In a year filled with what feels like infinite obstacles to a college football season, it’s fitting that the Buckeyes have turned to the leadership of a player who has already gotten past so many in his Ohio State tenure.

If the Buckeyes’ season kicks off as scheduled on Sept. 3 in Champaign, Illinois, it will mark the start of Justin Hilliard’s sixth year at Ohio State, but his first as a team captain.

“Sometimes I really have to sit back and reflect over some of the hurdles I’ve had to overcome over the years,” Hilliard said Tuesday.

The COVID-19 pandemic is just the latest in his long list, as the former second-rated player in the state of Ohio has repeatedly climbed back from debilitating injuries to fight his way onto the field.

The St. Xavier product and No. 55 overall recruit in the class of 2015 suffered two separate bicep injuries that slowed his first couple seasons in Columbus to a near standstill in ’15 and ’16, before serviceable production the next two years in a small role.