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Former Ohio State safeties land with Cleveland Browns in UDFA signings

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Former Ohio State safeties Ronnie Hickman Jr. and Tanner McCalister don’t have too far to go to NFL camp.

Both players landed free-agent deals with the Cleveland Browns after the conclusion of the 2023 NFL Draft.

Hickman spent 4 years with the Buckeyes, playing in 31 games for OSU. He was a starter for the last 26 games over the 2021 and ’22 seasons.

In 3 seasons of on-the-field action, Hickman recorded 158 career tackles. He earned second-team All-America recognition from the Associated Press in 2022 after recording 53 tackles, 7 pass breakups and an interception.

McCalister joined Ohio State as a graduate transfer in 2022 after playing at Oklahoma State, where Jim Knowles was previously defensive coordinator. A 12-game starter, McCalister recorded 24 tackles and a team-best 3 interceptions plus one pass break-up in 2022.

The 2 safeties will try to make the roster in Cleveland. We’ll see how it goes for them.

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.