Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes took advantage of their final opportunities to wear their Ohio State helmets and impress NFL scouts in an actual football game on Saturday, when the two former Buckeye defensive ends combined to record eight total tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks in this year’s Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.
Lewis, who started Saturday’s game for the North team at defensive end, was one of the most dominant players on the field in Saturday’s game, consistently winning his matchups with opposing offensive linemen as he recorded four total tackles – one of which was incorrectly credited to Holmes on the official stat sheet – including two tackles for loss and a sack.
Holmes, who saw playing time at both defensive end and defensive tackle, had a productive performance of his own on Saturday, also recording four total tackles and two tackles for loss – both sacks, in his case – and additionally knocking down a pass.
Lewis recorded his first sack on his second defensive series in Saturday’s game, knocking down Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White for an 8-yard loss, all the while getting tackled to the ground and drawing a holding penalty against North Carolina A&T left tackle Brandon Parker.
The two-time Ohio State captain from Tarboro, North Carolina, made another tackle for loss on his next series in the game, when he anticipated a running play, burst off the right side of the offensive line unblocked and buried San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny in the backfield for a 2-yard loss almost immediately as Penny received a handoff from the quarterback.
Lewis made another tackle later in the first half, showing his effort to never give up on a play this time, when he chased down an end-around run by LSU wide receiver D.J. Chark to the other side of the field, tackling him nine yards downfield.
The 2016 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year helped force another sack and a fumble on his first defensive series of the second half, when he bull-rushed TCU left tackle Joseph Noteboom backward into Richmond quarterback Kyle Lauletta, enabling Oklahoma’s Ogbonnia Okoronkwo to get to the quarterback for a strip sack from the other side, as you can see in the video below:
Beyond those plays, Lewis created disruption on many other plays that didn’t show up on the stat sheet. He brought pressure on multiple occasions that either forced incompletions or checkdown throws, while effectively crashing in on numerous inside run plays to help guide running backs into tackles by his teammates.
Holmes made one of the most impressive highlight plays of the entire game late in the second quarter, when he made an explosive spin move across the face of Nevada right tackle Austin Corbett before leaping onto Lauletta to bury him for a 6-yard sack.
Holmes recorded his second sack of the game in the third quarter, though he benefited from the work of his fellow teammates this time, as Lauletta escaped from the grasp of multiple other North defensive linemen before running toward Holmes, who was able to touch Lauletta down for a 2-yard loss.
Like Lewis, Holmes also brought pressure on multiple additional occasions to rush throws and made an impact on the running game, effectively crashing in to force multiple stops on inside runs, including two on which he recorded assisted tackles inside two yards of the line of scrimmage. Holmes also forced an incompletion when he knocked down a pass on a rollout by Lauletta.
Much like they did this past season in Ohio State’s defensive end rotation, Lewis and Holmes alternated series with one another for most of Saturday’s game, though they also saw a few snaps alongside each other – much like they did in Ohio State’s "Rushmen" package – during a two-minute drill in the first half, with Lewis also lining up at defensive tackle for one snap as an interior pass-rusher.
Lewis and Holmes' North team lost Saturday's game, 45-16, but in a game where individual evaluations matter far more than the final score, the two former Ohio State defensive ends did nothing but help themselves with their productive performances.
Saturday’s Senior Bowl wrapped up this year’s season of all-star games for NFL draft prospects, in which seven total Buckeyes participated: J.T. Barrett, Damon Webb and Chris Worley participated in last weekend’s East-West Shrine Game, while Marcus Baugh and Michael Hill partook in last weekend’s NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Former Ohio State center Billy Price and defensive end Sam Hubbard, both projected as potential first-round picks, declined invitations to the Senior Bowl, while left tackle Jamarco Jones dropped out of the Shrine Game after initially accepting an invitation to that game. Cornerback Denzel Ward, also a projected first-round pick, and linebacker Jerome Baker were not eligible to participate in all-star games because they were third-year juniors who have not graduated from Ohio State.
The next opportunity for most of those former Buckeyes to elevate their stocks for the 2018 NFL draft will come at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine, where workouts will take place March 2-5 in Indianapolis.
