Ohio State picked up another early preseason milestone on Wednesday when freshman safety Simeon Caldwell shed his black stripe and officially joined the Buckeyes.
Caldwell becomes one of the few Ohio State defensive freshmen to reach that point this preseason. The Buckeyes had already seen five freshmen lose their stripes before Wednesday, including freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, who appears to be making a push for the backup job.
Caldwell’s path to Ohio State started long before he arrived in Columbus. A four-star recruit in the 2026 cycle, he committed in April of 2025 and never backed off that pledge. He was a linebacker in high school, but Ohio State brought him in as a safety, and he’s already turned enough heads to earn the stripe removal.
At 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds, Caldwell brings unusual size to the safety spot. Matt Guerrieri has been working with him, and the staff clearly believes the move to defensive back can stick. The challenge, at least this fall, is finding snaps.
The top of the safety room is crowded. Jaylen McClain is locked in as one starter after appearing at Big Ten Media Day, while Duke transfer Terry Moore looks like the leading candidate for the other spot.
LeRoy Roker is also in the mix and fighting for first-team reps during camp. With that kind of competition, meaningful playing time for a true freshman is going to be tough to come by.
Still, there’s reason for Ohio State to be encouraged by how quickly Caldwell has caught on. Even if the reps are limited this season, the Buckeyes could be setting him up for a bigger role down the line, especially once Moore is gone. McClain is staying put, which keeps the path crowded, but a safety with Caldwell’s frame gives the defense something interesting to develop.
That’s part of why Ohio State feels so dangerous again on that side of the ball. Matt Patricia is back running the defense, and the Buckeyes are coming off a season in which they led the country in several key metrics. Even after losing a lot of talent, the expectation is that the unit won’t slip much, if at all.
The secondary looks like the strength of the group, which only makes Caldwell’s immediate outlook tougher. Jermaine Mathews Jr. returns as a starter at corner, and Ohio State’s top-rated roster still looks loaded enough to absorb the turnover.
The first real test comes in Week 2 with a trip to Austin. If the Buckeyes can handle Texas there, it will say plenty about where this defense stands early in the season. Caldwell may not be in the starting picture right away, but he’ll have a front-row seat to learn behind a loaded group - and Patricia should have every chance to mold him into a future starter.
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