Breaking down PFF stats to know about Ohio State safeties

COLUMBUS — Caleb Downs transferred in from Alabama. Lathan Ransom came back for his fifth and final season after suffering his second serious injury of his Ohio State career.

Together, they headline a Buckeyes safety room that’s top heavy with experience but could feature one of the best tandems in the country.

Lettermen Row combed through Pro Football Focus to pinpoint key stats that reveal something about the Buckeyes safeties who saw game action at the collegiate level last year.

Caleb Downs

PFF Stat: 11.4% missed tackle rate in 2023

Analysis: Downs became the first true freshman to lead Alabama in total tackles since at least 1970 last season. He piled up 107, including 70 solos — the 14th most of any player in the country in 2023 — not to mention his 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass break-ups and one forced fumble. Along the way, Downs missed only 14 tackles, registering a missed tackle rate of 11.4%, according to PFF. Of the 10 safeties with the most tackles last season, per PFF, Downs notched the fourth-lowest missed tackle rate.

PFF Stat: 265-plus snaps at deep safety, in the box and in the slot in 2023

Analysis: Downs will start at free safety this season, but he can play anywhere (even on offense, just ask head coach Ryan Day or offensive coordinator Chip Kelly). He showcased his versatility on the defensive side of the ball last year, recording 287 snaps at deep safety, 285 snaps in the box, 268 snaps in the slot, 28 snaps on the corner and 21 snaps on the defensive line, according to PFF. As effective as a disruptor as Downs is, he has room to grow in coverage this season. Last year, he gave up 33 receptions on 51 targets for 453 yards and two touchdowns, per PFF.

Lathan Ransom

PFF Stat: 37.5% reception percentage allowed in 2023

Analysis: Ransom missed the final five games of last season with a Lisfranc injury in his left foot. But, before that, he was having himself another nice campaign. A year removed from becoming a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, which is given annually to the best defensive back in college football, Ransom allowed only six receptions for 47 yards on 16 targets, logging a 37.5% reception percentage allowed, per PFF. The Tucson, Arizona, native didn’t give up a single touchdown, and he intercepted a pass in Week 6 against Maryland. Granted Ransom didn’t play the full season, but his improvement is still noteworthy, considering his reception percentage allowed hovered around 72% in 2022 when he conceded 23 catches on 32 targets for 272 yards and two scores, according to PFF.

PFF Stat: 7 run defense “stops” in 2023, 12 in 2022

Analysis: Ransom’s never had a single-season missed tackle rate below 15% at Ohio State, so he’s not as sure of a tackler as Downs was in 2023. That said, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound veteran safety can lay the wood. He’s been doing that since he joined the team in 2020, even recording a hard-hitting, title-clinching PBU against Northwestern in the Big Ten title game that year. Ransom’s not afraid to get his nose dirty, and that showed up again last season, perhaps more than ever in Week 4 when he and Sonny Styles teamed up to stop Sam Hartman on a 4th-and-1 quarterback sneak. Ransom finished the year with seven run defense “stops,” which PFF classifies as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense.” The previous year, in 61 more run defense snaps, he tied for 10th among Big Ten safeties with 12 run stops

Keenan Nelson Jr.

PFF Stat: 110 receiving yards, two touchdowns allowed in 52 coverage snaps in 2023

Analysis: Ohio State went out and got a safety in the portal after losing Ja’Had Carter to North Carolina State during the spring window. The Buckeyes landed Keenan Nelson Jr., who spent his first two seasons at South Carolina, where he started three games last season but struggled in coverage — so much so that he gave up a reception each of the six times he was targeted for a total of 110 receiving yards and two touchdowns, according to PFF. Both of those scores and 77 of those yards conceded through the air came in Week 1 against North Carolina. He didn’t see defensive snaps against FBS competition again until Week 9 versus Texas A&M. Although he gave up just one catch, it went for 33 yards, including 18 after the catch, per PFF. Nelson did block a punt and return it for six against Vanderbilt last season, and he finished the season with 61 special teams snaps. The former four-star prospect can hone his coverage skills while contributing right away on teams.

Malik Hartford

PFF Stat: 5 receiving yards allowed on 6 targets in 2023

Analysis: Malik Hartford enjoyed a head-turning first offseason at Ohio State, then got thrown into the fire maybe before he was really ready Week 2 against Youngstown State. But he rebounded and got another chance to start Week 11 against Michigan State, once again filling in at free safety for an injured Josh Proctor, and that time graded out as a “champion.” What’s interesting is that, in Hartford’s 80 coverage snaps last season, he gave up only five receiving yards on six targets, according to PFF. And those five yards were spread out among three catches. By the way, Hartford tallied two pass deflections on the year, including one against Rutgers in Week 10 while replacing Proctor. Although Hartford missed three tackles in his limited snaps, per PFF, and was flagged for defensive pass interference versus the Spartans, he did his job when his receiver got hands on the ball. In fact, Hartford was responsible for just two yards after the catch last year, according to PFF.

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