There has been news coming out of the Ohio State football program on Saturday afternoon. Not only did the Buckeyes reveal the “Block 0” recipient for 2023, but OSU also announced its three captains for the fall campaign.
Ohio State has historically named more than three captains, so the identification of just three is significant. Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, tight end Cade Stover and receiver Xavier Johnson were named team captains after a team vote. Head coach Ryan Day made the announcement after fall practice on Saturday.
For Stover and Eichenberg, it’s the second time they’ve been named captains, and for Johnson, it follows the big news of him being the “Block 0” recipient for the fall.
Both Eichenberg and Stover are expected to be huge pieces of the football puzzle on the banks of the Olentangy in 2023. Eichenberg really blossomed in the Jim Knowles scheme last year and is on several defensive watch lists heading into the fall. He will be counted on as one of the main leaders and producers on defense.
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ผ ๐ฆ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฐ
| @tommyike41 | @cstov8 | @J5Xavier | pic.twitter.com/AtyW7q9CEW
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 19, 2023
Stover had one of the best receiving seasons ever by an Ohio State tight end last year and looks to take an even further step in 2023. He figures to be one of the best at his position in all of college football this fall and has a exceptional chance of being taken off the board early in the 2023 NFL draft.
Johnson has now risen from preferred walk-on in 2018 to a team captain — quite an amazing story. A bit of a Swiss army knife during his career, Johnson has been a part of every unit on the OSU team but seems to carved out a nice niche in the receiver rotation heading into this fall.
Congrats to all three of these players, and we can’t wait to see how and where they lead the team starting in just a couple of weeks.
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