You’re Nuts: Which Ohio State player would you add to the group of 2026 team captains?

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day revealed the 2026 football team captains over the weekend. For the seventh time in school history, there will be at least seven team captains on the team. Not only will it be the first time since 2020 that the Buckeyes have had at least seven team captains, but this also marks the third time under Day there have been seven team captains.

Along with offensive lineman Austin Siereveld and Brandon Inniss being named captains for the second year in a row, joining those two as captains in 2026 will be safety Jaylen McClain, quarterback Julian Sayin, defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr., linebacker Payton Pierce, and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. To be considered to be eligible to be voted on as a captain, Ohio State players must be either a junior, senior, or fifth-year player.

Today we want to know which Buckeye who wasn’t selected as a captain this season you would add as an eighth captain on this year’s squad. Since we believe everyone chosen as a 2026 captain was deserving, we aren’t saying any current captain needs to be replaced. We just want to know who you would add as a captain to strengthen the group even further. Our only requirement is that your choice follows the current eligibility rules when it comes to Ohio State captains that can be selected.

We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.

Even though this year’s captains group already contains offensive lineman Austin Siereveld, there’s no rule that says there can’t be more than one captain from a position group. Just look at wide receiver, where both Brandon Inniss and Jeremiah Smith are captains. I feel like Montgomery would be a great complement to Siereveld as an offensive lineman who is also a team captain.

In a way, both Siereveld and Montgomery are very similar when it comes to their rise in Columbus. Both are from high schools in Ohio, and both started to see action on the field in the second half of the 2024 season before earning spots as full-time starters last season. Siereveld already has experience as captain after also being selected in 2025, which is something Montgomery doesn’t have.

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Much like when Siereveld and Montgomery were part of the 2024 offensive line with a lot to prove heading into the playoffs, they both enter this year with a bad taste in their mouth after how Ohio State’s season ended in 2025 when the line could slow down the Indiana and Miami defenses in their final two games of the season. After those final two games, Siereveld, Montgomery, and the rest of the line worked relentlessly throughout the offseason to make sure they are ready for the grind of what they hope is a deep playoff run this season.

Montgomery has even said during the offseason that he feels like a leader. It’s obvious that even though he wasn’t named a captain, he is going to be very vocal and hold his teammates accountable this season. In a way, it feels like Montgomery is essentially a captain; he just wasn’t given a captain’s title. While Montgomery isn’t officially a captain, in my book he is this year since I know he is going to do everything he can to make what is likely his last year at Ohio State special, not only for himself, but also for all his teammates.

While Carson Hinzman would be another very good answer here, especially as a veteran center who has been through just about everything imaginable during his Ohio State career, since Brett already went with offensive lineman Luke Montgomery, I’m going to flip over to the other side of the ball. Admittedly, this pick is likely going to seem a little strange at first (and maybe still at the end), but I am going to go with a guy who has yet to play a single snap of real football as a Buckeye: Florida State defensive back transfer Earl Little Jr.

Little only arrived at Ohio State this offseason after transferring from FSU, but he certainly did not come to Columbus without an impressive résumé. After beginning his career at Alabama as a top-100 prospect, where playing time was difficult to come by, he transferred to Tallahassee ahead of the 2024 season and eventually developed into the best player in the Seminoles‘ secondary.

In 2025, Little started 11 games and led FSU with 76 tackles, adding 4 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 2 tackles for loss, and 2 pass breakups. His four picks ranked fourth in the ACC and 16th nationally, and were the most by a Florida State player since 2021.

That production earned him second-team All-ACC honors, but perhaps more relevant to this particular conversation, Little was also voted a team captain, named Florida State’s Defensive MVP, and received the program’s Bobby Bowden Leadership Award. So, while he might be new to Ohio State, he is far from being a respected and impactful leader in the eyes of his peers.

From the moment Little arrived in Columbus, the word coming out of the Woody has backed that up. Ryan Day said early in the spring that Little had already “earned the respect of his teammates” through offseason workouts, and by the end of March, the head coach was calling him one of the Buckeyes’ early “bright spots.” Day praised the veteran defensive back for playing fast, communicating well, and standing out in the weight room before saying that once the pads came on, Little immediately began showing up around the football.

That buzz has continued through the summer and into preseason camp, where Little has spoken like someone already taking ownership of Ohio State’s defense, particularly when it comes to communication on the back end. Of course, the Buckeye secondary is already represented amongst the captains with Jaylen McClain, but there are two wide receivers as captains, so it’s not completely unthinkable.

Would I have expected someone who transferred in eight months ago to be voted captain? Of course not. But considering Little already held that title at Florida State, has the production to command respect, and seemingly wasted no time establishing himself as one of Ohio State’s veteran defensive leaders, I don’t think it would have been all that surprising either.

More importantly, a piece of me is hoping that Little’s experience and outside perspective could help BIA compensate for the loss of Caleb Downs, Davison Igbinosun, Lorenzo Styles Jr., and more talented players, making the corners and safeties an even better unit than we enjoyed watching last season. Of course that could clearly still happen without Little being named a captain, but if he had been added to the leadership committee, that would have been a significant tell that he was making a massive impact on the room.