Tag: Tanner McCalister

Broncos sign 13th player to reserve/future contract for 2024

After adding safety Tanner McCalister, the Broncos have now signed 13 players to reserve/future contracts for 2024.

The Denver Broncos added some depth to the secondary by signing safety Tanner McCalister earlier this week, the team announced.

McCalister (5-11, 191 pounds) was eligible to sign a reserve/future deal because he was not on an active roster at the conclusion of his 2023 season. He will officially join Denver’s 90-man offseason roster when the NFL’s new league year begins in March.

McCalister entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Ohio State with the Cleveland Browns in April. He spent his rookie season on the practice squad and was elevated to the game-day roster three times. McCalister will now give the Broncos more depth at the position.

Justin Simmons was named a second-team All-Pro this season, but Denver has a lot of uncertainty at safety behind him on the depth chart.

The Broncos parted ways with Kareem Jackson in December, and P.J. Locke is among the team’s players scheduled to become free agents in March.

Meanwhile, Caden Sterns (torn patella tendon) and Delarrin Turner-Yell (torn ACL) will be returning from serious knee injuries in 2024. JL Skinner will be entering Year 2 after being inactive for all but two games as a rookie in 2023.

McCalister becomes Denver’s 13th reserve/future contract addition this offseason. View all of the team’s reserve/future signees below.

Safety Tanner McCalister signs futures deal with Broncos after rookie year with Browns

The former Buckeye is headed to Denver

Former Ohio State Buckeye safety Tanner McCalister is heading to Denver after his rookie season on the practice squad with the Browns, signing a futures deal with the Broncos.

He didn’t see much playing action with the Browns, but he was called up a few times appearing in three games on special teams and one game on defense playing a total of 19 defensive snaps.

He struggled during his limited time on the field for Cleveland, and it makes sense with his special teams struggles that they didn’t retain him. He will head to the Denver Broncos and battle for a roster spot, just like he did this past summer for the Browns, securing a spot on the practice squad.

Cleveland will now look ahead to free agency and the draft as their offseason ramps up with the new league year starting in March. The Browns are looking to reshape their offensive staff and find a way to make a run at the Super Bowl next season.

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Former Ohio State player signs with Denver Broncos

Former Buckeye signs with Broncos. #GoBucks

The NFL season is still underway with the conference championships kicking off this weekend, but teams are eligible to start signing guys to “future contracts,” which are contracts that are utilized as placeholders until the league year kicks off again. We typically see this with practice squad players or Canadian Football League stars moving back down south.

Tanner McCalister was a solid safety for the Ohio State football team during the 2022 season after transferring from Oklahoma State, where he was All-Big 12. He elected to join the Buckeyes after his defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles, moved on to Columbus. McCalister led the Silver Bullets with three interceptions during that season.

He signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent after the 2023 NFL draft and spent the majority of the season on the practice squad, but did see limited action in three games. Evidently, the Denver Broncos liked McCalister enough to sign him to a future contract today.

We wish nothing but the best for McCalister as he tries to carve out his own path at the game’s highest level.

Ohio State football starts Josh Proctor at free safety against Indiana

The Buckeyes have made their choice at safety #GoBucks

Coming into Week 1 most of the starters for [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] were set, but the starting free safety spot was still up for grabs.

True freshman [autotag]Malik Hartford[/autotag], Syracuse transfer [autotag]Ja’Had Carter[/autotag] and sixth year veteran [autotag]Josh Proctor[/autotag] were options to start. All three were expected to play against Indiana.

Well, that question has been answered. Proctor was on the field for the Buckeyes’ first defensive series of the game.

The senior has a great deal of experience for the Buckeyes. He was a starter on the 2020 team that went to the national title game and entered 2021 as a starter but his season ended with a leg injury in Week 2.

Last season he started four of first five games of the season before seeing his role get diminished with [autotag]Ronnie Hickman[/autotag], [autotag]Lathan Ransom[/autotag] and [autotag]Tanner McCalister[/autotag] getting the majority of the snaps at safety.

Proctor is playing well. He has a tackle for loss on each of Indiana’s first two drives, but I expect Hartford and Carter to also get snaps. The free safety starting job could remain a question mark throughout the beginning stage of the season.

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Multiple Ohio State rookies make Cleveland Browns roster

Some former Ohio State players got good news on Tuesday. #GoBucks

With NFL preseason play over, Tuesday was the deadline for teams to cut their roster to 53 players. The Cleveland Browns‘ cuts brought pleasant news for many former Buckeyes.

Dawand Jones was a fourth-round pick in 2023 after being a two-year starter for the Buckeyes at right tackle. He received a great deal of praise for his play with the Browns in the preseason. Jones made the 53-man roster and has potential to be a starter for the Browns as early as this season.

The Browns also drafted another two-year starter on the Buckeyes offensive line, Luke Wypler. The rookie center also made the 53-man roster with strong preseason play.

Former Buckeyes safety Ronnie Hickman showed up with a terrific preseason with three interceptions and bucked the odds by making the 53-man roster despite going undrafted in the 2023.

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Tanner McCalister who started at nickel safety last season for the Buckeyes after transferring from Oklahoma State received good news as well. He made the Browns’ practice squad.

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Ohio State safety Tanner McCalister thanks Buckeye Nation before entering NFL draft

Next stop, NFL draft. #GoBucks

In today’s college football world, you don’t see players sticking around for a full four years much anymore, let alone a fifth. COVID-19 gave players an extra year if they wanted it, and Tanner McCalister took full advantage, following Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State to Columbus.

McCalister was key in helping implement Knowles’ new system at Ohio State. Although the last two games didn’t live up to anyone’s defensive expectations, Ohio State was clearly a much-improved defense from a year ago and part of that was due to having the veteran McCalister directing the secondary. A new system can be tough to grasp, so having someone who knew the system well helped ease the learning curve for the OSU defensive backs.

After using all of his collegiate eligibility, McCalister announced on his personal Twitter feed that he will enter the 2023 NFL draft. You can read the letter below and hear the gratitude in his heart.

The Ohio State safety has the intangibles to play at the next level if given the opportunity. We wish him nothing but the best and are grateful for a solid season in scarlet and gray.

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The day after: Thoughts on Ohio State’s crushing loss to Georgia

So many thoughts but these stuck out in my mind the most. How about yours Buckeye fans? #GoBucks

If you were like me, it was hard to sleep Saturday night.

For more than three quarters of the [autotag]Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl[/autotag], it looked like [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] would face [autotag]TCU[/autotag] with a national championship on the line. Georgia had different plans. It mounted a massive comeback during the fourth quarter and sent the Buckeyes back to Columbus with a disappointing loss.

Since the game ended, many thoughts have passed through my head, some good, some bad and a great many pondering what the future for [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his program will look like. Here are my thoughts the day after Ohio State’s 42-41 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal. (Also, happy New Year’s everyone, even if it wasn’t what many of us wanted).

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Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today

Ohio State football 2022 black-stripe removal tracker

Keeping track of all the newcomers in the Ohio State program and when they have their black stripes removed. #GoBucks

It’s a right of passage within the Ohio State football program for every newcomer to the program. A kid might officially sign a letter of intent with the program, but he’s not considered a part of the brotherhood until he has his black stripe removed.

So, we like to keep track of these types of things. Somewhere there’s an official analysis we need to do on this, but history says those that have their black stripes removed early typically go on to some pretty special things with the Buckeye program.

Since we are now deep into spring practice, it means we are starting to see some more freshmen and transfers have their black stripes peeled off. We like to keep track of them in real-time as they happen so you can see who went through the ceremony at what point and what they had to say.

Here’s where things stand for 2022, with updates added as they occur.

Ohio State defensive back first to lose black stripe this season

Tanner McCalister becomes the first to lose his black stripe of the spring. #GoBucks

It’s early in spring practice, but we’ve already seen the first of what should be many black stripes removed. Oklahoma State transfer Tanner McCalister, who followed new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Stillwater to Columbus, got this news early on Monday.

McCalister is a safety who brings some leadership and experience to the Ohio State defense. It helps to have someone with first-hand knowledge of the system as Knowles is installing a new defensive look for the Buckeyes. McCalister played for Knowles the past four years and started 23 games over the course of the past two seasons.

A seasoned veteran taking advantage of an extra season, McCalister seems poised and ready to go. Listen to what he had to say.

“Hey, I just want to say I’m blessed to be here, man. Blessed with this opportunity. I can only thank God man. I’m excited to see what we’re going to do this year. Shout out B.I.A. Hey, I love ya’ll boys. Go Bucks!”

It should be exciting to see what the defense looks like under the leadership of Knowles. There may be some growing pains, but having a guy like Tanner McCalister to help lead the way should ease some of those issues.

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