Ohio State senior linebacker Cody Simon announced at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday that he is returning to the program for the 2024 season, exhausting his his fifth and final season of eligibility. Simon was granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic that shortened the 2020 football season to just an eight-game regular season schedule in the Big Ten.
“I talked to my family a lot, but I’m going to stay for another year,” Simon said. “I’m really happy with my decision.”
Simon, who mentioned he made the decision over the last week, added that he feels both he and his team still have unfinished business to take care of next season, mainly beating Michigan and then winning a Big Ten Championship. The senior has yet to beat Michigan in his four years with the program, but does have a conference championship under his belt, defeating Northwestern in 2020.
“There’s a lot that goes into it,” Simon said. “Wanting to complete your goals that you set for yourself. There are so many team goals that I want to still complete, and we haven’t done a great job of completing them these past couple of years. I want to be able to go and accomplish those goals, and win a Big Ten Championship again, and beat The Team Up North. I think we have a lot of unfinished business, and it’s something I want to complete.”
He also said that although he did weigh all of his options and had serious thoughts about forgoing his COVID-19 fifth-year, he ultimately felt he made the right decision for he, his family, and his team.
“I just talked with my coaches, logistical stuff,” Simon said. “I’m just excited to be back. I felt like it was the right decision, and know it was the right decision….It’s important, because there was part of me that did want to go and explore what the NFL has to offer. But, I think it’s ultimately the right decision, to use all the time you really can, because you never get these years back.”
After battling being limited by injury for a good portion of his Ohio State career, Simon turned in one of his more productive seasons in the Scarlet and Gray in 2023. Appearing in all 12 games for the Buckeyes, he ranked sixth on the team with 45 tackles, while also adding three tackles for loss and two pass breakups. His efforts also earned him some significant starting reps at linebacker alongside Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers.
With Eichenberg and Chambers presumably leaving for the NFL this offseason, Simon will have the opportunity to emerge as a full-time starter at linebacker in 2024, where he will compete for reps alongside more inexperienced players such as C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers and Nigel Glover, among others.
