Ohio State’s four freshman defensive linemen didn’t play much in 2022, but all of them should have the opportunity to earn bigger roles as second-year Buckeyes in 2023.
Caden Curry was the only defensive lineman in Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class that didn’t redshirt as a true freshman, and he played only 78 defensive snaps, with just about all of those snaps coming in the second half of blowout wins. Kenyatta Jackson (24 snaps) and Hero Kanu (16 snaps) played in just three games. Omari Abor played his only nine snaps of the year against Arkansas State before missing most of the season with a knee injury.
That said, it’s been common for Larry Johnson’s defensive linemen to play only sparingly as freshmen before becoming regulars in the rotation in year two. And the Buckeyes enter spring with several openings in their defensive line rotation.
Five veterans from last season’s defensive line moved on from Ohio State after the season: defensive ends Zach Harrison, Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Tyler Friday and defensive tackles Taron Vincent and Jerron Cage. And the four second-year defensive linemen are the top candidates to take their places in the rotation.
It’s unlikely any of the second-years will be starters. Junior defensive ends JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer should start on the edges. The starting defensive tackles should be a combination of redshirt junior Ty Hamilton, redshirt sophomore Mike Hall and junior Tyleik Williams, with all three of them seeing substantial playing time regardless of which two start.
Given that they’re the only five returning defensive linemen who played more than 100 defensive snaps last year, Johnson has reason to consider leaning more heavily on his starters and rotating less frequently in 2023. During his media availability on Feb. 1, however, Johnson made it clear he still wants to have a rotation across the defensive line this season.
“You want to make sure you have enough time that you allow your players to play at maximum speed at all times. If he's just on the field and he's tired, he's not gonna be a factor,” Johnson said. “So it's still important. I think the substitution has its moment. I think substitution has its place in college football. If you look across the country, we're not the only one that substitutes guys. You know what I mean? We substitute guys because I want to play fresh.”
That leaves the door open for at least two if not three defensive ends to earn playing time in the rotation behind Tuimoloau and Sawyer, especially if Sawyer ends up continuing to play the Jack position as he did for some of his snaps a year ago. Curry is well-positioned to be the top backup behind JT and Jack after he flashed in his limited action a year ago, recording 14 total tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack.
“Caden will go into the offseason number two on the depth chart at defensive end,” Johnson said. “I think he's got a good chance to really be a factor for us now as he settles in going into the second year.”
With the promise Curry showed as a freshman, it’s easy to forget he was the lowest-ranked recruit of the three defensive ends in Ohio State’s 2022 class. Jackson was the No. 60 overall prospect in that cycle while Abor was ranked just three spots behind him in 247Sports’ composite rankings. Although they didn’t play much last year, Johnson is excited about both of their potential entering year two.
“They flashed,” Johnson said of Jackson and Abor as freshmen. “I really like KJ, KJ’s done a great job for us, has some really, really good pass rush ability. Omari’s really strong, really physical guy, he’s up to 265 (pounds), came in at 240.”
While Johnson is ready to put Curry on the two-deep, he said he needs to see what Abor and Jackson do this spring before projecting what their roles could be in 2023. They’ll get plenty of chances to show what they can do this spring, as there will be only five scholarship defensive ends participating in spring practices. Incoming freshmen Jason Moore and Joshua Mickens won’t arrive until the summer while hybrid defensive end/linebacker Mitchell Melton will remain unavailable this spring after tearing his ACL in last year’s spring game.
At defensive tackle, Kanu will have a similar opportunity to earn a spot on the two-deep. Outside of Hamilton, Williams and Hall, the only other returning scholarship defensive tackle is fifth-year senior Jaden McKenzie, who has played only sparingly (120 total snaps) in his first four years as a Buckeye. Will Smith Jr. will also have the opportunity to compete for a position on the depth chart this spring as an early enrollee, but fellow 2023 signee Kayden McDonald won’t be on campus until June.
Like Abor and Jackson, Kanu didn’t enroll early at Ohio State and had ground to make up when he arrived last summer as a result. But Johnson was impressed by the development he saw from the German-born defensive tackle in his freshman year after he played only two years of high school football, and Johnson is excited to see how Kanu continues to grow this spring.
“He's made a lot of progress, I will say that. From day one to where he is right now, it's night and day,” Johnson said. “He came in about 330, he's about 305 right now. His body fat has really decreased. His conditioning’s gotten better. He's absolutely gotten stronger. Right now, he could be a three-technique or a nose guard for us. He’s a real powerful young guy on the inside. And I just can't wait to see what happens now for the first time, full spring, 15 days of going to work with him ready to go play. But I'm excited about him.”
While speaking with Eleven Warriors at Ohio State’s media day before the Peach Bowl, Kanu described his first year at Ohio State as “quite an experience,” acknowledging “practices are way harder” at OSU than they were in high school. Yet that didn’t stop Kanu from making an immediate impression, as Ryan Day made a point of singling him out – along with Jackson and walk-on linebacker Jackson Kuwatch – as a top performer on the scout team during a November episode of his radio show.
“I usually don't point guys out, but I have to point out Kenyatta Jackson and Hero Kanu,” Day said. “There's a handful of guys over there on the scout team that I get a chance to watch every day just put these reps together, and they're getting better. And it's not an easy job. There's a lot of reps out there and not a lot of recognition, but they have bright futures ahead of them because of all the hard work they're putting in.”
Kenyatta Jackson is among the second-year defensive linemen who impressed Ohio State’s coaches with his development as a freshman.
Kanu is hopeful he can parlay his impressive scout-team work into regular playing time as a redshirt freshman.
“I think I have to stay consistent in everything I do. Just get better and get in the weight room, get out there on the field with Coach J and just do my job,” Kanu said when asked how he thinks he can earn a bigger role this season.
It might still be another year before any of Curry, Jackson, Abor and Kanu become regular starters, but given Ohio State’s lack of proven depth behind the projected starters and Johnson’s desire to have a well-stocked rotation, their ability to emerge as playmakers as second-year Buckeyes will be no less important to the success of OSU’s defensive line.
