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Legend
I really like the potential in projected starters in the front, but an immensely concerned with the depth. McDonald and Houston can be a devastating interior duo - next level stuff.
At the very least I think Jackson and Curry will be solid - but again really worried about what’s behind them to spell them while maintaining pressure. It’s a long season.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Spring Position Preview: Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese Bring Experience to Ohio State Linebacker Room With High Upside
Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese enter spring practice as established pieces for Ohio State at linebacker, but more upside could still lie in store at the position.
Spring Position Preview: Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese Bring Experience to Ohio State Linebacker Room With High Upside
In Line to Start: Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese
Styles was the most improved player on Ohio State’s defense by the end of last season, closing his campaign with 100 tackles, second on the team to only Simon. He also had 11 tackles for loss, six sacks, five pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery after a few rough patches early in the year.Growing pains were to be expected from Styles, who played his first two seasons as a Buckeye at the safety position. His move to linebacker occurred in the spring of 2024. After a two-sack, two-PBU performance at Northwestern, Styles was a consistent star for the Silver Bullets and racked up nine tackles with three TFLs and a sack in the Buckeyes’ 28-14 Cotton Bowl win over Texas in the CFP semifinals.
“I know Sonny has big goals and he should,” Laurinaitis said on Friday. “I do as well for him, and to see how far he's come – first thing kind of stands out is his footwork has gotten so much better. When you're in the box as a linebacker, you gotta be able to remember, Luke Fickell used to say it all the time, ‘You gotta be slow until it's time to be fast.’ When you're twitchy like he is, a lot of times when you're at safety, you're used to pulling the trigger and rolling. You gotta learn how to shuffle and not cross over. And he got so much better as the year went on.”
Styles grew as a leader throughout the campaign, too. Simon thinks the Pickerington native should take up his mantle as the Buckeyes’ Block ‘O’ jersey recipient.
“I mean, I don't want to give away or I don't know anything about who, but I mean, if I were to choose, I would probably say Sonny Styles,” Simon said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. “He's putting the work in. He's done everything you need to do. And he's gonna be a leader for that team next year. And I hope they look to him for guidance. Because he's done it before, he's been a high-level player.”
Last year’s Ohio State defense had Styles at Will linebacker, which is likely to be his spot in 2025, though he made one start at Mike to open the 2024 campaign and Laurinaitis said he’s perfectly capable of playing that position, too. But the heir apparent to Simon there is Reese.
Reese overtook then-junior C.J. Hicks as a sophomore on the Buckeyes’ depth chart in 2024 and showcased why in his brief rotation work and utilization in 4-3 packages. He played 307 defensive snaps last year, which trailed only Styles and Simon at linebacker, and flashed his fast-twitch athleticism with 43 tackles and four TFLs.
“I think we just have a lot of guys with a lot of length. You talk about Sonny Styles, long, can run. Arvell Reese, long, can run,” Laurinaitis said. “Like, it's crazy because you see Sonny and you're like, ‘OK, this guy, I wish I was built like that when I played.’ And then you see Arvell stand next to Sonny. You're like, ‘Heck.’”
If Reese pays off those flashes with consistent production in his first season as a starter, the Buckeyes’ linebacker tandem will be among the nation’s elite as it was at the end of 2024.
The Depth
Beyond Styles and Reese, the only other upperclassman Ohio State linebacker – Hicks is now on the edge – is redshirt junior and Duquesne transfer Ty Howard. But as spring begins, it seems the No. 3 man on Laurinaitis’ depth chart is sophomore Payton Pierce. He was always the third name out of the mouth of the linebackers coach on Friday when he started listing options to play a role.
"I think going into (the spring), I think it's Sonny, Arvell, Payton’s right up there in that mix," Laurinaitis said. "And then it's like, who else is going to emerge for really the fourth guy? I think that's a healthy way to put it."
Pierce’s development was delayed a touch after he suffered a season-ending leg injury in his senior year of high school that caused him to miss spring practice as a freshman, but his talent is clear. A four-star prospect ranked 204th overall in the recruiting class of 2024, he had an incredible 181 tackles his senior year playing for Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas.
Fellow four-star 2024 prospect Garrett Stover, cousin of former Ohio State tight end Cade Stover, will be among the challengers for that No. 4 spot Laurinaitis mentioned this spring. All three of Ohio State’s 2025 linebacker signees will participate in spring practice as midyear enrollees, with four-stars Riley Pettijohn and Tarvos Alford possessing the capability to make a climb early in their careers.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Spring Position Preview: Kenyatta Jackson Jr. Ready to Stake Claim As Leader, Four New Starters Try to Emerge on Ohio State Defensive Line
Larry Johnson is calling on Kenyatta Jackson Jr. to be the “leader” of Ohio State's defensive line room as the Buckeyes break in four new starters this spring.
Spring Position Preview: Kenyatta Jackson Jr. Ready to Stake Claim As Leader, Four New Starters Try to Emerge on Ohio State Defensive Line
In Line to Start: Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Kayden McDonald, Eddrick Houston, Caden Curry
Coming off of 2024, it feels that this quartet is the next wave for Ohio State, but there will be challengers as they have varying levels of experience.Of those in line to start, the most clear-cut is Jackson. It feels the last two seasons have built to this moment for him, and to a slightly lesser extent Curry, at defensive end. Jackson played 314 snaps in relief of Sawyer and Tuimoloau last season, the second-most of any non-starter on defense, trailing only the 319 snaps of backup cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. He was also the team’s third-most-used DE as a redshirt freshman in 2023.
Jackson picked up 16 tackles with three tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2024. Coming into his redshirt junior year, Johnson expects Jackson to take charge of the entire defensive line unit.
“He’s got to be our leader, first of all,” Johnson said. “That’s our role for him. He has not been in (a position) to be the leader, move the unit. And so far, he's done a great job of doing that. Now he's going to be the guy who's going to have to demonstrate the production for us and move the yardstick for us at defensive end. And I think he has a chance to do that. Now he’s gonna play 40, 50 plays (a game), we’ll see him more. And I think we'll see his talent come to the front.”
Curry collected 22 tackles, 3.5 TFLs and 2.5 sacks in 229 snaps last year, featured not only as a defensive end but as a three-technique defensive tackle in a few specialty pass rush packages. He and Jackson are both composite top-130 prospects from the recruiting class of 2022, and after spending three seasons each waiting behind more veteran players, now is their opportunity to chart their own legacy at Ohio State.
Entering his senior year, Curry’s clock is running thinner than Jackson, as he didn’t take a redshirt while his classmate did their first year. He’s always had the athletic tools and motor to be a stout wrecking ball at defensive end, now will be his chance to pay off that potential.
Speaking of athletic tools, there aren’t a lot of 325-pound defensive linemen with as much quickness as McDonald. He’s an obvious replacement for Hamilton at nose guard and was quietly one of Ohio State’s most important sub-package defenders in 2024, manning the middle of a legendary goal-line defense and making several key plays on memorable stands. He finished the year with 19 tackles and 1.5 TFLs.
Lastly, there’s Houston, the sophomore who overtook three more veteran players as a freshman to be Williams’ backup at the end of 2024 despite coming to Columbus as a five-star defensive end prospect. He made his first career start against Purdue in November and played 141 snaps, picking up seven tackles with two pass breakups.
Houston is the front-runner to start at 3-tech, assuming he stays on the interior, but some of the veterans he passed on the depth chart last season will make their own bids for that role.
Competing to Start: C.J. Hicks, Jason Moore, Tywone Malone
Like Curry and Jackson, Hicks is in his fourth year at Ohio State. Hicks, like Curry, is a senior with one opportunity to make a name for himself. But his path has been quite different.At this time last offseason, Hicks was considered a candidate to start at linebacker alongside Cody Simon, but it became evident early in preseason camp that Sonny Styles would win their position battle. It wasn’t long before then-redshirt freshman Arvell Reese passed him on the linebacker depth chart, too.
Most five-star prospects like Hicks are expected to pop by the end of their third year with the Buckeyes. But there’s a good chance the best fit for his skill set has always been as a dedicated stand-up rush end, similar to the mold Will Anderson fit for Alabama en route to a fifth-place finish in Heisman Trophy voting in 2022. He flashed potential in that role with a two-sack performance at Northwestern in November.
Malone and Moore are two of the three above-mentioned defensive tackles that Houston passed on Ohio State’s depth chart in 2024, the other being Hero Kanu, who transferred to Texas after the season’s end. Johnson called Moore, a redshirt sophomore and top-70 prospect, the “ideal” three-tech for the Buckeyes’ defense last spring. He ultimately only saw the seventh-most snaps (57) at defensive tackle last year, though, making two tackles.
The fifth-year senior Malone, himself a four-star prospect and a transfer from Ole Miss, made his first career start over Kanu, Moore and Houston against Marshall last season but saw a total of just 22 snaps in Ohio State’s final seven games. He recorded eight tackles.
Either man could push Houston or even McDonald in a renewed position battle, though last season would indicate they are fighting from below them on the totem pole to start spring practice.
The Depth
Junior Logan George figures to be a rotational piece at defensive end after transferring in from FCS Idaho State. His stat line indicated a step up in competition was warranted – he had 57 tackles, 19.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 2024. His run defense and motor could make him a dependable early-down option if his game translates to the Big Ten.“(I was) talking to his coach (who) was really, really raving about him as a player,” Johnson said of George. “And then once we sit down and met and talked, I felt like he fit our room. Creates crowds. Can rush. He plays hard. Everything you want to see, you've got to have, he has. And so I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.”
This year will also be a test to see if redshirt sophomore defensive end Joshua Mickens can start battling for reps and proving his pedigree as a top-120 prospect. Similarly, at defensive tackle, redshirt sophomore Buckeye legacy Will Smith Jr. and redshirt freshman Eric Mensah will try to make a few waves.
Three freshmen, defensive end Zion Grady and defensive tackles Jarquez Carter and Trajen Odom, are also now in the defensive line room as midyear enrollees. Defensive end Epi Sitanilei and defensive tackle Maxwell Roy will join them come summertime.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Jaylen McClain, Malik Hartford Could Both Play Big Roles at Safety for Ohio State in 2025
Jaylen McClain and Malik Hartford will compete this spring to start alongside Caleb Downs at safety, but both could end up playing big roles in Ohio State’s 2025 defense either way.
Jaylen McClain, Malik Hartford Could Both Play Big Roles at Safety for Ohio State in 2025
One of Ohio State’s most compelling position battles this spring will be the competition between Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain to start alongside Caleb Downs at safety.
Hartford looked like he was on the fast track toward becoming one of Ohio State’s top safeties as soon as last year when he made two starts filling in for Josh Proctor and played the third-most snaps among Ohio State’s true freshmen (behind only Carnell Tate and Jermaine Mathews Jr.) in 2023. After Ohio State brought in Downs and Hartford missed last spring due to shoulder surgery, however, Hartford ended up playing just 94 defensive snaps as a sophomore with nearly all of them coming late in blowout wins.
One reason why Hartford’s playing time decreased in 2024 was the emergence of McClain, who ended up playing the third-most snaps among safeties and the third-most snaps among true freshmen (behind only Jeremiah Smith and Eddrick Houston) for Ohio State last season. McClain played only 12 more snaps than Hartford, but it was McClain who was called upon to play some snaps at strong safety with the first-team defense against Nebraska when Lathan Ransom missed a game due to injury.
That’s partially because McClain is a natural strong safety, whereas Hartford has spent his first two years at Ohio State primarily lining up at free safety. But it’s also because McClain made a big impression in his first year at Ohio State, quickly demonstrating on the practice field that his potential to be an impact player for the Buckeyes is far greater than his recruiting ranking as the No. 373 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class suggested.
“We probably weren't talking about Jaylen McClain this time of year from that standpoint (playing as a freshman) and what did he do? He showed up early, he stayed late, he did his job as hard as he could possibly do it,” Ohio State safeties coach Matt Guerrieri said last week. “Discipline, routine, consistency, all those things; nothing extraordinary, just doing great at the things that we ask you to do every single day.”
Several of McClain’s Ohio State teammates from last season at the NFL Scouting Combine said they’re expecting big things from McClain this year. Perhaps the most notable praise came from former Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who selected McClain when asked to choose a returning Buckeye that he thought would make a name for himself in 2025.
“I could talk about all the receivers, I'm going to give another position group. I say Jaylen McClain is someone who's really going to step up,” Egbuka said. “He played a little bit in our postseason for us. He's kind of one of those freshmen that just has it all together, has the right mindset going into football. He's going to make a huge splash next season.”
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BuckBackHome
Wolverine is largest member of weasel family
What we learned about Ohio State’s defense from the first day of spring practice
Ohio State's defense has a lot of new faces. Here's what stood out on day one of spring ball.
www.cleveland.com
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry are finally in position to be Ohio State’s starting defensive ends.
At this time two years ago, it appeared that Curry and Jackson could be just one year away from becoming Ohio State’s starters on the edge, as Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau were both viewed as candidates to leave for the NFL draft after three years. When Tuimoloau and Sawyer both returned for their senior seasons, however, Jackson and Curry were forced to wait their turn to be starters for one more year.
Now entering their fourth year at Ohio State, Curry and Jackson are finally getting their chance to lead the Buckeyes’ defensive line. And they’re both hungry to show what they can do in a starring role.
“I wanna show that we're still the best D-line in the nation,” Curry said Tuesday.
While this year is their first opportunity to become starters, Curry and Jackson have still seen plenty of significant playing time over the last three years. They’ve been Ohio State’s top backup defensive ends behind Sawyer and Tuimoloau for each of the past two seasons; dating back to their freshman year, Jackson has played 514 snaps while Curry has played 477, per Pro Football Focus. Both of them have flashed playmaking ability in limited action; Curry has recorded 45 tackles with 10 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks while Jackson has tallied 25 tackles with six tackles for loss and three sacks.
They haven’t yet had the opportunity to prove that they’re players Ohio State can rely on to lead its pass rush and run-stopping efforts while playing 40-plus snaps a game. But they’re working hard to prove that they can be those players.
“Me and KJ and C.J. (Hicks) are all trying to take that leadership role and just trying to kind of push the guys and push to be the best version of themselves every day,” said Curry, a senior in his final year of eligibility. “We're definitely trying to take that next step.”
Now that they are at the top of the depth chart at defensive end, both of them said this spring has felt different than past years.
“I'll say it totally feels different,” said Jackson, who still has two years of eligibility after redshirting as a true freshman. “It really didn't hit me until the first practice of spring, but you know, it feels good.”
Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson has challenged both of them to step up as leaders and is pleased with how they’ve responded to that challenge along with some of the Buckeyes’ other veteran defensive linemen so far.
“I think there’s about four or five guys really trying to take over that role. I think KJ's done a great job. And I think Caden Curry's there also. And I would say (defensive tackle Tywone Malone) is starting to come to the front,” Johnson said. “So, I think there really has got to be a group leadership thing to pull this together. And I kind of like what we're doing right now.”
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
Will be hard for anyone to replace all four starters along the DL, with all four probably being drafted by NFL. But if anyone can do it, tOSU can. We'll see how well they perform in week one, against Texas, playing an elite OL. Tough going against a national contender right out of the chute, without 2-3 body bag games first. Great opportunity for tOSU to set the tone for the entire year. But we lost a lot of experience, that can only be made up by playing games, and making good decisions along the way. Go Bucks!
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Captain Buckeye
Assistant Coach
I have to admit I’m holding my breath a bit with this DL. Jackson and Curry are fairly light vs the run and then there’s the obvious depth issues at DT. I think the tools are there in the back 7 but we are really going to need to luck out and get someone out of the portal that surprisingly enters.
Even just 1 impact guy would be enormous especially at DT. I think we can get pressure off the edge or with the blitz. There’s just no replacement for wrecking a play inside though and that’s what we need.
I joked that if we had any thoughts about getting the kid from Tennessee… we would be much much better off spending the 4 mil on 4 DL kids.
Even just 1 impact guy would be enormous especially at DT. I think we can get pressure off the edge or with the blitz. There’s just no replacement for wrecking a play inside though and that’s what we need.
I joked that if we had any thoughts about getting the kid from Tennessee… we would be much much better off spending the 4 mil on 4 DL kids.
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