A four-star recruit coming out of Coldwater High School, senior co-captain Ross Homan was highly touted coming to Ohio State in 2006.
Entering a program in Columbus with a long tradition of great linebackers, Homan said he embraced the challenge.
“At Ohio State you always have great expectations, it comes with great challenges,” Homan said. “But I think every person here, all the seniors, we want to be challenged everyday. I think it is a matter of stepping up to those challenges and meeting those expectations.”
Now halfway through his senior campaign and with more than 250 career tackles to his name, Homan has certainly lived up to the hype and met, if not exceeded, those expectations.
A three-year starter, Homan made an impact right away, appearing in all 13 games his freshman year. Collecting 28 tackles in his first year at OSU, Homan said having premiere linebackers such as James Laurinaitis to learn from definitely helped his transition from high school to college.
“When I first came in, the person who hosted me on my recruiting visit was James (Laurinaitis) and he really was my older brother here, which was a huge asset to me,” Homan said. “I saw how he watched film, how he worked out, how he approached the game overall … It just really helped me out playing with James.”
With Laurinaitis gone, Homan began to gain fame in 2009 when he led the Rose Bowl-champion Buckeye squad in tackles with 108.
Despite now being a focal point on the defense and a captain on this year’s team, the 2009 second-team All-Big Ten selection’s production has stayed strong, once again leading the Bucks in tackles.
Recognizing his role as a leader on the team, Homan has taken his job as captain to heart and hopes his all-out playing style rubs off on his teammates.
“Now I have to be a leader,” he said. “I’m not a real vocal leader, but I’m more of a by-example leader, so I have to lead this team anyway I can, get on the younger guys and just try to get better at that everyday.”
As his Buckeye career comes to a close, Homan continues to cement his name in OSU history. Defensive tackle Dexter Larimore believes, as far as linebackers go, he may be one of the tops this university has ever seen.
“I think once you look back on his lifetime here and what he has done here, I think he will be up there,” Larimore said. “If you look at the film and you watch him move side to side and do the things that he has done … I personally think he will be one of the top five guys that have come out of here.”
