COLUMBUS — Ohio State started the Block “O” jersey tradition two years ago to honor former Buckeye defensive end Bill Willis by giving the No. 0 jersey to a current player who embodies what Willis did: “toughness, accountability and the highest of character.”

That made senior receiver Kam Babb a shoo-in for the distinction this season.

Babb was named the team’s Block “O” recipient following OSU’s scrimmage on Saturday.

The fifth-year senior from St. Louis has carved out an important leadership role on the team, despite playing in only a handful of games throughout his career while battling a slew of knee injuries.

“He’s the backbone of our team,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said last month at Big Ten media days. “He’s called everybody to be better men. I appreciate him for pushing me and holding me accountable when it comes to that.”

Babb’s importance to the team was underscored last year, when he was voted captain despite the fact that he’d be unavailable for the season following a fourth ACL tear. Babb has appeared in only seven games over his four seasons in the program thanks to injury setbacks. He suffered his first knee injury in high school, and three more since arriving in Columbus.

Despite that, Babb has come back every year, eager to get on the field and add some proudciton to go along with his important role within the locker room.

“Something that’s a mark of a lot of successful people is the ability to be resilient and bounce back from adversity, failure and emotional pain. He is the epitome of that,” head coach Ryan Day said last year after Babb was named captain. “He’s been an unbelievable leader. He’s set the standard. The hard part for Kam is he really just hasn’t spent much time on the field, but his impact has been left already on this program. I know he wants to leave a legacy … He could have walked away two or three times and he hasn’t. He stuck with us.”

Babb had a minor setback in the spring, and what Day called a “tweak” this week in practice. He’s expected to return to full practices soon. And overall his health to this point has him in a position to be a factor at receiver for the first time in his career.

“I definitely think he’ll step up this year with a super big role, just because he’s an older dude,” Stroud said. “That dude can play. He’s nice.”

Regardless of what Babb does on the field this year, he’ll remain one of the most important voices in the locker room and, by virtue of now wearing the Block “O” jersey, the unquestioned heartbeat of the team.

He joins previous Block “O” recipients Jonathon Cooper and Thayer Munford in carrying the honor.

In addition to giving Babb the Block “O” jersey, Ohio State also named six team captains on Saturday.

Babb is a captain for the second-straight year. He’s joined by quarterback C.J. Stroud, tight end Cade Stover, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, defensive end Tyler Friday and safety Kourt Williams. All but Babb are first-time captains.

Captains are determined by team vote. Stroud was the leading vote-getter this year.