← the board · drewhoover.com · 2024–2026
Ohio State's best defenders since 2024
Caleb Downs leads with 149 tackles in 30 games at Ohio State; Arvell Reese had 112.
Every defender with 5 or more games at Ohio State since 2024, ranked by tackles; the lines are each player's tackles game by game, the top 8 drawn. A link opens the player's page, where he has one, or his row on the board.
73 defenders with 5+ games at Ohio Statetackles
| # | player | seasons | games | tackles | sacks | tackles for loss | interceptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caleb Downs | 2024–2025 | 30 | 149 | 1.5 | 13 | 4 |
| 2 | Arvell Reese | 2024–2025 | 27 | 112 | 7 | 15 | 0 |
| 3 | Jaylen McClain | 2024–2026 | 30 | 100 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Payton Pierce | 2024–2026 | 23 | 85 | 0.5 | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | Lorenzo Styles Jr. | 2024–2025 | 22 | 46 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Devin Sanchez | 2025–2026 | 15 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | Eddrick Houston | 2024–2026 | 21 | 42 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | Earl Little Jr. | 2026 | 7 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Will Smith Jr. | 2024–2026 | 18 | 33 | 0.5 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | Riley Pettijohn | 2025–2026 | 12 | 31 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 11 | Jason Moore | 2024–2026 | 12 | 25 | 0.5 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | Tarvos Alford | 2025–2026 | 11 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 13 | Christian Alliegro | 2026 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | Beau Atkinson | 2025–2026 | 15 | 20 | 1.5 | 5 | 0 |
| 15 | Zion Grady | 2025–2026 | 11 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 16 | Jay Timmons | 2026 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Leroy Roker III | 2025–2026 | 9 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Qua Russaw | 2026 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | John Walker | 2026 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Faheem Delane | 2025 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | Aaron Scott Jr. | 2024–2025 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | Bryce West | 2024–2025 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Simeon Caldwell | 2026 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | James Smith | 2026 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Cam Calhoun | 2026 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Davison Igbinosun | 2023–2025 | 37 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 27 | Sonny Styles | 2023–2025 | 37 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 28 | Jermaine Mathews Jr. | 2023–2026 | 36 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 29 | Kenyatta Jackson Jr. | 2023–2026 | 34 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 30 | Caden Curry | 2023–2025 | 33 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 31 | Kayden McDonald | 2023–2025 | 26 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 32 | Cody Simon | 2021–2024 | 24 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 33 | Jack Sawyer | 2021–2024 | 24 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 34 | Jaylahn Tuimoloau | 2021–2024 | 24 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 35 | Lathan Ransom | 2020–2024 | 24 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 36 | Ty Hamilton | 2021–2024 | 23 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 37 | Denzel Burke | 2021–2024 | 22 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 38 | Jordan Hancock | 2023–2024 | 22 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 39 | Tyleik Williams | 2021–2024 | 22 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 40 | Steele Chambers | 2019–2023 | 20 | — | — | — | 4 |
| 41 | Tywone Malone Jr. | 2023–2025 | 20 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 42 | C.J. Hicks | 2023–2025 | 16 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 43 | Jordan Fuller | 2017–2019 | 12 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 44 | Malik Hartford | 2023–2025 | 12 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 45 | Damon Arnette | 2016–2019 | 11 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 46 | Josh Proctor | 2019–2023 | 10 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 47 | Damon Webb | 2016–2017 | 9 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 48 | Doran Grant | 2012–2014 | 9 | — | — | — | 9 |
| 49 | Vonn Bell | 2013–2015 | 9 | — | — | — | 9 |
| 50 | Dre'Mont Jones | 2016–2018 | 8 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 51 | Mike Hall Jr. | 2021–2023 | 8 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 52 | Sevyn Banks | 2018–2021 | 8 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 53 | Shaun Wade | 2018–2020 | 8 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 54 | Tommy Eichenberg | 2021–2023 | 8 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 55 | Tyvis Powell | 2013–2015 | 8 | — | — | — | 8 |
| 56 | Gareon Conley | 2015–2016 | 7 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 57 | Hero Kanu | 2023–2024 | 7 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 58 | Jerome Baker | 2016–2017 | 7 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 59 | Mitchell Melton | 2023–2024 | 7 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 60 | DaVon Hamilton | 2016–2019 | 6 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 61 | Gabe Powers | 2023–2024 | 6 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 62 | Haskell Garrett | 2018–2021 | 6 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 63 | Jeff Okudah | 2017–2019 | 6 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 64 | Justin Hilliard | 2017–2020 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 65 | Kendall Sheffield | 2017–2018 | 6 | — | — | — | 2 |
| 66 | Malik Harrison | 2017–2019 | 6 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 67 | Malik Hooker | 2016 | 6 | — | — | — | 7 |
| 68 | Amir Riep | 2017–2019 | 5 | — | — | — | 3 |
| 69 | Dante Booker | 2017–2018 | 5 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 70 | Jalyn Holmes | 2016–2017 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 71 | Jashon Cornell | 2017–2019 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 72 | Robert Landers | 2017–2019 | 5 | — | — | — | 0 |
| 73 | Zach Harrison | 2019–2022 | 5 | — | — | — | 1 |
Also at Ohio State: quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, tight ends, kickers, punters. Every school and conference: schools, conferences. The games are ESPN's box scores since 2004 (the Method says where they fall short); a position is the roster's, else read off the box score, so a tight end from before 2014 may be listed with the wide receivers.