It’s still early in the 2021 season, and a number of Ohio State freshmen and transfers continue to shed their black stripes.

Tuesday evening, a couple of new Buckeyes have earned the distinction of getting to remove their black stripes. The first one came with transfer kicker Noah Ruggles out of North Carolina. He shed his stripe after a successful debut kicking against Minnesota.

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After Ruggles’ announcement, Ohio State also announced that true freshman Jayden Ballard has shed stripe. Ballard was a 4-star wide receiver for the class of 2021:

“I just want to thank all of y’all for pushing me every day, and I appreciate all of y’all,” said Ballard. “I want to shout out zone 6, Go Bucks!”

Ballard joined the Buckeyes as the 99th overall prospect in the nation for 2021. He was also rated the No. 15 WR in the country by the industry-generated composite rankings.