Michael Citro
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J.T. Tuimoloau enters final season still looking to write his Ohio State legacy
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
After arriving with high expectations, the defensive end has one season left to leave his mark on the OSU football program.
Every day from now until the start of the season, Land-Grant Holy Land is highlighting Ohio State football players that you should be watching this season. Check out all of our ”Player to Watch” articles to get ready for the season opener against Akron.
There’s no doubt Ohio State defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau arrived on campus with high expectations. After all, he was Ohio State’s highest-rated defensive prospect since the turn of the century — the No. 1 overall recruit according to 247Sports.com.
A freak athlete and multi-sport star, Tuimoloau had basketball scholarship offers as well as football when he came out of Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish, Washington, after helping lead his school to back-to-back 3A state titles in 2018 and 2019.
As we approach his senior season in Columbus, Tuimoloau has performed well, but it’s safe to say he has not met some of the lofty expectations set by his recruiting rankings. Ohio State fans had been used to seeing the Bosa brothers and Chase Young get after the quarterback. Many of them assumed Tuimoloau would be the next monster OSU defensive end, and potentially better than those who came before him.
It hasn’t turned out that way so far, but Tuimoloau has had some special games. Few Buckeye fans will forget his mammoth performance at No. 7 Penn State in 2022, when he exploded for three tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and six total tackles, leading Ohio State to a 44-31 victory in Happy Valley.
Now he has one more opportunity to play more consistently and leave behind a lasting and special legacy at Ohio State.
Tuimoloau was a late commit to the Buckeyes, becoming the final member of the Buckeyes’ 2021 class when he gave his commitment on the Fourth of July that year. As a result, Tuimoloau was not an early enrollee and arrived in preseason camp having to play catch-up in learning the system and simply how to be a college football player instead of a high school star.
Still, as a true freshman, Tuimoloau played in 13 games, tallying 17 tackles (eight solo), 4.5 tackles for loss (for a total of 30 yards), 2.5 sacks, a quarterback hurry, and a pass breakup. It wasn’t the explosive start to his career that many fans expected, but it was a solid start.
Tuimoloau played in 13 games his sophomore season and nearly doubled his tackles, registering 28 (17 solo). He finished with 11 tackles for loss (netting 41 yards for the Buckeye defense), four sacks, the two interceptions against Penn State (one of which went for a touchdown), four quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble. His season was good enough to make him a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25559227/1438279024.jpg "Ohio State v Penn State")
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
It appeared Tuimoloau was poised to break out in 2023. However, he had a bit of a slow start to the season. In Ohio State’s first three games of last season, Tuimoloau totaled just seven tackles (three solo — all against Indiana in the season opener), 0.5 tackles for loss, no sacks, and just one quarterback hurry.
Tuimoloau seemed to jump-start his season on the road against No. 14 Notre Dame. He posted six tackles (three solo), half a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. Although he didn’t record a sack, he did so in the next three games, netting 1.5 against both Maryland and Purdue and adding another against Penn State. He notched seven tackles, five TFLs, four sacks, two quarterback hurries, and a pass breakup over those three games.
The rest of Tuimoloau’s season was rather pedestrian — at least statistically. Only three of his 18 tackles over the final six games were solo stops, although he had a big game against Rutgers, recording seven total tackles. He only registered one sack, two TFLs, and three quarterback hurries over the Buckeyes’ final half dozen games of 2023.
In total, Tuimoloau finished 2023 with a career-high 38 tackles (12 solo), seven tackles for loss (for 46 yards), five sacks (another career high), six quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups. He was impressive enough to become a unanimous (media and coaches) first-team All-Big Ten honoree for the season and was named a second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.
Tuimoloau has had a solid career so far at Ohio State, but hardly the one that his high recruiting ranking suggested. He has looked dominant in moments, but has also seemed to go missing at times. Part of that is the nature of college football. Schemes to nullify good players are available in the modern game like never before.
But it turns out there’s one more year for Tuimoloau to blossom into the kind of dominating force that can change games regularly for Ohio State.
While Tuimoloau could have entered the 2024 NFL Draft — something many fans and pundits expected, since he was expected to go in the second round — the defensive end announced on Jan. 12 that he would return for his senior season at Ohio State.
With some unfinished business (beating Michigan and winning a national championship) left to accomplish in his college career, and perhaps the chance to elevate his draft status, the 6-foot-5, 269-pound Tuimoloau has given himself another year to try to achieve his goals, putting off NFL money for another season. It’s a risky move, but it speaks highly of Tuimoloau’s character and motivation to maximize his potential.
If he can do the latter, there’s no reason to doubt he can finally put together the kind of dream season at defensive end that his recruiting rankings suggested.
Continue reading...
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
After arriving with high expectations, the defensive end has one season left to leave his mark on the OSU football program.
Every day from now until the start of the season, Land-Grant Holy Land is highlighting Ohio State football players that you should be watching this season. Check out all of our ”Player to Watch” articles to get ready for the season opener against Akron.
There’s no doubt Ohio State defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau arrived on campus with high expectations. After all, he was Ohio State’s highest-rated defensive prospect since the turn of the century — the No. 1 overall recruit according to 247Sports.com.
A freak athlete and multi-sport star, Tuimoloau had basketball scholarship offers as well as football when he came out of Eastside Catholic School in Sammamish, Washington, after helping lead his school to back-to-back 3A state titles in 2018 and 2019.
As we approach his senior season in Columbus, Tuimoloau has performed well, but it’s safe to say he has not met some of the lofty expectations set by his recruiting rankings. Ohio State fans had been used to seeing the Bosa brothers and Chase Young get after the quarterback. Many of them assumed Tuimoloau would be the next monster OSU defensive end, and potentially better than those who came before him.
It hasn’t turned out that way so far, but Tuimoloau has had some special games. Few Buckeye fans will forget his mammoth performance at No. 7 Penn State in 2022, when he exploded for three tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and six total tackles, leading Ohio State to a 44-31 victory in Happy Valley.
Now he has one more opportunity to play more consistently and leave behind a lasting and special legacy at Ohio State.
Tuimoloau was a late commit to the Buckeyes, becoming the final member of the Buckeyes’ 2021 class when he gave his commitment on the Fourth of July that year. As a result, Tuimoloau was not an early enrollee and arrived in preseason camp having to play catch-up in learning the system and simply how to be a college football player instead of a high school star.
Still, as a true freshman, Tuimoloau played in 13 games, tallying 17 tackles (eight solo), 4.5 tackles for loss (for a total of 30 yards), 2.5 sacks, a quarterback hurry, and a pass breakup. It wasn’t the explosive start to his career that many fans expected, but it was a solid start.
Tuimoloau played in 13 games his sophomore season and nearly doubled his tackles, registering 28 (17 solo). He finished with 11 tackles for loss (netting 41 yards for the Buckeye defense), four sacks, the two interceptions against Penn State (one of which went for a touchdown), four quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, and a forced fumble. His season was good enough to make him a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media.
It appeared Tuimoloau was poised to break out in 2023. However, he had a bit of a slow start to the season. In Ohio State’s first three games of last season, Tuimoloau totaled just seven tackles (three solo — all against Indiana in the season opener), 0.5 tackles for loss, no sacks, and just one quarterback hurry.
Tuimoloau seemed to jump-start his season on the road against No. 14 Notre Dame. He posted six tackles (three solo), half a tackle for loss, and a pass breakup. Although he didn’t record a sack, he did so in the next three games, netting 1.5 against both Maryland and Purdue and adding another against Penn State. He notched seven tackles, five TFLs, four sacks, two quarterback hurries, and a pass breakup over those three games.
The rest of Tuimoloau’s season was rather pedestrian — at least statistically. Only three of his 18 tackles over the final six games were solo stops, although he had a big game against Rutgers, recording seven total tackles. He only registered one sack, two TFLs, and three quarterback hurries over the Buckeyes’ final half dozen games of 2023.
In total, Tuimoloau finished 2023 with a career-high 38 tackles (12 solo), seven tackles for loss (for 46 yards), five sacks (another career high), six quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups. He was impressive enough to become a unanimous (media and coaches) first-team All-Big Ten honoree for the season and was named a second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.
Tuimoloau has had a solid career so far at Ohio State, but hardly the one that his high recruiting ranking suggested. He has looked dominant in moments, but has also seemed to go missing at times. Part of that is the nature of college football. Schemes to nullify good players are available in the modern game like never before.
But it turns out there’s one more year for Tuimoloau to blossom into the kind of dominating force that can change games regularly for Ohio State.
While Tuimoloau could have entered the 2024 NFL Draft — something many fans and pundits expected, since he was expected to go in the second round — the defensive end announced on Jan. 12 that he would return for his senior season at Ohio State.
With some unfinished business (beating Michigan and winning a national championship) left to accomplish in his college career, and perhaps the chance to elevate his draft status, the 6-foot-5, 269-pound Tuimoloau has given himself another year to try to achieve his goals, putting off NFL money for another season. It’s a risky move, but it speaks highly of Tuimoloau’s character and motivation to maximize his potential.
If he can do the latter, there’s no reason to doubt he can finally put together the kind of dream season at defensive end that his recruiting rankings suggested.
Continue reading...