COLUMBUS — After a flurry of hits to its roster via the transfer portal over the past week, Ohio State got some welcomed news on Dec. 12 as several key players announced they will play in the Buckeyes’ Dec. 29 Cotton Bowl matchup against Missouri.

Led by receiver and likely high draft pick Emeka Egbuka, a total of six draft-eligible juniors announced their intentions to suit up at least one more time in college. Other players opting to play in the Cotton Bowl included Denzel Burke, Jack Sawyer, Donovan Jackson, Tyleik Williams, and Jordan Hancock.

“I think it’s important to end the season on the right note with a win against a really good team, and I’m excited to have another chance to be on the field with my brothers,” Egbuka said on Tuesday.

Asked about the reasoning behind his decision, Egbuka said every chance to step on the field should never be taken for granted, and he didn’t want to pass up on the privilege to do so one more time this season.

“Playing football, we’re blessed to be able to do so, and you never know when an injury might come or your opportunities to play with some of your best friends might run out,” he said. “Just getting the opportunity to go down to a great venue in Dallas and play against an opponent that’s really good is a blessing in itself, so that’s something I didn’t want to pass up. And it’s just another opportunity to showcase my abilities.”

For Sawyer, the Cotton Bowl represents a chance to partially remove the lingering bad taste resulting from Ohio State’s loss to Michigan last month.

“We gotta go out the right way,” Sawyer said. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t finish the season out the way we wanted to with the last game for our seniors and guys who deserved it, so we need to really go out with a good win and put on a good performance to send guys out the right way.”

Like each of the other five juniors who spoke on Tuesday, Burke said he remains undecided about his future but is currently focused only on playing in —and winning —the Cotton Bowl.

“It’s horrible,” Burke said of the aftermath of losing to Michigan. “We didn’t get the job done, but we’re just looking forward to finishing the season strong and finishing it on a good note so we can have momentum going into the 2024 season.”

Burke added that he expects everyone still on the roster to play in the game, a decision Hancock said was made collectively as a group. Sawyer noted it didn’t take long for the conversations about playing in the Cotton Bowl to take place among teammates.

“It happened immediately once we knew where we were going,” Sawyer said. “We all just talked about finishing the season and going out (strong) because we don’t know what a lot of guys are going to do at the end of the year. In case some guys leave, we want to send guys out the right way and play together one last time, and give it all we got for Columbus and the state of Ohio to give all the fans and the people a reminder that we still had a good year and that this team’s not done.”

While none of the juniors were ready to announce their future plans, one player did say he would return for another season. Linebacker Cody Simon, who started two games in the absence of Tommy Eichenberg, will utilize his COVID-19 waiver to play a fifth season at Ohio State.

Simon recorded 45 tackles in mostly rotational duties this season, and he likely gives defensive coordinator Jim Knowles a natural replacement for the loss of Eichenberg, who was named the top linebacker in the Big Ten following the conclusion of the regular season.

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.