On Your Mark
Last week against Indiana, Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker shadowed Hoosiers tight end Ian Thomas from time to time. He was one of several different Buckeyes to match up against the talented pass catcher. Thomas finished with five receptions for 53 yards and two touchdowns.
This week, however, the task becomes much more difficult. Oklahoma tight end Mark Andrews is an athletic receiver who flexes out almost entirely. He caught seven passes for 134 yards last week, and did much of his damage after the catch. Last year against the Buckeyes, Andrews caught four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
So how will Ohio State combat him?
“We’ve got to go out there and every play we’ve got to bring it,” linebacker Jerome Baker said. “That’s it. He’s a great tight end. He definitely can get open so every play we’re going to have to bring it.”
Is Baker looking forward to the opportunity?
“Oh yeah,” he said. “It’s just a test. You really see how good you are when you go up against guys that are playing at elite levels. So it should be a good one.”
Does that mean Baker is the best man to cover him?
“There’s so many guys that can check and play good defense,” he said. “You can pretty much put any of our linebackers out there and we can do a great job. Your job is to do your job at Ohio State and you put any guy out there and they’ll do their job.”
Don’t Forget Parris
It was Ohio State’s first possession of the second half. They were trailing Indiana 14-13. Faced with a third-and-2 from the Hoosiers’ 41-yard line, J.T. Barrett dropped back and then let one fly deep. Racing into the end zone, Parris Campbell had the ball hit him perfectly in his hands.
You know the rest of the story. Campbell didn’t catch the pass, and Ohio State failed on fourth-and-2 as well. It was a deflating moment for a team that was trying to recapture momentum on the road.
What went through Campbell’s mind after that drop?
“Individually, I’m very hard on myself,” he said. “I kept thinking someway, somehow I have to get it back. Fortunately, I was able to do that. Every time we step on the field there’s a standard and obligation we have to hold up. This is Ohio State and the standard is elite.”
The Assembly Line
Rotating a defensive line isn’t done just to see how many toys a coach can play with. It is done with actual purpose in mind.
One of those purposes was on display all game long against the Hoosiers. Despite having to rush the passer nearly 70 times, the Ohio State defensive line remained fresh and provided consistent pressure.
“We played an inordinate amount of plays,” Urban Meyer said. “I’m not sure we would have been able, I don’t want to say to not win the game, but if you don’t have a rotation going in one of those kind of ballgames where you’re playing 90 plays, pass rush is so much more exhausting than run defense. Rushing a quarterback is one of the hardest things to do. To do that, I think they threw it 65 times. You’re blown out. Coach Johnson got a lot of players in there, kept them rotating.”
Remaining fresh is key, because there’s more to being a defensive lineman than simply rushing the passer. They also have to stop the run — and they can’t do that if they’re exhausted.
“Being able to be fresh, being able to stop the run, they’re very good players, they’re going to be very good all year,” Meyer said. “I think the biggest thing we have as an advantage is there’s a rotation going. That makes us good against the run and the pass.”
