Link
Buckeyes' young D covers mistakes with exuberance
BY JON SPENCER | (MANSFIELD, OHIO) NEWS JOURNAL
COLUMBUS - Six. That's how many Buckeyes were drafted by NFL teams off the Ohio State defense last season. It's also the puny number of interceptions and fumble recoveries made by that acclaimed and highly-decorated unit.
See the ball, get the ball. How hard can it be?
Apparently not that hard when youthful exuberance is covering up a multitude of sins.
Despite nine new starters, and 13 freshmen or sophomores on the defensive two-deep, the 2006 model driven out of the shop by co-coordinators Jim Heacock and Luke Fickell has already produced six turnovers in three games.
"I think we have more of a swarming mentality," sophomore end Vernon Gholston said. "Last year we had a bunch of great guys and everybody was in the right position all the time. There weren't a lot of opportunities. This year, we're flying around, the ball is going up, and you never know who's going to jump out and make a play."
Gholston almost makes it sound like this big-play defense is by accident, that youthful ignorance is bliss, style counts more than substance and it pays to be in the wrong place at the right time.
Hmm, he might be on to something. Even after holding Cincinnati to minus-four yards rushing Saturday (thanks largely to eight sacks), the nation's top-ranked team is eighth among Big Ten teams in run defense and seventh in pass defense
That's in stark contrast to a year ago when OSU led the nation in run defense and the Big Ten in total defense.
So far, the Buckeyes have been able to compensate for their deficiencies with a league-high five interceptions and a ball-jarring hit two weeks ago in Austin, Texas.
When sophomore middle linebacker James Laurinaitis slapped the ball out of Texas wideout Billy Pittman's hands at the OSU 2, it turned into a 14-point swing and propelled Ohio State to a 24-7 win over then-No. 2 Texas.
It was the start of a momentum-stealing trifecta Laurinaitis has already hit in this young season.
He came back in the third quarter of that game to intercept a pass that dealt a severe blow to the Longhorns in their comeback bid. The pro wrestlers' kid (his father is Road Warrior Animal) also body-slammed the Bearcats with an acrobatic pick deep in OSU territory. That happened right before halftime in a game the Buckeyes blew open in the second half.
"I don't know, maybe teams are thinking These guys are young, we can take more chances,' '' said Laurinaitis, who is tied for the Big Ten in interceptions (2) and forced fumbles (2). "But we know people can't just throw the ball up on us."
The rest of the Big Ten might soon know it, too. Sophomore cornerback Malcolm Jenkins had the receiver blanketed when he made a leaping interception near midfield on Saturday. Freshman safety Anderson Russell later made the Bearcats pay for an ill-conceived gadget play when he picked off an illegal forward pass thrown by wide receiver Bill Poland.
"I just think it's a mentality we have as a defense," said Jenkins, the best player in a completely rebuilt secondary. "Our coaches put it on us to get more turnovers and force things to happen. We're flying around more."
Ohio State's five interceptions are one less than it had all last season when the Buckeyes' 12 total takeaways were second-fewest in the Big Ten behind hapless Illinois (8). OSU also ranked 11th in turnover-margin (minus-9), just ahead of the Illini (minus-11).
Heading into Saturday's Big Ten opener at home against Penn State, the Buckeyes are at plus-four - behind Michigan (plus-8) and Minnesota (plus-six) - as the back seven capitalizes on the mistake-inducing pressure applied by the front four.
OSU and Michigan share the Big Ten lead in sacks with 13. Senior tackle Quinn Pitcock, who usually goes about his work quietly, funneling plays to those around him, had three sacks against the Bearcats. Four other defensive linemen have at least one sack, including Gholston, who has three.
"The nice thing about Quinn and David (Patterson, fellow captain and tackle) is they're leaders," Heacock said. "You can say, 'Dave and Quinn, we're not working hard enough.' It's taken care of. 'Dave and Quinn, we're not watching enough film.' It's taken care of. They're like extra coaches on the field."
At times, the Buckeyes have looked like they need extra players on the field. Northern Illinois tailback Garrett Wolfe ripped OSU for 285 yards rushing and receiving. Texas had two tailbacks who averaged 6 yards a carry, stopped only by their coach. Cincinnati, while held to one touchdown like OSU's other two opponents, needed only 2:10 to complete that 80-yard march. UC quarterback Dustin Grutza was 18-for-22 for 202 yards.
So this defense, for all of its yeoman work in Texas, is far from a finished product.
"We still have a lot of work to do and we have to keep getting better every week," Laurinaitis said. "We know we haven't arrived yet."