Current or Former Buckeyes Caleb Downs, Emeka Egbuka, Will Howard, Hunter Armstrong, Amani Kimball-McKavish and Cotie McMahon Make Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for Columbus

Six current or former Buckeye competitors were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Local Columbus Class of 2025 on Thursday. Ohio State football safety Caleb Downs, former quarterback Will Howard, former wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, Buckeye women’s lacrosse midfielder Amani Kimball-McKavish, former Ohio State swimmer Hunter Armstrong and former women’s basketball player Cotie McMahon (now of Ole Miss) were all recognized.

In addition to being the best safety in college football, Downs cofounded Launch Point, an NIL platform that pairs athletes with top brands. Through his own NIL efforts he has partnered with the likes of Armani, DSW, A-Game hydration and more. He spoke at a special press event unveiling the 30 under 30 Columbus list.

“I feel like you have to know yourself to have a good brand,” Downs said. “For me, I feel myself is faith, family, football, and those are the things that really matter to me. So every brand that I sign with, I try to align those three things with it. I feel like that’s worked out for me pretty well for now, I’m gonna continue to do that. Every brand that I work with, I try to find ways to incorporate it to help the community.”

Howard quarterbacked Ohio State to the 2024 national championship before getting selected in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he also quarterbacks a youth football camp in partnership with Raising Canes’. He’s a brand ambassador for CarsX and partners with Proctor & Gamble and Cirkl, among others.

Egbuka, like Downs and Howard, has leveraged his brand as the Buckeyes’ career receptions leader and a national champion to secure some big-name NIL deals such as Celsius Energy, EA Sports and Casey’s. The real business will start now that he’s signed his $18.1 million rookie contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, however, as the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the draft.

Armstrong is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and seven-time world champion in the pool, and has since returned to Columbus to help coach the Buckeyes’ current swimmers while also volunteering his time with children. Kimball-McKavish is perhaps the most accomplished entrepeneur of the group, securing $50,000 in funding to launch her startup PROSscored Virtual Arena, a broadcasting and media production company. It hosts live events and classes for a variety of sports including cheer, dance, swimming and track and field among others.