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LB Dallas Gant (transfer to Toledo)

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LB: DALLAS GANT

Considering how similar their Ohio State careers have been to this point, this spot on the list really could have gone to any of the Buckeyes’ third-year linebackers, including Gant, Teradja Mitchell and K’Vaughan Pope. Though they’re not necessarily under the radar among Ohio State fans, they haven’t yet had the chance to make names for themselves at the collegiate level, yet all three of them have the talent to potentially break through as impact players in 2020 if Al Washington finds a way to get them on the field.

Playing time aside, Mitchell has generated the most hype (and calls to play from Ohio State fans) among them by virtue of being the No. 44 overall recruit in the class of 2018. Yet Gant, who began the spring practicing as the second-team middle linebacker behind Tuf Borland, is as well positioned as any of them to finally see regular playing time in 2020, given that Baron Browning – who rotated regularly with Borland for the past two seasons – has moved to outside linebacker.

Another player who warrants consideration for this spot as a potential breakout player in 2020 is second-year linebacker Craig Young, who made enough of an impression on his coaches last year that Ohio State opted to burn his redshirt, but with seven upperclassman linebackers on the roster, it’s likely he’ll have to wait his turn for a bigger role until 2021.
 
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THIRD-YEAR OUTLOOK
Because Borland, Werner, Browning and Hilliard are all back for another year, Gant will probably have to wait one more year before he finally gets his chance to be a starter for the Buckeyes. That said, it does appear the door could be open for Gant to finally earn some regular playing time in Ohio State’s linebacker rotation.

With Browning moving to outside linebacker for his senior season, Gant is expected to be Ohio State’s second-team Mike linebacker, the position he has been practicing at primarily since last season. And if the Buckeyes continue to rotate Borland in and out of the lineup as they did with Browning, that could be the chance Gant has awaited to play with the first-team defense week in and week out.

Although Borland’s status as the starting middle linebacker is cemented as a soon-to-be third-time captain, Gant – like Browning – is a rangier athlete who could provide a quality complement to Borland at Mike, particularly on passing downs. And with two years of developing his skill set and learning from Borland, Browning and the rest of Ohio State’s veteran linebackers, he should be ready to play as much as is needed.

“You just gotta go,” Gant said during the Buckeyes’ lone week of spring practice in March. “There's no really telling where people are going to end up. It's up to the coaches and how they see fit, what’s best for the team. So for just me personally, I just come out there and try to do the best I can with whatever I get.”

Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington was noncommittal when asked this spring about what his position group’s depth chart could look like this fall. But he did say that Gant, along with fellow third-year linebackers Mitchell and Pope, are players he will be counting on to step up and be a part of the rotation this year.

“Dallas Gant has got to roll,” Washington said. “When I say roll, they've got to play. And not just play; they've got to play at a high level. It's hard to think, ‘Oh, I'm just (a backup).’ I'm not thinking like that. I'm thinking like, ‘Look, he's going to call my number out there and I dog-gone better be ready to play.’”

In a year where depth could be as important as ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gant’s presence as one of many veterans in the linebacker room will be valuable even if he’s not starting. And he’s planned on working hard every day to show his coaches that they can trust him when called upon.

“Just showing that I know what I’m doing, and that I can compete,” Gant said. “That’s what I’ve been doing since I was a freshman. Just competing and doing the best I can and just showing that I know the defense as well as anybody else.”
 
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TERADJA MITCHELL, DALLAS GANT AND K’VAUGHAN POPE, LB
All three members of Ohio State’s talented trio of junior linebackers could benefit from another year of eligibility, given that they’ve only been sparingly in their first two seasons as Buckeyes and still were unlikely to be starters on defense if a season was played this fall.

With Borland, Werner, Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard all back for their senior seasons, Gant, Mitchell and Pope were all projected to be backups for the third year in a row, leading many to question whether Ohio State made a mistake by not redshirting them as freshmen.

Now, though, all three are essentially getting that redshirt back, giving them the potential to start for at least two years as Buckeyes no matter what happens with the postponed season.

Of course, it’s also possible any of the senior linebackers could return for another year, which could delay the younger linebackers’ opportunities to be starters even longer. But that would be a bit of a surprise, considering that those four all made the Senior Bowl’s Top 250 watch list and will likely pursue NFL careers next year.

It’s also possible that any of those seniors could opt out of a winter or spring season, which could open the door for Gant, Mitchell or Pope to start sooner, and even one big season next fall could be enough for any of them to make their mark as Buckeyes and legitimize themselves as NFL prospects. But it's a good benefit for all of them – and for the experience of Ohio State’s linebacker unit in 2022 – that they have the opportunity to stay for a fifth-year senior season in their back pockets.
 
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Llinebackers coach Al Washington said Gant missed time in the offseason due to injury last year, too. At that point, though, the Buckeyes viewed him as a backup with Tuf Borland and Pete Werner taking the vast majority of snaps at the two inside linebacker spots. Now that Borland and Werner are gone, this spring was an opportunity for Gant to cement himself as a starter at middle linebacker, where he says he expects to play.

Instead, this foot injury will hold him out of practices until preseason camp gets underway in a few months.

The senior linebacker says he’ll get back to working out at some point in the summer with a “full recovery” expected well before the season kicks off.

 
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“I have a foot issue at the moment,” Gant said. “I am not participating in spring ball. I’ll be back by the summer with a full recovery and all that. I just wanted to get that out of the way before we get started.”
 
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Interestine that it appears Gant is working with LJ and the DLine.


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