Ohio State Safety Lathan Ransom “All Over The Place” In Win Over Indiana
Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom showed why he was recently named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back with his performance in Saturday’s 56-14 win over Indiana.
Ransom, a junior from Tucson, Ariz., finished the game with nine tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 tackles for loss, one pass break up and a blocked punt, which set up a touchdown that put the Buckeyes ahead 35-7 midway through the third quarter.
“He was all over the place,” head coach Ryan Day said during his postgame press conference. “It’s great to see him playing so well across the board. I know he’s a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, and not to see him make a play like that, that kind of flipped the game for us in the second half.”
The blocked punt was Ohio State’s first since former cornerback Sevyn Banks got his hands on one in the second quarter of the 72-5 win over Miami (Ohio) on Sept. 21, 2019. Interestingly, it was drawn up in the middle of today's game by special teams coordinator Parker Fleming.
“Give all the love to Coach Fleming,” Ransom said after the game. “He wrote that, dialed up that punt block mid-game and ended up running it. I’ve been wanting to block a punt since I’ve been on (special teams), so I’m just happy I finally got the chance to … I just appreciate my coaches for putting me in situations to make plays.”
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Ransom came off the right side of the offensive line untouched and blocked sophomore punter James Evans’ attempt at the Hoosiers’ 20-yard line. It bounced back to the 7-yard line, where fifth-year senior wide receiver Xavier Johnson picked up and nearly took it into the end zone before he was tackled at the 2-yard line.
“That’s the sign of a mature player, that you can talk about it on the sideline, make an adjustment and then go put it on the field in a game like that,” Day said. “We’ve worked hard on that, on the tracks of blocking punts, and there’s and art to that.
“You can be out of control and run into the punter, which will be a 15-yard penalty, which certainly keeps coaches up at night, but he did it really well. He got his hands right to the ball. Really well executed.”
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