Buckeyes freshman defensive tackle Kayden McDonald sheds black stripe
COLUMBUS — Ohio State was thrilled when it went into Georgia and landed big defensive tackle Kayden McDonald.
The former North Gwinnett High School standout is giving the Buckeyes a preview of just how good he can be early in his career.
McDonald lost his black stripe following the Buckeyes second scrimmage of training camp, a sign that he’s officially a member of the football program.
Four-star Kayden McDonald was ranked as the No. 273 overall player in the country, the No. 37 defensive lineman and the No. 24 player in the state of Georgia in the class of 2023.
Noah Rogers also loses black stripe
Noah Rogers arrived at Ohio State with sky-high expectations as a five-star receiver.
He is living up to those expectations early in his career. Rogers shed his black stripe after the Buckeyes scrimmage on Saturday, a sign showing he is doing the right things to officially be a part of the Ohio State football program.
He is one of two Buckeyes to shed the stripe after the scrimmage. He is also the third receiver from the talented freshman class to shed the black stripe, joining Carnell Tate and Bryson Rodgers.
Kayden McDonald is latest Buckeyes freshman to shed black stripe
Sophomore offensive linemen George Fitzpatrick and Tegra Tshabola lost their black stripes the second week of this year’s spring practice, along with Ole Miss transfer cornerback Davison Igbinosun and true freshman wide receiver Carnell Tate. Oregon State transfer quarterback Tristan Gebbia shed his black stripe later in spring ball. And so did true freshman safety Malik Hartford and true freshman tight end Jelani Thurman. Both transfer offensive linemen the Buckeyes brough in this offseason, Josh Simmons and Victor Cutler Jr., shed their black stripes last Thursday. Freshman offensive tackle Luke Montgomery lost his last Saturday, along with Ole Miss transfer defensive tackle Tywone Malone. True freshman wide receiver Bryson Rodgers joined freshman cornerback Jermaine Mathews in receiving the post-practice honor Tuesday.
Transfer cornerback Lorenzo Styles Jr. also lost his this week.
Buckeyes also name captains, Block O jersey honoree Saturday
Ohio State shook up its offseason leadership structures this offseason to maximize the summer workouts. That hard work cultivating leadership has led the Buckeyes to officially name their captains for this season.
The program unveiled its three captains on Saturday morning as training camp continues through its third week, electing two players on offense and one on defense.
Tight end Cade Stover and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg are returning captains for Ohio State, giving them the honor of being two-time captains for the program. Former walk-on wide receiver Xavier Johnson is the third team captain for the Buckeyes this season.
All three senior leaders are from the state of Ohio. Stover is from Mansfield, Eichenberg is from Cleveland and Johnson is from Cincinnati.
Johnson is being honored as a cut above even captaincy with the Buckeyes. The sixth-year senior wide receiver got the news of his new jersey number, switching from No. 10 to now having No. 0.
Johnson began his career in 2018 as a walk-on and was a strong practice player for the Buckeyes during the first few years of his career. The senior from Summit Country Day school in Cincinnati earned a scholarship for that hard work and, in the last couple of seasons, became a mainstay on special teams.
