As spring moves toward summer and Ohio State’s football coaches prepare for the season ahead this fall, one exercise Urban Meyer said the Buckeyes would conduct was to rank their top players on each side of the ball to determine the players they would need to build their offense and defense around this year.
"At the end of spring we'll list our top 20 players in order on offense and defense, and that will determine what kind of style offense and defense we are," Meyer said this spring.
Following a look at who the coaches’ top 20 offensive players could be on Monday, it’s time to shift our attention to the defense, and take a look at who the Buckeyes’ top players could be on that side of the ball in 2018.
While the look of Ohio State’s 2018 offense will depend greatly upon who ultimately plays at quarterback, the look of the Buckeyes’ 2018 defense might not be as contingent on who their top players are. Still, changes could be made on that side of the ball – with two new coaches on staff in co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Alex Grinch and cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson – and there are certainly positions where the Buckeyes appear to be stronger than others.
So by taking a closer look at which Ohio State defenders have played significant roles in the past, who received the most first-team reps this spring and who appeared to make the biggest impressions this spring, we can project who Meyer, defensive coordinator Greg Schiano and the rest of the Buckeyes’ defensive coaches will rank as the top 20 players to build their unit around.
Note: The following rankings are not intended to project who Ohio State’s top-performing defensive players will be this season, but rather to project which players are on the coaches’ post-spring list of top defensive players and in what order.
1. Nick Bosa, DE
Bosa might not just be the top player on Ohio State’s defense, but perhaps the top defensive player in all of college football. An All-American last season, Bosa is already a popular choice to be the No. 1 prospect in the 2019 NFL draft. He’s still expected to rotate out of the lineup some, as is customary for Larry Johnson’s defensive line, but there’s no question that he will be a major building block for the Buckeyes’ defense this season.
2. Dre’Mont Jones, DT
Like Bosa, Jones also has the potential to be one of the top defensive linemen in college football this year and a 2019 first-round draft pick. He was already Ohio State’s top defensive tackle last year, and Meyer said Jones was even better this spring. Jones is also expected to take on a leadership role for a defensive line that lost three captains (Jalyn Holmes, Sam Hubbard and Tyquan Lewis) from last season.
3. Jordan Fuller, S
Schiano said at last month’s Ohio State Coaches Clinic that he expects Fuller to be an All-American this season, and Meyer and Grinch also praised him this spring in a manner that made it clear they view him as one of the team’s top defenders. At a position where the Buckeyes have no other established players, Fuller is expected to be the leader of the back end of Ohio State’s defense.
Jordan Fuller will be one of the most important players on Ohio State's defense in 2018.
(INJURED) Tuf Borland, LB
If Tuf Borland was healthy, he’d likely be the No. 4 player on the Buckeyes’ defensive depth chart, as he was expected to be the starting middle linebacker and the leader of the entire linebacker unit. With Borland sidelined by an Achilles injury that could keep him out for at least the start of his redshirt sophomore season, however, the Buckeyes will need to prepare their defense to play without him going into the year.
4. Kendall Sheffield, CB
After going through some growing pains in his first season as a Buckeye, Sheffield ultimately emerged as the team’s No. 1 cornerback by the season-ending Cotton Bowl – when Denzel Ward decided to sit out the game to preserve his NFL draft stock – and continued to make "some great strides" this spring, according to Taver Johnson, who said he views Sheffield as an established starter coming out of spring. He’ll have to show it this fall to reach his first-round draft pick potential, but either way, he appears set to play a huge role in Ohio State’s secondary.
5. Robert Landers, DT
After rotating in regularly off the bench for the past two seasons, Landers is set to move into a starting role alongside Jones at nose tackle. He’ll likely continue to rotate regularly with other players at his position, but he’s also a prime candidate to be one of the top leaders on the Buckeyes’ defense this season, and should be the nose tackle who’s in the game when the Buckeyes need a big stop.
6. Damon Arnette, CB
Like Sheffield, Arnette was named as a starting cornerback coming out of spring by Taver Johnson, who said Arnette "also had a really, really good spring." While Arnette has been inconsistent in his first two playing seasons for the Buckeyes, he’s the most experienced player in the entire secondary and another player who Ohio State appears to be counting on to play a crucial role.
7. Malik Harrison, LB
With Borland sidelined, linebackers coach Bill Davis has yet to name any starters for the upcoming season at his position, but Harrison is the top candidate to lead the group until Borland returns. Harrison played regularly in the Buckeyes’ nickel defense because of his coverage ability last season, and he appears likely to become a three-down linebacker – starting at either the strongside or weakside spot – for Ohio State this season.
8. Chase Young, DE
Projecting forward, it seems likely that Young will be one of Ohio State’s top five defenders, and he’s talented enough to potentially even be one of the top five players on the entire team. He was the most dominant player on the field in the spring game, and has all the tools to be another star on the Buckeyes’ defensive line. Meyer and Larry Johnson suggested this spring that they still want to see more from Young on a day-to-day basis, though, so he’s likely still behind the Buckeyes’ more established defensive players in the pecking order for now.
9. Jonathon Cooper, DE
Young might be too talented for the Buckeyes to keep him out of the starting lineup, but ultimately, it’s expected that Young and Cooper will see relatively equal playing time in the defensive end rotation. Cooper might even be ahead of Young in the pecking order as of now, with an extra year of experience under his belt. Either way, Cooper will play a significant role on Ohio State’s defensive line, and could form one of the nation’s best defensive end trios with Bosa and Young.
10. Jeffrey Okudah, CB
While Sheffield and Arnette are in line to start at cornerback, Ohio State likes to rotate three players at the position and Okudah, according to Meyer, will be the third cornerback in that rotation. Had he not missed the spring while recovering from shoulder surgery, Okudah could have made a push for a starting spot. It still wouldn’t be a surprise if the five-star recruit, who impressed on special teams and limited defensive playing time last season as a true freshman, ends up thrusting his way into the starting lineup – or at least seeing equal playing time as the starters – by the end of the season.
11. Baron Browning, LB
Like Young and Okudah, Browning is a five-star recruit who is probably going to make it tough for the Buckeyes to keep him off the field. He ran with the second-team defense for most of the spring, but impressed Meyer in the spring game with his play at middle linebacker, where the competition to fill in for Borland remains wide open. Before Borland got injured, Browning was practicing at weakside linebacker – suggesting that the Buckeyes are inclined to find a spot for him on the field as soon as he is ready. If he can prove that he is in preseason camp, he’ll probably end up somewhere in the starting lineup.
12. Keandre Jones, LB
With Browning moving to middle linebacker after Borland’s injury, Jones took most of the first-team reps this spring at weakside linebacker, and still appears to be the favorite to start at that spot. In a crowded linebacker competition where no clear frontrunner to start has emerged, it’s uncertain what order they rank in as of now, but Jones appears to be in good position to either start or see regular playing time in the nickel defense.
Keandre Jones is one of several linebackers who will continue to compete for a potential starting job in preseason camp.
13. Justin Hilliard, LB
The reason why Browning wasn’t the first-team middle linebacker this spring after Borland’s injury was Hilliard, who also impressed his coaches with his development this spring. A five-star recruit himself who appears to finally be ready to make an impact for the Buckeyes defense after an injury-plagued start to his career, Hilliard will continue to compete with Browning to start at middle linebacker in preseason camp, while Davis says Hilliard also has the versatility to move to outside linebacker if need be.
14. Pete Werner, LB
Werner has made a big impression on Meyer since he arrived on campus last summer, drawing consistent praise from the head coach for his effort and development as a true freshman and again this spring. He’s not the five-star talent that Browning is, while Hilliard and Jones have the advantage of more experience, and Werner worked primarily with the second-team defense this spring. Still, Werner is expected to have a continued opportunity to compete for a starting spot in preseason camp, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise if he ends up earning regular playing time in the Buckeyes’ linebacker rotation this fall.
15. Davon Hamilton, DT
Like Browning, Hilliard and Werner, Hamilton is a player who was singled out by Meyer as one of the team’s most improved players this spring. He’s been a back-of-the-rotation player in his first two playing seasons for the Buckeyes, but he seems to have earned his way into more significant playing time in the defensive tackle rotation as a redshirt junior this season.
16. Jashon Cornell, DE
A regular in the defensive tackle rotation last season, Cornell was moved to defensive end this spring because of the Buckeyes’ lack of depth at that position. He’s firmly the Buckeyes’ No. 4 player on the pecking order at that position behind Bosa, Young and Cooper, but the fact that he was chosen for that position means he’s still likely to see regular playing time, given the way Larry Johnson rotates his defensive linemen up front.
17. Shaun Wade, CB
The No. 4 recruit in Ohio State’s vaunted class of 2017 behind Young, Okudah and Browning, Wade was forced to take a redshirt last season after undergoing abdominal surgery. He performed well this spring, though, showing the potential to make an immediate impact once he does see the field. The question is whether the Buckeyes will want to expand their regular cornerback rotation beyond their top three, but Wade is talented enough to make them consider it.
18. Marcus Williamson, CB
Like Wade, Williamson had a strong spring going into his second season on campus, making a real push for playing time in the Buckeyes’ secondary – potentially as a nickel cornerback – even though they already have a strong top three at his position. There probably isn’t going to be room for both Wade and Williamson to see regular playing time at cornerback (barring injuries), but they’ve both made a strong case for spots in the top 20 defensive players, which will play into the coaches’ consideration as they build their 2018 defense.
19. Tommy Togiai, DT
Although he just arrived on campus four months ago, Togiai has already made a strong push for significant playing time in the defensive tackle rotation. Just the second true freshman to lose his black stripe during spring practice since Meyer implemented the tradition at Ohio State, Togiai made a big impression on his coaches in his first 15 practices as a Buckeye, and appears well on his way to being incorporated in the defensive game plan this season as a result.
20. Isaiah Pryor, S
Although Pryor remains the favorite to start alongside Fuller at safety, Meyer and Schiano both described that open starting spot as the Buckeyes’ “No. 1 concern” coming out of spring, making it clear that neither Pryor nor any other player at the position has established himself as a top-11 player on the Ohio State defense. Pryor took most of the reps alongside Fuller with the first-team defense this spring, so he’s still a leading candidate to be a starter in the Buckeyes’ season opener on Sept. 1, but he’s going to have to earn it in preseason camp.
Other Candidates
While it doesn’t seem likely that any of Ohio State’s other safeties would rank among the team’s top 20 players at this point, the uncertainty at the position leaves the door wide open for several other safeties to potentially soar up the depth chart with a big summer. Jahsen Wint, Amir Riep and Brendon White could all still push for playing time at the position, while even incoming freshmen Josh Proctor and Marcus Hooker will have a chance to factor into the competition when they arrive this summer.
Defensive tackles Haskell Garrett, Malik Barrow and Antwuan Jackson were all held back by injuries this spring, but each of them have the talent to push for spots in the rotation if they can get healthy and perform well in fall camp. Incoming five-star freshman Taron Vincent could push for immediate playing time, too.
Dante Booker’s role in the linebacker corps is uncertain after he missed the entire spring while recovering from a pair of shoulder surgeries, but he started six games last season and could certainly factor into the top 20 if he is able to get healthy. Early enrollee linebacker Dallas Gant also made a strong enough impression this spring to potentially factor into the Buckeyes’ plans at linebacker this season.
Two other true freshmen who could potentially challenge for significant playing time on defense when they arrive this summer are Tyreke Smith and Tyler Friday, given the Buckeyes’ absence of depth behind their top four at the defensive end position.
