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Ronnie Hickman, Lathan Ransom reconnect after NFL preseason game

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax08/09/25BarkleyTruax
Ransom Hickman
© Barbara Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Buckeyes are aplenty in the NFL. 14 players from last season’s national championship squad are incoming rookies — that includes Carolina Panthers safety Lathan Ransom.

It didn’t take long for Ransom to find himself playing against another former Ohio State star in the pros. During his first preseason NFL game, Ransom had a chance to meet up with his fellow Buckeye alum, Ronnie Hickman, following the Panthers game against the Cleveland Browns on Friday night. The Browns caught the moment following the 30-10 win over Carolina.

The meeting wasn’t the first time the pair of NFL safeties were together on the field this week. The Panthers and Browns met for joint practices throughout the week leading up to the preseason opener. Both Hickman and Ransom posed for a photo after one of these practices.

This was also posted by the Browns, with the caption “silver bullet safeties catching up.” Hickman quoted the post with his own message of respect toward his former college teammate.

The pair of Ohio State safeties were teammates together for three seasons from 2020-2022 before Hickman turned pro after the 2022 season. He signed to the Browns as an undrafted free agent ahead of the 2023 season.

Hickman would end up making the Browns 53-man roster despite the odds against him as a UDFA. He would prove Cleveland right on signing him as he would go on to record a pick-six against the New York Jets as a rookie. He’s now entering his third season in the NFL, and third with the Browns.

For Ransom, he stuck around Buckeye Country for two more seasons, ultimately spending five seasons playing at Ohio State. His final season in 2024 was his most productive — and ended the best way possible by going out as a national champion. That’s something Hickman can’t lay claim to. He went on to be selected in fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft in April.

Including Hickman, there are seven former Ohio State players with the Cleveland Browns. This includes LB Jerome Baker, OT Dawand Jones, CB Denzel Ward, C Luke Wypler, DT Mike Hall Jr. and RB Quinshon Judkins. Judkins is currently unsigned after being selected in the second round in April following a July arrest linking him to misdemeanor battery/domestic violence in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In contrast to the Browns, Ransom is the only former Buckeye playing for the Carolina Panthers.