Ohio well-represented at NFL Combine

Buckeyes dot the 2024 list of invites

By Red Schaefley

It comes as no surprise that the NFL’s annual combine – which has become an event on the calendar almost as important as the draft or any Sunday during the season – will be filled with players on a team that compiled an 11-2 record, was nudged out of the CFP by eventual champ Michigan and finished the season with a No. 10 national ranking.

And yes, that would be the Ohio State Buckeyes, a program that perennially sends a bevy of NFL hopefuls to the combine.

This year, there will be eight Buckeyes taking part in Indianapolis: Miyan Williams (RB),

Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR), Cade Stover (TE), Matthew Jones (OL), Michael Hall Jr. (DL), Steele Chambers (LB), Tommy Eichenberg (LB) and Josh Proctor (DB). Ironically, Ohio State sent the exact same number of athletes to the 2023 combine, and one more than in 2022, where only seven Buckeyes were invited.

For further comparison, the school with the most combine invitees is – much to the chagrin of Buckeyes fans – none other than Michigan. The national champs will send a whopping 18 players, the most from a single school since 2003. National runner up Washington will send 13, Florida State has 12, Texas and Georgia both boast 11 and Penn State and Alabama round out the schools sending double-digit prospects with 10. Along with the Buckeyes, USC, Notre Dame, Missouri and LSU all send eight. Oddly, Cincinnati, which typically sends a handful of Bearcats to the combine, will get blanked this year; last year’s combine included six players from Cincinnati.

Beyond the combine, however, the Buckeyes will likely hold one key distinction. In most mock drafts, Marvin Harrison, Jr. is expected to be the highest non-quarterback drafted. The uber-talented son of former Indianapolis Colt Marvin Harrison racked up 1,263 and 1,211 receiving yards during his sophomore and junior seasons respectively and is expected not to work out or test at the combine. Considered to be a generational talent, Harrison Jr. will likely only attend the combine to meet with teams, most of which already have him high on their draft boards.

Aside from Harrison, Jr. the Buckeyes could have a big presence in the first and second rounds of the draft. Prior to the season, Matt Miller of ESPN projected five Buckeyes would be taken in Round 1. That’s yet to be proven, but clearly, the Buckeyes will have their fair share of Day 1 and Day 2 selections.

For those Ohio sports fans wishing to keep tabs on the Buckeyes partaking in the combine, all the action can be seen on NFL Network. The schedule is as follows:

Thursday, February 29

• Positions: DL, LB
• Time: 3 p.m. ET

Friday, March 1

• Positions: DB, TE
• Time: 3 p.m. ET

Saturday, March 2

• Positions: QB, WR, RB
• Time: 1 p.m. ET

Sunday, March 3

• Positions: OL
• Time: 1 p.m. ET

Ohio Game of the Week:

FC Cincinnati @ Chicago Fire (Saturday, March 2, 8:30 p.m. ET)

Following an opening match draw with Toronto, FC Cincy – following a second leg of CONCACAF action against Cavalier on Wednesday night – will look to climb the MLS standings with a win over Chicago. The home club Fire also earned a draw in their opener, a 2-2 thriller against Philadelphia. While FC Cincinnati was strong defensively in its opener, pitching a 0-0 shutout in the process, the offense will look to respond. Midfielder and captain Luciano Acosta, the league’s second leading point scorer in 2023, will aim to spark an attack that seeks its first goal of the young MLS season.