A year removed from entering the season as overwhelming favorites to repeat as national champions thanks to a roster loaded with proven stars, Ohio State's lineup will look much different this fall boasting just six returning starters.
The defense features exactly half of those in defensive end Tyquan Lewis, cornerback Gareon Conley and middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan.
McMillan is expected to anchor the Silver Bullets following a 2015 campaign that saw him rack up a team-leading 119 tackles flanked by a pair of studs in Darron Lee and Joshua Perry. With the departure of Lee and Perry to the NFL, the 2016 linebacking corps will need to replace a lofty 185 tackles and 15 tackles for loss.
So how does that loss of production compare to the other years since Urban Meyer moved to Columbus? Here's a snapshot of each season:
2012
Upon Meyer's arrival ahead of the 2012 season, the Buckeyes were licking the wounds inflicted as part of a 6-7 season on the heels of the Tatgate fiasco.
Beyond the off-field issues lingering over the program, the squad wasn't exactly loaded with proven talent and the linebacker position was no exception.
Andrew Sweat, the 2nd-leading tackler on the 2011 squad (72 stops) was out of eligibility as was hybrid linebacker Tyler Moeller (44). That said, the Buckeyes did return true sophomore and emerging superstar Ryan Shazier and his 57 tackles along with Etienne Sabino (62) and Storm Klein (45).
Because the 2011 defense typically fielded just two linebackers paired with a hybrid/star (Moeller), the 2012 defense also needed to find a true third linebacker. Contributing to that challenge was the dismissal-then-reinstatement of Klein limiting him to seven games (18 tackles) and a broken leg suffered by Sabino in a 63-38 spanking of Nebraska limiting him to eight games and 45 tackles.
Even with those issues becoming major storylines for the defense during a perfect 12-0 season, the most memorable linebacking performances were Shazier's coming out party (115 tackles and 17.0 TFL to lead the team) which more than made up for Sweat's departure, and Zach Boren's selfless act of switching from fullback to linebacker and posting 50 tackles – good for 6th-best on the team – following Sabino's injury to help rescue an ailing unit.
2013
Following the improbable undefeated run during Meyer's first season, the defense had to replace 113 tackles contributed by Boren, Sabino and Klein though the fact Shazier was back for his junior season gave the Buckeyes an All-American to lean on as new starters Curtis Grant and Joshua Perry eased into the lineup.
Shazier turned in a spectacular season with 143 tackles – the most by a Buckeye in a single-season since Chris Spielman's 156 in 1987 – along with 22.5 tackles for loss and six quarterback hurries to lead the team. Shazier was so prolific he tallied an astounding 59 more stops than the squad's 2nd-leading tackler, C.J. Barnett.
A full-time special teams player who saw spot duty at linebacker as a true freshman, Perry emerged to start 10 games on Shazier's flank as a sophomore totaling 64 stops (4th on team) including 10 against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, one of which went for a safety in the opening quarter.
In the middle, Grant, now a junior, dealt with some injury problems but still managed to start 12 of 14 games on the way to 52 stops, good for 7th-best on the team.
The duo of Grant and Perry definitely experienced growing pains as first-year starters but coupled with the amazing play of Shazier, the trio helped Ohio State rank 9th nationally in rushing defense though the fact the defense gave up 1,918 total yards and average of 28.5 points over the final four games of the season boosted Pepto-Bismol sales in Columbus.
2014
With Shazier no longer in the fold after the Steelers took him with the 15th pick of the Draft, the Silver Bullets expected to rely heavily on Grant and Perry while first-year starter Darron Lee settled into the starting lineup.
Though he took some flak for his pass coverage and occasional bad pursuit angle, Perry responded with 124 tackles to lead the team along with 8.5 TFL and three sacks.
Grant, a former five-star who never quite lived up to unrealistic hype, held down the middle in tandem with true freshman Raekwon McMillan who actually saw more snaps than his senior counterpart. Together, the duo contributed 123 stops (Grant 69, McMillan 54) and 11.5 TFL.
On the outside, Lee exploded onto the scene as a versatile, electric playmaker on the way to 81 tackles, 16.5 TFL and 7.5 sacks with four combined turnovers (INT/FR).
The skillsets of each meshed almost perfectly on the way to the national championship and while the defense wasn't statistically dominant from a yardage perspective, they stepped up when it mattered most and proved to be an opportunistic bunch ranking 5th nationally in turnovers forced.
2015
Entering last season with national title aspirations, the linebacking corps, despite the loss of Grant, was loaded with Lee, Perry and McMillan all back in the fold.
Now the full-time player in the middle, McMillan led the team with 119 stops while Perry turned in his second-straight 100+ tackle season with 105 along with 7.5 TFL.
Lee, though still a legit playmaker, didn't put up the same video game stats as he did in 2014 tallying 66 tackles, 11.0 TFL and 4.5 sacks.
For the first time since Meyer took over, the starting linebackers all finished as top-four tacklers on the team.
Fast forward to present day, with Perry and Lee off to professional pastures, it's up to McMillan to lead and the coaches to develop the next two men up.
As it stands heading into fall camp, junior Dante Booker is the starter at the Will spot while redshirt junior Chris Worley looks to have first dibs on the walkout linebacker position Lee played so fabulously the last two seasons.
Worley's spot isn't quite as secure because of sophomore Jerome Baker's strong spring which included an acrobatic interception in the spring game but the competition can only help a unit charged with replacing the 171 tackles and 18.5 TFL lost with Perry and Lee.
