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Captain Buckeye
Assistant Coach
Defensive line is going to be bigger than past fronts. Every DT is over 300, the defensive ends are both 6’6’ 260+.
All reports are they’re giving the OL everything they can handle so far which is great considering the OL will be among the best.
All reports are they’re giving the OL everything they can handle so far which is great considering the OL will be among the best.
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RugbyBuck
Our church has no bells.
I'm starting to think that this defense is going to be filthy. Great mix of talent, youth, and experience. I love the portal additions, especially the DL guys, and I think working through a schedule, as opposed to last year, that's going to make them work is going to have them right by The Game and into the playoff. Crazy to say, given all the talent that moved on, but this one, with Patricia, could be an even better squad.
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Captain Buckeye
Assistant Coach
We will certainly be tested more this year. The prevailing sentiment is that this team might be the deepest we’ve had under Ryan Day.
The DL should rotate far more, the LBs have 4 dudes, and the secondary is stacked. Legit might have 20 big contributors on defense.
If there’s a year to have depth it’s this one with the schedule we have. I like the move to bigger DTs too. I think that comes from Patricia who had Wilfork for much of his tenure. You can’t teach 2 things in football. Speed and Size. You either have it or you don’t.
Small story about myself, in HS I was the strongest kid in the weight room on the team. Started at fullback my sophomore year and that’s where I should’ve stayed. But they thought I’d be a problem with my quickness as a pulling guard. Well I got my ass kicked vs kids who were 275 (I was 210) and that was the end of that experiment. Bottom line, no replacement for size and the DTs all being over 300 is a big move in philosophy (Perez is at 350 btw).
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scarletngray
Gold Pants
With a long, hard season ahead, depth is going to be essential to THEE reaching its goals.
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AegeanWave
Newbie
Yeah, with that kind of depth, the defense really does look much more interesting. I especially like the move toward bigger DTs. Against powerful offensive lines, that could make a big difference, and if the rotation is as strong as expected, the team should have plenty of depth to get through the whole season.
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Captain Buckeye
Assistant Coach
For sure, you’d just hope we find a good balance of rotation and also we get players out of the game once the game is won. If we are up 28-0 in the third start getting the stars out.
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calibuck
Too soon old, too late smart
With a nod to all of tOSU's vaunted stars of yesteryear, would like to opine that really like that we have good players. Not certain we have a Bosa there, but appears (to me at least), that there's no clear 'star' on the DL, but all seem serviceable. Yeah, yeah, know that one or two (or more) will rise above the others during the season, and that's great, but no one seems to get the pub of being the 'second coming'. Given that LJSr doesn't substitute deep into the team, will want to see who vaults over whom during the season.
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When Ohio State has rolled out its 4-3-3 looks on defense, it's been Payton Pierce at middle linebacker, where he projects as the starter and has been wearing the green dot. The favorite to start alongside him at either the Sam or the Will is going to be Wisconsin transfer Christian Alliegro, with TJ Alford and Riley Pettijohn in the mix for the third spot.
If it's a 4-2-5, it'll be Pierce and Alliegro who will be on the gridiron. In both packages, it'll be Devin Sanchez and Jeremaine Matthews Jr. on the outside, though Matthews did split reps with Kelly during the first practice. As for safeties, Jaylen McClain and Florida State transfer Earl Little Jr. seem to have those spots on lock.
But the biggest news regarding the 4-2-5 package is at the nickel, as five-star freshman Jay Timmons has commanded the majority of the work at the spot.
If it's a 4-2-5, it'll be Pierce and Alliegro who will be on the gridiron. In both packages, it'll be Devin Sanchez and Jeremaine Matthews Jr. on the outside, though Matthews did split reps with Kelly during the first practice. As for safeties, Jaylen McClain and Florida State transfer Earl Little Jr. seem to have those spots on lock.
But the biggest news regarding the 4-2-5 package is at the nickel, as five-star freshman Jay Timmons has commanded the majority of the work at the spot.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
The defensive tackle room is expected to be led by Houston, Walker, James Smith and Will Smith Jr., with all four seeing playing time in the rotation, while Moore has also drawn praise for his development this offseason.
Starting center Carson Hinzman said on Wednesday the defensive tackle group is "awesome" and making the offensive line better.
"I always tell them, 'If you guys wanna really be my buddy, go and thrash some centers for me. I'd really appreciate that.' It's important for us to build that iron sharpens iron mentality. Because they're getting me just as much better (as) I hope I'm getting them," Hinzman said.
Regardless of what the rotation shakes out to be, there's an expectation that the unit will make an impact. Patricia hit on that importance ahead of his second year as a defensive coordinator, mentioning the roles defensive tackles had when he was the defensive coordinator for the New England Patriots.
"It's really hard to replace really good players in the middle of the defense. I do believe that," Patricia said. "I believe it's important to be strong in the middle of the defense, and certainly coming from my background at New England and having guys, like, whether it was Keith Traylor or Vince Wilfork or any of those guys, Ted Washington back in the day. I mean, those are some big boys rolling through there."
While the defensive tackle unit consists of new faces for the most part, the mentality of the group is the same — cause fits on the interior.
"We got a bunch of guys that are hungry and willing to make plays and do whatever to cause havoc on the inside," Walker said Thursday.
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