Only 10 months after suffering a broken leg in the Rose Bowl, Lathan Ransom is one of 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award.
On Monday, the Ohio State safety was named one of 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the best defensive back in college football.
But Ransom didn't let the injury derail his Ohio State career. He used it as an opportunity to grow as a football player. His athleticism had always been his most prominent strength as a former four-star recruit from Tucson, Arizona, but now he had a chance to develop into a more well-rounded asset for Jim Knowles and the new-look Buckeye defense.
“He’s decisive,” Knowles said. “He just goes. He’s a football player. He sees the forest through the trees. He can diagnose the play extremely fast, and he’s aggressive with how he treats it. You can’t ask for more from a safety than that. He’s had an exceptional camp. Ransom's level of play and statistical output this season put him in the conversation as one of the best safeties in college football this season.has graded Ransom as the second-best safety in the Power 5 this year behind Wisconsin’s John Torchio.