Ohio State's Melvin Fellows making noise on the defensive line in spring practice
Published: Friday, April 15, 2011
By Doug Lesmerises, The Plain Dealer
COLUMBUS, Ohio ? Ohio State will hold a second spring scrimmage this morning, and defensive end Melvin Fellows probably hopes this one goes much like last Saturday's.
Looking to contribute for the first time entering his third season in Columbus, Fellows, at 6-5 and 270 pounds, is just the kind of sizeable defensive end the Buckeyes need on one edge of their line, the role Cameron Heyward played a year ago. At the moment, after two years of knee issues, Fellows is looking to add anything to the Buckeyes.
His sack in last week's scrimmage on quarterback Kenny Guiton, and the way he flushed Braxton Miller out of the pocket and into a sack on another play, were what Ohio State is looking for. Those plays came against the second team offensive line, with Fellows working in right now with other inexperienced players hoping to make the eight- or nine-man rotation on the defensive line.
A clear top five seems to have emerged on the defensive line with senior Nathan Williams, junior John Simon, junior Garrett Goebel, sophomore Adam Bellamy and sophomore Johnathan Hankins. Fellows, a Garfield Heights graduate, is part of the next tier that includes junior Solomon Thomas, redshirt freshmen J.T. Moore and Darryl Baldwin and early-enrolled freshman Joel Hale.
In 2009, coming off left knee surgery in the spring, Fellows took a redshirt season. In 2010, he seemed healthy during preseason camp in August, but nagging knee issues helped contribute to him only getting into five games and playing 11 minutes as a redshirt freshman. This spring, the former No. 22 overall prospect in the Class of 2009, according to scout.com, has been one of the players catching the eyes of his teammates.
Ohio State University photo
After having knee problems for two seasons, defensive end Melvin Fellows is finally healthy and making plays, good news for a defense that must replace playmaking end Cameron Heyward.
"He's got long arms and he's got a good punch, and he can get a hold of guys and whip them around," OSU right tackle J.B. Shugarts said. "He's a hard worker, and coming back from injury he's had to work twice as hard. He's ready to step into that role of a guy like Cameron Heyward."
"I think confidence and playing more will help him out," Williams said. "Even if he is banged up, he'll have confidence to go on the field and do a good job because he has that chance now. He's done a good job handling his injuries and getting treatment for his injuries, and that's all he can do. His confidence will go up as he gets better."
