By Danielle Daniels

Ohio State now has 93 consensus All-Americans; Donovan Jackson and Jeremiah Smith first-team AA

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s list of consensus first-team All-Americans has increased by two this fall, as center Seth McLaughlin and safety Caleb Downs joined the exclusive club after being honored by at least three of the five major organizations used to determine the NCAA’s consensus All-America team.

Those five organizations are: American Football Coaches Association, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News and Walter Camp Foundation. A player appearing on the first-team of three of those lists is a consensus All-American while a player appearing on the first-team of all five is a unanimous All-American.

Downs and McLaughlin are the Buckeyes’ 92nd and 93rd all-time consensus All-Americans. Additionally, Downs was a unanimous choice, making him the program’s 39th player to achieve that honor.

Ryan Day-coached Buckeye teams have now produced nine consensus or unanimous All-Americans, including five in the last three seasons. They are: Downs, McLaughlin, Marvin Harrison Jr. (2022 and 2023), Paris Johnson Jr. (2022), Wyatt Davis (2020), Shaun Wade (2020), Chase Young (2019) and Jeff Okudah (2019).

Downs, a sophomore, was the Big Ten’s Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year. He leads all Ohio State defensive backs in tackles (62) to go along with 6.5 tackles for loss, one interception and three pass breakups. Downs was also a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, the Lott IMPACT Trophy and Bednarik Award.

McLaughlin became Ohio State’s fourth Rimington Trophy winner last week, which is awarded annually to the nation’s best center. McLaughlin, who led the Buckeyes’ offensive line for 10 games before being lost to a season-ending injury in late November, was named a first-team all-Big Ten by the league’s coaches after a season in which he graded out as a “champion” in each of his starts. He did not allow a sack across 207 pass blocking snaps and allowed only four pressures all season, according to Pro Football Focus. McLaughlin is a 34-game starter at center at Ohio State and Alabama.

McLaughlin was also one of the nation’s top student-athletes, earning National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete status as a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy.

More All-Americans
Senior OT/OG Donovan Jackson and freshman WR Jeremiah Smith also earned first-team All-America honors this postseason. Jackson was named by The Sporting News, USA Today and Sports Illustrated. Smith, the Big Ten Conference Richter-Howard Wide Receiver of the Year and the Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year, was honored by USA Today.

Safety Lathan Ransom earned second-team honors by CBSSports and third-team honors by the Associated Press.

COURTESY OHIO STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS