Michael Citro
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Player to Watch: Jack Sawyer set to finally have his breakout season
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 Sam Hodde/Getty Images
While he has yet to become a dominant player, the 2024 season may define Sawyer’s OSU legacy.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the Buckeyes we expect to excel this season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Players to Watch” articles here.
When I wrote about Jack Sawyer last year in our series on Ohio State players to watch, perhaps I jumped the gun. I believed then that Sawyer was poised to finally transition from a player who occasionally flashed signs of his potential to one who dominated football games.
While that didn’t happen, and might never do so, it’s possible I was just a bit early with the sentiment. Sawyer was better in 2023 than in previous seasons, but it’s fair to say that he wasn’t a dominating player much of the time.
The Pickerington North product managed 7.5 sacks across his first two seasons — 25 total games — at Ohio State. Last year, Sawyer finished the year as the Buckeyes’ leader in sacks with 6.5, nearly doubling his career total in one season. He also finished with the most sack yardage (40) in 2023, just ahead of J.T. Tuimoloau.
While 6.5 sacks isn’t a huge total for a Buckeye defensive end, it was the most since Chase Young’s 16.5 in 2019. Young’s numbers were elite and should in no way reflect upon Sawyer’s career at Ohio State, but I’ll admit that 6.5 sacks is a pedestrian number for a team leader at a program like Ohio State.
So, why do I think this is Sawyer’s year?
It seemed to me that Sawyer flipped a switch late in the season. The 6-foot-5 senior recorded five of his 6.5 sacks in Ohio State’s final three games of 2023. Entering the Minnesota game on Nov. 18, Sawyer was stuck on 1.5 sacks, with both of those coming in the Buckeyes’ 41-7 win at Purdue.
What made that Purdue game special? It was the only game Ohio State played on real grass all season. However, Sawyer showed he could get to the quarterback on field turf over the final three contests of 2023, starting in that 37-3 destruction of Minnesota at Ohio Stadium.
Sawyer recorded one sack each in the win over the Golden Gophers and the loss at Michigan the following week. He then exploded for three sacks in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 29 against Missouri. While it’s unfortunate that his big game went to waste due to the offense’s struggles that night, we may have finally seen the tipping point for Ohio State’s No. 33.
In total, Sawyer made four solo tackles in the game against the Tigers, with three of those being sacks that covered 20 yards lost for Missouri. The Buckeyes as a team finished with six sacks on the night, but only Sawyer had more than one. He also recorded one of the team’s three quarterback hurries in the game.
While it might be overly optimistic to look at that three-game stretch at the end of the season as a sign that Sawyer may explode in 2024, there’s at least a visible trend. Sawyer not only started to get to the quarterback more often, but his overall numbers improved over that stretch as well.
Sawyer recorded three or more solo tackles in each of the final three games for a total of 10. Prior to the Minnesota game, Sawyer had only three games all season with multiple solo tackles — two against Youngstown State, two against Purdue, and four at Wisconsin. He had 16 total tackles (solo + assists) over the final three games, including six against the Gophers, six more against the Wolverines, and the four in the Cotton Bowl.
Prior to that stretch, Sawyer reached four or more total tackles only three times all year — four each against Rutgers and Indiana and six against Wisconsin. Sawyer also entered that Minnesota game with just 2.5 tackles for loss all season long. Yet he finished with 3.5 against the Gophers, one against Michigan, and three against Missouri, for a total of 10 on the year — 7.5 in the final three-game stretch.
He also had his only three quarterback hurries of 2023 during those games (none the rest of the season) and recorded one of his two forced fumbles on the year during that span (against the Gophers).
In other words, three of his biggest games of the season came at the end of the year in just about every statistical measurement for a defensive end.
While it’s possible that it was an anomaly, I see it more as a positive trend. From the eye test alone, it seemed that the game was slowing down for Sawyer and that he was diagnosing plays more quickly, becoming more disruptive, and even being held more often — uncalled holding infractions are the greatest sign of respect for an OSU defensive end, and were a staple of the careers of Young and the Bosa brothers, among others.
If Sawyer’s development continues, it’s not a big leap from 6.5 sacks to double digits. Amassing 10 or more sacks in a season is the mark of a top-notch player. Sawyer may yet reach the lofty expectations OSU fans had for him when he committed as a five-star recruit, the top overall player in the state of Ohio, the No. 4 player nationally overall, and the country’s No. 3-ranked defensive end.
He also seems ready for his new role as a leader on the Ohio State defense, and eager to leave a strong legacy for future Buckeye defensive ends to follow.
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 Sam Hodde/Getty Images
While he has yet to become a dominant player, the 2024 season may define Sawyer’s OSU legacy.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the Buckeyes we expect to excel this season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Players to Watch” articles here.
When I wrote about Jack Sawyer last year in our series on Ohio State players to watch, perhaps I jumped the gun. I believed then that Sawyer was poised to finally transition from a player who occasionally flashed signs of his potential to one who dominated football games.
While that didn’t happen, and might never do so, it’s possible I was just a bit early with the sentiment. Sawyer was better in 2023 than in previous seasons, but it’s fair to say that he wasn’t a dominating player much of the time.
The Pickerington North product managed 7.5 sacks across his first two seasons — 25 total games — at Ohio State. Last year, Sawyer finished the year as the Buckeyes’ leader in sacks with 6.5, nearly doubling his career total in one season. He also finished with the most sack yardage (40) in 2023, just ahead of J.T. Tuimoloau.
While 6.5 sacks isn’t a huge total for a Buckeye defensive end, it was the most since Chase Young’s 16.5 in 2019. Young’s numbers were elite and should in no way reflect upon Sawyer’s career at Ohio State, but I’ll admit that 6.5 sacks is a pedestrian number for a team leader at a program like Ohio State.
So, why do I think this is Sawyer’s year?
It seemed to me that Sawyer flipped a switch late in the season. The 6-foot-5 senior recorded five of his 6.5 sacks in Ohio State’s final three games of 2023. Entering the Minnesota game on Nov. 18, Sawyer was stuck on 1.5 sacks, with both of those coming in the Buckeyes’ 41-7 win at Purdue.
What made that Purdue game special? It was the only game Ohio State played on real grass all season. However, Sawyer showed he could get to the quarterback on field turf over the final three contests of 2023, starting in that 37-3 destruction of Minnesota at Ohio Stadium.
Sawyer recorded one sack each in the win over the Golden Gophers and the loss at Michigan the following week. He then exploded for three sacks in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 29 against Missouri. While it’s unfortunate that his big game went to waste due to the offense’s struggles that night, we may have finally seen the tipping point for Ohio State’s No. 33.
In total, Sawyer made four solo tackles in the game against the Tigers, with three of those being sacks that covered 20 yards lost for Missouri. The Buckeyes as a team finished with six sacks on the night, but only Sawyer had more than one. He also recorded one of the team’s three quarterback hurries in the game.
While it might be overly optimistic to look at that three-game stretch at the end of the season as a sign that Sawyer may explode in 2024, there’s at least a visible trend. Sawyer not only started to get to the quarterback more often, but his overall numbers improved over that stretch as well.
Sawyer recorded three or more solo tackles in each of the final three games for a total of 10. Prior to the Minnesota game, Sawyer had only three games all season with multiple solo tackles — two against Youngstown State, two against Purdue, and four at Wisconsin. He had 16 total tackles (solo + assists) over the final three games, including six against the Gophers, six more against the Wolverines, and the four in the Cotton Bowl.
Prior to that stretch, Sawyer reached four or more total tackles only three times all year — four each against Rutgers and Indiana and six against Wisconsin. Sawyer also entered that Minnesota game with just 2.5 tackles for loss all season long. Yet he finished with 3.5 against the Gophers, one against Michigan, and three against Missouri, for a total of 10 on the year — 7.5 in the final three-game stretch.
He also had his only three quarterback hurries of 2023 during those games (none the rest of the season) and recorded one of his two forced fumbles on the year during that span (against the Gophers).
In other words, three of his biggest games of the season came at the end of the year in just about every statistical measurement for a defensive end.
While it’s possible that it was an anomaly, I see it more as a positive trend. From the eye test alone, it seemed that the game was slowing down for Sawyer and that he was diagnosing plays more quickly, becoming more disruptive, and even being held more often — uncalled holding infractions are the greatest sign of respect for an OSU defensive end, and were a staple of the careers of Young and the Bosa brothers, among others.
If Sawyer’s development continues, it’s not a big leap from 6.5 sacks to double digits. Amassing 10 or more sacks in a season is the mark of a top-notch player. Sawyer may yet reach the lofty expectations OSU fans had for him when he committed as a five-star recruit, the top overall player in the state of Ohio, the No. 4 player nationally overall, and the country’s No. 3-ranked defensive end.
He also seems ready for his new role as a leader on the Ohio State defense, and eager to leave a strong legacy for future Buckeye defensive ends to follow.
Continue reading...