With a pair of two-year starters and a position coach all gone, there’s little doubt Ohio State’s biggest defensive question mark comes at the safety position. Tyvis Powell and Vonn Bell both left early for the NFL, while Chris Ash departed to become the head coach at Rutgers. As a result, the Buckeyes were left with some massive holes in the back end of their secondary.
The first step for Ohio State was finding a replacement for Ash, and Urban Meyer seemingly hit a home run with that hire by bringing in a longtime head coach — at both the collegiate and NFL levels — in Greg Schiano.
The next step for the Buckeyes came this spring. That involved finding replacements for Bell and Powell. That one was a little bit more complex.
With Erick Smith sidelined for all of spring as he recovered from a torn ACL and Cam Burrows held out for roughly half of practice before easing his way back into things following a foot injury last season, Ohio State had to do a bit of shuffling in its defensive backfield as Malik Hooker was the only healthy scholarship safety on the roster. Because of that, the Buckeyes moved both Eric Glover-Williams and Damon Webb to the safety room this spring and, as of right now, it appears to be a permanent change to add some depth.
“Going into the summer, that would be the plan,” Schiano said last week.
If there was one player who emerged this at safety, perhaps above the rest, it was Hooker. The redshirt sophomore had a sensational spring and figures to be one of Ohio State’s starting safeties heading into fall camp.
His talents were on full display during the spring game. Hooker had a pair of interceptions and even returned one of them 82 yards for a touchdown.
“I’m very comfortable,” Hooker said earlier this spring. “I’m going into my third year here, taken a lot of tips and stuff from all the older safeties and players that have been here before me. I’m very comfortable out there.”
There’s a bit more uncertainty at the other safety spot. Webb seems to have the lead right now with his experience playing nickel for the Buckeyes last season certainly being a benefit. Glover-Williams is adjusting to the new position and Burrows had a bit of rust following his return late in the spring after missing so much time. It’s still to be determined how Smith fits into the mix here, as well. He has to get back to 100 percent first.
“I think Malik Hooker and Damon Webb have performed the best,” Schiano said at the conclusion of spring practice.
Ohio State has quite a few options to step in at safety, and even though most of them are unproven, it will find someone to fill the open void. The production may not match that of Bell or Bell right away, but the Buckeyes feel they’re more than set at the spot because there are a number of talented players.
What is perhaps more important for Schiano and the Ohio State secondary is replacing what Bell and Powell did away from the field and in the meeting rooms. That was a big focus for Schiano all spring and will continue to be one throughout the summer.
“We lost two guys that played a lot of football here,” Schiano said. “If we don’t have [leadership], we are going to be in big trouble. Has it clearly defined itself yet? Not totally. I think the whole group and then as guys make plays and continue to do the right thing, they establish themselves as leaders.”
“It is hard to be a leader when you haven’t really played a ton. Part of leadership in my opinion is production and things you can produce on the field.”
The playing time will come. It has to this season. The hope now for Ohio State, of course, is that the leadership comes along with it.
