Luke McCaffrey turned the corner and saw green. He slipped through a diving ankle tackle from Pete Werner and raced down the Nebraska sideline, juking Marcus Hooker on his 47-yard scamper to set up Adrian Martinez’s rushing touchdown, giving the Cornhuskers an unexpected 7-0 lead on Ohio State in the season opener.
Lost amid McCaffrey’s surprise run was Tommy Togiai, the Buckeyes’ first-time starting nose tackle. Locked up, he got lost in the wash at the line of scrimmage but managed to disengage from his block and begin a 40-yard dash to try to catch up to McCaffrey. Togiai laid out at his team’s 20-yard line, coming just short of grabbing one of McCaffrey’s ankles as he landed chest-first on the ground.
At that moment, despite ultimately not making the tackle, he exemplified the never-say-die attitude that has become one of the key qualities allowing him to turn into a well-rounded defensive tackle who has shined in the Buckeyes’ first two games.
“I just try to bring energy, bring that motor,” Togiai said on Wednesday. “Just really try to drive the defense.”
So far, he has done just that.
In the minutes after the 38-25 win at Penn State, Ryan Day credited his team’s physicality and aggressiveness as playing a huge part in the result, and going back to the film led him to double down on that opinion on Tuesday. He might as well have pointed directly to his nose tackle who set the tone with constant penetration, hustle and a career-high three sacks.
Togiai’s rise has come at an optimal time for the Buckeyes.
Ahead of the season, Ryan Day was open about the concerns regarding the interior of the defensive line. They had lost DaVon Hamilton, Jashon Cornell and Robert Landers to graduation in the offseason, then Haskell Garrett got shot in the face less than two months before the season kicked off and Taron Vincent needed extra time to recover from his shoulder injury. Just three weeks ago, he called the interior line the “biggest concern” on the defense in terms of depth. Reasonable at the time, given the circumstances.
Two games of evidence, however, has shown Day and the rest of his coaching staff that they no longer need to worry about the middle of their line. Conversely, due largely to the play of Togiai and Garrett – who together account for 139 of 221 defensive tackle snaps – against Nebraska and Penn State, the inside of the front is a strength of this defense.
“I think they have been playing the best football of their careers, honestly,” Cooper said on Saturday.
Sure, it might be early in the season, but it’s hard to argue that point.
Garrett’s on-field ascent remains tough to fully grasp considering the shooting happened just a little over two months ago. Most people, including defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, didn’t even think he’d play football this fall upon learning what happened. Instead, he has picked up four tackles, including a sack, while other sacks not attributed to him on stat sheets have been caused by his disruption.
“I think he's playing at an astounding level,” Togiai said. “To come back from what he's been through, to play at the level he's playing at right now, it's unbelievable.”
Togiai’s rise has come in more of a straight line.
He got his first taste of the collegiate level with 114 snaps as a true freshman, then rotated with Hamilton and Landers as the third-string defensive tackle last year. With three seniors heading out the door, the coaches wanted him to take over at 1-technique, and he’s done that this fall by playing a defensive line-high 83 snaps across the first two games.
And he’s been more than serviceable.
Togiai led the Buckeyes with seven tackles, including three sacks, against Penn State. He’s tied for second on the team with 10 total tackles through two weeks. So far, he’s proving he’s more of a multi-faceted defensive tackle than some who’d watched him before perhaps realized.
A look at his first two showings of 2020 revealed four specific aspects of his game that have helped him play at this level.
- His motor. For somebody listed at 6-foot-2 and 300 pounds, Togiai showcases rare hustle that allows him to get into positions to make plays most defensive tackles don’t. He cut off a Sean Clifford scramble on Saturday by racing to the sideline with him. Togiai credits Mickey Marotti and the strength staff for helping him improve his speed and running form. That surely helps, but so does the endless tank of energy he plays with.
- His get-off. No, he’s not Chase Young at the line of scrimmage. But he has a quick jump off the ball, which he thinks was the key to recording three sacks on Saturday. “You've just always got to have a great get-off to get into your pass rush, and it just goes from there,” he said. He likes to be the aggressor.
- His strength. Teammates laugh whenever asked about Togiai because they immediately think of his raw strength. Master Teague, a physical specimen himself, said on Wednesday that he’s never met someone as strong as Togiai. He maintains his ground in the teeth of the defense in part because of that gift.
- His ability to stand up offensive linemen and shed their blocks. This was on full display over the weekend. Togiai has an ever-improving penchant for tossing linemen aside at will in order to make tackles or release from their grips to go after a sprinting ball-carrier. That’s going to make it difficult for offenses to run inside this year.
Two games of a sample size won’t tell the full story of Togiai’s junior campaign, which started less than two weeks ago. So far, though, he has played at an All-Big Ten level. And it came at a time when Ohio State turned to him needing him to perform at a high level.
Not too long ago, Day was among those worried about the team’s defensive tackles. No longer does he have such a concern, and that’s in large part due to Togiai’s contributions.
