Lathan Ransoms difficult journey from traumatizing Rose Bowl to elite safety

Lathan Ransom couldn’t believe what he saw.

One moment, the Ohio State safety was attempting to make a tackle on a kick return. The next, he was on the ground in agonizing pain.

Ransom looked down and saw his left leg was broken. The pain set in immediately. Then panic. Ransom was carted off the field with an air cast on his leg during the first half of Ohio State’s Rose Bowl win against Utah in January.

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“I thought my world was coming to an end,” Ransom said. “All I could think about was the season is over. It was traumatizing.”

His parents, Nathan and Linda Ransom were in the stands. Nathan knew his son’s leg was broken the moment trainers brought the air cast out. Linda was ready to run on the field.

Within five minutes, Nathan and Linda made their way to their son in the locker room and found him breaking down.

Nathan had never seen his son in this state. He was in pain, crying from the idea that his career might be over. Terrified for his son, he had no choice but to put his fears aside and go into dad mode.

He looked at Lathan’s X-ray and kept telling him, “It’s a clean break. Four to six months, you’ll be back. You’ll be back.”

Inside, though, Nathan couldn’t understand why this was happening. Nathan knew how much his son loved football. Was his career actually over? If not, how long would it take to get back from this? Would he ever be the same player?

“I’m not going to sit here and say I didn’t think about those things at all, but to him, I just stayed there and tried to be positive,” Nathan said.

Knowing his son’s strength kept him going.

Lathan has loved football since he was a kid. He’s also been a big dreamer. He has big expectations for himself, works hard, accomplishes his goals and moves to the next one.

So if Lathan was determined to come back from this injury, Nathan knew it was possible. Still, the road to recovery was harder than anybody imagined. There were days spent at the hospital following surgery. Only Linda could be with him because of strict COVID-19 protocols. There was a long month living in “survival mode,” as Nathan called it, just managing the pain before a grueling rehab.

“That was one of the worst days for our family and our son. It has to be number one,” Nathan said. “I’ll never watch the Rose Bowl again.”

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As traumatizing as that day was, in some ways, it prepared Lathan for the season he’s having now. He didn’t want to be defined by his broken leg.

To make sure of that, he put in countless hours behind the scenes during the offseason. There was rehab, but also film study, weight room work on his upper body and phone calls home multiple times a day.

Now a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, Ransom has been named one of the best safeties in the country, changing the narrative of his journey at Ohio State.

“He’s mentally and physically as strong as I think he ever would be at this point in his career because of what he’s gone through,” Nathan said.

Going into survival mode

Linda and Nathan reside in Arizona, so it’s hard for them to consistently make the trip to Columbus for Ohio State games. They weren’t about to miss the Rose Bowl, though.

It’s one of the biggest games in college football each year. It’s also just 45 minutes away from Nathan’s parents home in Huntington Beach, Calif., so Lathan had a decent crowd on hand to watch the final game of his sophomore season. Although it ended in a horrific way, it was somewhat of a blessing in disguise.

Instead of putting him on a plane days after surgery, Lathan’s family was able to stay together at his grandparent’s house in Huntington Beach. He got home-cooked meals and wasn’t confined to a hotel or his apartment.

While they were in California, the Ransom family received calls from numerous people back in Columbus to check on them. One was from Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who set up a flight for the family back to their home in Tucson, Ariz. Smith also arranged a private flight for Lathan from Tucson back to Columbus when it was time to return to school.

“I can’t thank him enough. It was extremely generous,” Nathan said. “That was a pretty big deal for a kid that was playing, but he wasn’t a superstar on the team or anything.”

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Before he went back to Columbus, though, Lathan was just trying to get by. He was in excruciating pain simply limping around the house.

Seeing this up close was very difficult for Nathan.

“That got to me,” Nathan said. “The whole time I was trying to stay positive for him.”

Ransom’s bond with his parents helped everybody during this challenging time.

When Lathan left to go back to Ohio State in January, all Nathan could do was put his trust in the staff there to take care of him. This included coaches he had never met, such as new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and safeties coach Perry Eliano. Or those behind the scenes like Adam Stewart, the team’s physical therapist, as well as Kenny Parker and Mickey Marotti in sports performance.

Multiple people played a hand in helping Lathan through a rehab process that pushed him — but also left him wanting to quit sometimes.

“I appreciate them all for pushing me because there were days when I didn’t want to come in and do the extra work, but they helped push me and stayed on top of me,” Ransom said.

Mentally strong

Ransom is no stranger to adversity.

During his sophomore year at Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, Ransom broke his elbow in the 2017 state semifinals. It was a devastating injury for a talented safety who wanted a shot at the state championship game.

That injury changed Ransom. He turned into what Nathan described as an “all-around great high school player.”

It was during this time Ransom dedicated himself to the weight room. Though he couldn’t even lift the bar at the beginning of his rehab, he worked his way back and added strength. Then Ransom focused on his footwork.

Been facing adversity my whole life, I ain’t done yet… pic.twitter.com/N4yVBKAjYC

— LR12 (@L8thanRansom) June 10, 2022

“He had to work on that part of the game. He takes challenges on, like, ‘I broke this, so what can I do now?’” Nathan said.

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Ransom kept that same mindset while he was rehabbing his leg this past offseason. Standing on the sidelines throughout the spring was hard. With a new coordinator, position coach and scheme to learn, he desperately wanted to be on the field. He missed the feeling of putting a helmet on, hitting somebody and just running around with his friends.

But being patient with the process was the most important thing, and that’s what he kept telling himself.

Walking without a limp was a win. Sending his dad videos of him running in a pool full of water was a win. Then the pool became half-empty. Another win. And then it was empty. Win.

There were also videos of him running straight, but not yet moving laterally. Everything had to be taken as a small victory.

The moment Nathan received video of his son walking without a limp was emotional.

“That was amazing,” Nathan said. “I choke up all the time with that whole process.”

Being physically ready wasn’t enough for Ransom, though. With new coaches who had yet to see him on the field, he couldn’t afford to fall behind with the playbook.

Instead of standing on the sidelines on crutches during spring workouts feeling bad for himself, Ransom was watching intently. He watched Ronnie Hickman, transfer Tanner McCalister, Josh Proctor, Kourt Williams and anybody he could. He took mental notes of all of their good plays and mistakes. Then he went to the film and watched them again, envisioning himself in that position.

“The mistakes I saw the people in front of me make first helped me learn faster,” he said. “Watching Rocket (Hickman) make plays and Proc make plays and Kourt make plays in the defense was making me excited. They helped me learn without even trying.”

Eliano called Ransom’s work in the offseason “off the charts.”

Nathan was more concerned about just getting Lathan healthy for the season than his depth chart position. He knew that if his son got on the field in his natural position, at free or strong safety, the rest would take care of itself.

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Still, as the months ran long he became more and more impressed by the man his son had become.

It wasn’t the fact that Ransom was recovering from the devastating leg injury. It was the way he applied himself to being a complete football player — again — that stood out.

“I think everything happens for a reason and he learned how to be a full, 100 percent college football player. On the field, classes, behind the scenes,” Nathan said. “It’s great to see it’s paying off for him.”

Right before fall camp began, the Ransom family received the good news. Lathan was given the go-ahead to return to the field.

“I think everybody counted him out,” Nathan said, ”and he was like, ‘Nah this is what I came here for.’”

Reckless abandon and fitting the defense perfectly

Ransom’s first practice of fall camp was emotional.

“It just felt good to put a helmet on again,” he said.

But the real test came once he started tackling. It took him a few practices, but he soon felt like himself again. Nathan could hear it in his son’s voice.

“I was like, ‘OK he’s back,’” he said.

But what does “back” mean for Ransom?

Growing up, Ransom was always an aggressive safety. In Pop Warner, he earned the nickname “Lights Out Lathan,” because when he hit you, it was loud and you felt it.

“He would hit you and you’d be out,” Nathan said.

He still plays the same way. He told himself before he was even cleared for practice that when he stepped back onto the field he wasn’t going to hold back.

“I tried to tell myself if I think about my leg or I’m thinking about this or that I’m not going to play the way I want,” Ransom said. “At the end of the day I do what I need to do to prepare myself in practice and the rehab room with (Adam Stewart), and once I’m on the practice field I’m Lathan, ain’t no leg, no nothing.”

Knowles sees it too.

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“He is one of those guys that never shows fear or frustration or fatigue,” Knowles said. “Some guys have that ability to just run through a wall and not be phased by it. He’s one of those guys.”

Back in his natural position, Ransom is shining on the field. Knowles’ defense relies on good, consistent safety play. And that is what the Buckeyes are getting thanks to Ransom, Hickman, McCalister, Proctor and others.

He’s been strong in the box, tallying 45 tackles, the most among Ohio State safeties. He’s made some impressive plays in coverage as the deep safety, as well, with one interception and one pass breakup. He even played some corner against Iowa.

That versatility will only help him in the NFL. Ransom isn’t thinking about that yet, though. He has a singular focus: winning a national championship.

On Oct. 24, Ransom woke up to a bunch of messages on his phone following the Jim Thorpe Award semifinalists announcement.

The Jim Thorpe Award, which recognizes the best safety in the country, was something he dreamed about when he was a kid. Ransom doesn’t often take time to think about those awards, especially during the season. His parents told him to take a minute to enjoy this one, though.

“Ever since the injury, he’s like, ‘This journey doesn’t end for me, I’m going to keep grinding and be great. I don’t care about the other stuff, I’m going to be great,’” Nathan said. “He was definitely happy, though. I was like, ‘Yo, this is awesome.’”

Ransom’s last 10 months have been a whirlwind. From suffering a devastating leg injury to emerging as one of the nation’s best safeties, he has experienced nearly every high and low.

So after talking with his parents, he took some time to appreciate the honor. Not long, though.

“I gave myself about a half a second,” he said with a laugh.

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The big dreamer from Arizona tries not to think about how far he’s come, only where he’s going. But when he does, there’s only one way to describe it.

“It’s crazy,” Ransom said.

(Photo: Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)

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