With voting spread out through a variety of potential team leaders, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer went the unique route of naming eight players to serve as game captains for the Buckeyes this season.
Junior quarterback Braxton Miller headlines the group, which also includes senior backup quarterback Kenny Guiton. Joining them as captains on the offensive side of the ball are senior receiver Corey "Philly" Brown and senior linemen Jack Mewhort and Corey Linsley. The defensive captains are senior safeties C.J. Barnett and Christian Bryant along with junior linebacker Ryan Shazier.
At the end of the year, four will be selected as the permanent season captains.
According to a team release, Meyer told the team he had never done captains this way before naming them after practice Tuesday.
“We had eight individuals receive a lot of votes, and all were within 12 votes of each other," Meyer said via the release. "So they’ll lead us into each game as captains and at the end of the year a decision will be made as to who will be the season’s captains.”
All are serving as captains for the first time, and the selection of Miller and Guiton ends a four-year drought of no OSU quarterbacks receiving the honor. The last OSU signal caller to be a captain was Todd Boeckman in 2008.
Miller is the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year. He won the 2012 Chicago Tribune Silver Football after accounting for a school-record 3,310 yards of total offense.
Guiton, a fifth-year senior who came to Ohio State as a last-minute addition to the 2009 recruiting class, has become a favorite of the coaches for his leadership. He came off the bench to lead a comeback, overtime victory against Purdue last season.
Mewhort and Linsley are part of an offensive line that grew into one of the Big Ten's best last season with Linsley taking over at center and Mewhort solidifying left tackle.
Shazier was a first-team All-Big Ten selection last season after leading the conference with 17 tackles for loss. He was second in the league with 115 tackles overall.
Barnett and Bryant are both entering their third seasons as starters. Bryant was a second-team All-Big Ten selection last season while Barnett has earned honorable mention all-conference honors the past two years.
The second-ranked Buckeyes open the season Saturday at noon against Buffalo at Ohio Stadium.
