinking about who I'm going to vote for and I'm like, okay, there's a pretty good chance he's going to win this. But I didn't say anything to him. I knew he wasn't going to expect it. And then, at the end of practice Saturday, I was sitting, I was taking a knee next to him and I'm like, I have a pretty good feeling he's going to get to be a captain. And when he got called up, I just seen tears of joy. Just growing up together; it was great to see that. And anybody who knows JJ, he's quiet. So, it was just, it's great to see that he is of his shell a lot. And being a leader for this team, everybody knows they're going to listen to him just because of what he does on the field. And the fact that he could use his voice off the field and when we're in practicing the weight room and things like that, is I knew that was big for him, and I knew he wanted to be a captain before he left here.”
On how safety's have grown from fall camp to now:
“It’s grown a lot. I feel like everyone can se that we have a lot of depth in that room and Coach G has been getting us right, has (been) putting us in good situations and helping us make good plays and just grow as a group in general.”
On what he’s seen from Terry Moore:
“He’s getting better every day. He was one of those types of guys that, he's staying continually on a rise. Obviously, he has a lot of production at his old school and I’m expecting him to do the same here.”
On what it means to be named a captain:
“I said this, but it’s a blessing and it’s an honor to be recognized by my teammate, by the staff as a captain....It’s just upholding the standard and brining people along with you.”
Kenyatta on expectations for year 2:
“Just play team ball. I don’t really have any individual goals or whatever the case may be. I just want to play team ball and win.”
On being a captain:
“Being a captain now, I have a lot more responsibility. I just have to continue being that leader, leading by example and being that vocal leader, and then letting everything take care of itself.”
