The 2022 football campaign was one of peaks and valleys for Ohio State senior safety Lathan Ransom.
Breaking onto the scene with a six-tackle performance against Notre Dame after subbing in for Josh Proctor early on, Ransom was a force on the Buckeyes’ defense throughout much of the year, adding some special teams work with a couple of blocked punts.
The season didn’t end so well for him though. He and the rest of the team’s safeties struggled against Michigan and Georgia giving up big plays, including a particularly memorable slip from Ransom in the contest against Georgia that allowed a key long touchdown pass.
This year, likely his final at Ohio State, will be about building off those positives and minimizing the valleys that cost him down the stretch.
“It starts with trust. It starts with consistency,” safeties coach Perry Eliano said. “It starts with putting good days on top of good days. Lathan had a really good spring. He’s an even better leader today than he was last year.”
One advantage Ransom will have is health.
He played the tail end of last season with a broken thumb. That was after rehabbing to get back from a severe broken leg in the 2021 Rose Bowl, one that caused him to miss last spring.
“Being around him for a full year now — he’s fully healthy,” Eliano said. “Credit to the young man, he’s tough. He came back from a catastrophic injury and he was back playing come August. He’s done a tremendous job, and players play, coaches coach. If you’re a playmaker, we’re going to find ways to get you in a position to help this football team win.”
There was some thought that he might switch from “bandit,” more a strong safety position in the scheme of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, to “adjuster,” the team’s field safety spot. But it appears now that the team will continue to weaponize him at bandit.
Whether he can continue making strides and be a force for the defense will be a key trend to watch in 2023.
“Lathan’s always had that innate ability, even when I first got here,” Eliano said. “It’s just a matter of maturation and playing within the scheme. Every coach is different, their coaching style is different. To see him grow from when I first got here to now, this summer — he’s a leader, it’s important to him. And it’s never been an issue with Lathan as far as work ethic, his desire, his want to.”
