6 Players Lions Must Watch in Ohio State-Michigan Game

On Saturday, it is time for one of the greatest rivalries in college football: Michigan vs. Ohio State. In recent years, the Wolverines have dominated the Buckeyes, and both have accounted for the most recent national championships in all of college football.

Naturally, to win it all, these two teams are producing NFL talent on a consistent basis. The Detroit Lions have benefited from this as recently as this spring, with first-round selection Tyleik Williams being from Ohio State. With the game in Ann Arbor, this game is a must-watch for the Lions’ scouting department.

Here are six names between the two schools that the Lions must be looking at.

S Caleb Downs, Ohio State

Downs has produced at the highest level since starting at Alabama as a true freshman in 2023. He has two interceptions in all three of his seasons so far, and has followed up his All-American season from 2024 by being on pace for similar or better numbers.

Downs will be looking to bait Wolverine freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood into bad throws. He is willing to crash down and tackle on run or screen plays too, with 16 career tackles for loss as a safety. Add in the fact that the Buckeye has gotten his hands on 17 passes in his collegiate career (six interceptions and 11 pass deflections), and he is the X-Factor for the OSU defense.

Downs is the top safety in the draft, for good reason. Currently, he is viewed as a top three selection. While it is unlikely that Brad Holmes trades up for him, especially with the Detroit safety duo, Downs is a player that any pro scout can enjoy.

Additionally, with Kerby Joseph’s nagging injury and Brian Branch still awaiting a contract extension, who can rule out an aggressive Holmes move from now until April?

LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State

Styles is one-half of a dominant Buckeye linebacking duo with pass-rush dominator Arvell Reese. With Reese trending in similar territory to Caleb Downs in the top five, Styles being “only” a mid-first round prospect is the fit here.

Styles had an otherworldly 2024 campaign for the national champion Buckeyes, with 100 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks. While he only has 0.5 sacks this season and four tackles for loss, he has added his first career interception and broken up three passes.

Additionally, PFF grades the linebacker with fundamentally sound football, as Styles ranks 21st of 820 qualifying linebackers in terms of grades. This is a huge boost over his last two campaigns, where Styles was outside the top 145.

Styles crashing down to meet Wolverines running back Jordan Marshall will be a matchup that the NFL and fans alike will be tuning in for.

IDL Rayshaun Benny, Michigan

Benny has been a constant in the Wolverines defensive line, with over 145 snaps played in each of the last four seasons. With a minimum of two games remaining on the Wolverines’ schedule, the defensive lineman is on the verge of having a career best season in every stat.

The homegrown product has 12 tackles for loss between the last three seasons, adding in four sacks and six passes deflected. For the second straight season, Benny is among the top 40 for interior defensive lineman on PFF. He is a player that eats space and fills gaps.

With the Lions solid in the trenches, Benny in day three is a natural fit. DJ Reader is not getting any younger for Detroit, either. Saturday will be yet another test in Benny’s career, and he has passed the hurdles with flying colors thus far.

CB Jyaire Hill, Michigan

For yet another season, the Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the most talented receiver rooms in the country. Naturally, this means that all eyes will be on Michigan junior corner Jyaire Hill.

With Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate each having their statuses in the air, Hill’s life could be made easier. That said, with Buckeye quarterback Julian Sayin completing 79.4 percent of his passes, there is no easy day for Hill.

On the season, Hill has five pass breakups and a forced fumble after his eight-passes-defensed-and-one-interception 2024 campaign. He currently projects as a player likely to take one more year in the Maize and Blue, but a legacy game against Ohio State can rocket the defensive back into NFL Draft conversations. PFF has him ranked as the No. 302 prospect on their Big Board.

TE Max Klare, Ohio State

With Tate and Smith questionable, the burden in the receiving game for the Buckeyes could fall on Klare’s shoulders. With the Purdue transfer in the middle of a 400-yard campaign, Klare should be able to adjust.

Klare recently ranked as the third-best tight end on Mel Kiper’s Big Board, and for good reason. He has over 1,200 career receiving yards, and is currently on pace to have his second consecutive 500 yard receiving season in spite of the extra attention with the Buckeyes missing Tate for three games so far.

Klare is a willing blocker, too, although his game is not as polished as the Lions traditionally like. That said, with the Lions’ recent struggles after Sam LaPorta’s season was ended, receiving upside like Klare’s becomes more tantalizing.

LB Jimmy Rolder, Michigan

Rolder has been a late-riser during his senior campaign with the Wolverines. After 45 tackles with two tackles for loss after his first three seasons in the winged helmet, Rolder has burst onto the scene in 2025.

Rolder has 57 tackles, 5.5 of them for loss, two sacks, an interception, and two pass deflections. In the Wolverines’ last major rivalry game against Michigan State, the linebacker was everywhere on field, which placed him on some NFL scouts’ radars.

Rolder has flown all the way up to the 10th-best off-ball linebacker on Mel Kiper’s big board after entering the year as an unknown. Against the Buckeyes on Saturday, he has a chance to set the world on high alert.

Rolder will be tasked with stopping Klare in the pass game and Bo Jackson, CJ Donaldson, and James Peoples in the run game. If anyone is up for the task of continuing Michigan’s tradition of dismantling the Ohio State offensive gameplan, it will be No. 30 in the middle.

While linebacker is not a massive need for the Lions, Alex Anzalone is on an expiring contract, Jack Campbell is two years out from free agency, and Malcolm Rodriguez is a player that has not seen game action since tearing his ACL last season. Rolder can help the transition into the next cycle of Lions’ linebacking under Kelvin Sheppard.

The Game will kick off at noon EST.