By Lamont Burroughs
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ATHENS, Ohio— The Ohio football team named graduate student quarterback Parker Navarro, redshirt sophomore safety DJ Walker, graduate student offensive lineman Davion Weatherspoon and senior safety Adonis Williams Jr. as captains for the 2025 season.
Both Navarro (Tempe, Ariz.) and Williams Jr. (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) are entering their second season as captains.
Navarro has been featured on four preseason watch lists this August: the Walter Camp Player of the Year, the Maxwell Award and the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. He made 13 starts during the 2024 campaign, tallying 2,423 passing yards on 295 passes with 195 completions. Also a force to be reckoned with on the ground, he rushed for 1,054 yards on 160 attempts with 18 touchdowns, becoming the second quarterback in program history to log over 1,000 yards on the ground in a single season as well as the first quarterback to record over 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. A four-time 2024 Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 30, Nov. 15, Nov. 25, Dec. 2), Navarro also earned Davey O’Brien Great 8 recognition twice (Dec. 2 and Jan. 22), All-MAC Second Team Offense accolades and was named both the MAC Championship Offensive Player of the Game and 2024 StaffDNA Cure Bowl MVP honors.
Walker (Aliquippa, Pa.) has been featured on both the Jim Thorpe Award and Chuck Bednarik preseason watch lists. He was a staple in the 2024 defense, starting in all 14 games. He amassed 53 total tackles, including 34 solo stops and seven tackles for loss. Walker logged the second-most pass breakups (7) and recorded his first collegiate interception against Akron (Sept. 28, 2024). Following the regular season, Walker was named All-MAC Second Team.
Weatherspoon (Harper Woods, Mich.) has appeared in 25 games at Ohio, starting in all 14 of the 2024 campaign. The offensive line played a crucial role in Ohio first 11-win season in program history, helping the offense average 29.29 points per game and 406.1 yards per game. Weatherspoon made his first collegiate post-season appearances in 2024, helping the offense score 68 points in two games—the 2024 MAC Championship and the 20-24 StaffDNA Cure Bowl.
Williams Jr. made eight starts in nine appearances during 2024, logging 33 total tackles with 19 solo stops. Williams Jr. closed the regular season by recording a season-high five tackles against Ball State (Nov. 29, 2024), helping the Bobcats clinch their 42-21 victory over the Cardinals to secure a spot in the 2024 MAC Championship.
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