Spring football practice kicks off Tuesday, and there are a lot of question marks for the Buckeyes to turn into exclamation points before it’s over.
Last night, we went through the holes on offense. Now let’s take a look at the other side of the ball.
Greg Schiano and new co-coordinator Alex Grinch have to replace future NFL players at all three levels of the defense. The good news is that there is a lot of talent at every open position. Now they just have to figure out who’s ready to fill the open voids.
Cornerback: The latest in the Buckeyes’ seemingly never-ending series of lock-down corners, Denzel Ward was named an all-American in 2017. He was far and away the best cover guy the Buckeyes had on the field last fall.
When Ward opted to sit out the Cotton Bowl to preserve his health and NFL Draft stock, a trio of corners who played extensively in his absence gave Buckeye fans a pretty good preview of the upcoming season. Damon Arnette, Kendall Sheffield, and Jeffrey Okudah figure to be the top three players on the corner depth chart in some order.
Arnette enters his fourth year in Columbus and picked off two passes as a redshirt sophomore in 2017. Sheffield has showcased his elite speed on the Buckeye track team this winter, breaking the school record in the 60-meter dash. Okudah earned his way onto the field as a true freshman and didn’t look totally overwhelmed, usually a strong signal that a player is destined to be a key player in the future. Redshirt freshman Shaun Wade missed last season with an abdominal injury, but came in with a pedigree almost as strong as Okudah’s.
If one of them can even approach the level of play Ward showcased in 2017, the Buckeyes would be happy. If two of them can make that leap, this could be a remarkable fall in Columbus.
Safety: Damon Webb was named the defensive MVP of the Cotton Bowl after recording a pick-six, and had the game-clinching interception against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game as well. This position would rank a lot higher if the Buckeyes didn’t seemingly have a logical replacement ready to step in.
Isaiah Pryor was Webb’s backup as a true freshman in 2017 and recorded tackles in seven different games. He has the recruiting profile and early-career production to look like a no-brainer to step in to Webb’s spot.
Outside Linebacker: Jerome Baker had a so-so season, but jumped to the NFL anyway on the strength of his remarkable blend of speed and strength. Of his possible replacements, redshirt sophomore Keandre Jones come closest to matching Baker’s physical gifts, but has received only limited playing time. Meyer has raved about sophomore Pete Werner, but there is even less on-field track record there.
The consistently outstanding recruiting classes that have come in during Meyer’s tenure mean that there are several solid options here, and given Baker’s mediocre final year, there is potential that this spot could actually improve.
Defensive End: It’s pretty remarkable to lose three guys at one position who could go in the first two or three rounds of the same NFL Draft, but Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, and Sam Hubbard could very well pull that off this spring. So why isn’t this at the top of the list?
The Buckeyes have one player here, Nick Bosa, who seems close to a lock to go in the top-10 of next year’s NFL Draft, and another, Chase Young, who is seemingly on track to do the same in 2020. Jonathon Cooper, the third returning DE, was ranked as a top-5 DE in the 2016 recruiting class, and has shown flashes of dominance in his brief opportunities on the field.
Next year, when they’re replacing Bosa and perhaps Cooper, this could be at the very top of this list.
Middle Linebacker: This is another spot where the replacements seem obvious, and have shown indications that they’ll be up to the challenge to replace Chris Worley. Redshirt sophomore Tuf Borland racked up 58 tackles in extended minutes last season. He had 12 against Army, 11 against Michigan State, and then got significant time in the final three games of the year, against Michigan, Wisconsin, and USC.
The other possibility is Baron Browning, who came in as a 5-star recruit and saw a lot of playing time early in the year. Urban Meyer has raved about his abilities both as a leader and a play-maker, so he’ll probably find a way to get on the field somewhere this fall.
Defensive Tackle: The sheer volume of returning and incoming players here puts this at the bottom of the list. Neither Tracy Sprinkle nor Michael Hill put up big numbers last season, although that can come with the territory on the inside of the line. Sprinkle had 16 tackles in 2017, and Hill had just one sack after being suspended early in the season.
The return of Dre’Mont Jones, who could have jumped to the NFL, along with the addition of JUCO transfer Antwuan Jackson, bolsters what was already shaping up to be a solid group here. Robert Landers had five tackles for loss, Jashon Cornell had a couple sacks and a forced fumble, and Haskell Garrett earned playing time as a true freshman, and also inspired talk about his significant potential from some of his older teammates.
That doesn’t even include true freshmen Taron Vincent and Tommy Togiai, who ranked as the no. 1 and no. 3 players at the position in the 2018 recruiting class.
The price of being exceptional with talent, is that we’re constantly reloading. The good thing is that their is no drop off in the stock room. Okudah has shown flashes of being superb on special teams. If that type of play is indicative of his D prowess as a DB, he will continue OSU’s long line of AA and 1st round draft picks to come out of DBU!