Going into his first season as Ohio State’s defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles said he wouldn’t rotate much at linebacker and defensive back, believing that continuity at those positions would yield the best results.
Entering his second year with the Buckeyes, and recognizing his depth of talent at Ohio State is more significant than what he had at Oklahoma State and other previous coaching stops, Knowles has indicated that philosophy could change in 2023.
“I think you get to The Ohio State, you realize there are a lot of guys with a lot of skills that you should find roles for,” Knowles said in May.
Ohio State certainly seems to have a lot of defensive players who fit that description going into the 2023 season. Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers return as the Buckeyes’ starting linebackers, but Knowles has said he expects Cody Simon and C.J. Hicks to have roles this season, too. Denzel Burke and Lathan Ransom are the only returning starters in the secondary. Still, Jordan Hancock and Davison Igbinosun are both making a strong case to start opposite Burke at cornerback. At the same time, Ja’Had Carter, Sonny Styles, Cameron Martinez and Josh Proctor are all candidates to earn regular playing time alongside Ransom at safety.
Striking the right balance between having the best 11 players on the field and making smart substitutions to match up schematically with opponents could be a key for Ohio State’s defense to perform up to its potential and play well enough to win a championship in 2023.
While Eichenberg and Chambers should be one of college football’s top starting linebacker tandems, that doesn’t necessarily mean they should both be on the field every snap as they were for most of last season. Beyond the possibility of rotating Simon and Hicks in to keep the starters fresh, Ohio State could potentially bolster its coverage in clear passing situations by subbing out one of its starting linebackers for someone like Hicks (who played safety in high school), recently converted safety Kourt Williams or even Styles, who certainly has the size to play linebacker situationally at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds.
Styles seems to be trending toward playing a significant role as a sophomore after taking the first-team reps at nickel safety in Ohio State’s first practice of preseason camp. However, Ohio State still must decide whether playing him in that role in an every-down capacity makes sense. Starting Styles at nickel could remove the need for the Buckeyes to substitute in a bigger body against multi-tight end sets, as Styles was expected to play that role anyway as a linebacker/safety hybrid. But it could create a need to bring in Martinez or a third cornerback in coverage situations against slot receivers, though Knowles says he wouldn’t put it past Styles to handle that responsibility.
“Don't assume anything with Sonny,” Knowles said Thursday. “He's extremely talented, and he can do it all.”
There may be less of a need to rotate at the deep safety spots if Carter and Ransom lock those jobs down, though the Buckeyes could also look to find a role for Proctor after he took first-team free safety reps all spring. At cornerback, the strong performance of Hancock, Igbinosun and Jyaire Brown this offseason gives the Buckeyes reason to consider rotating more at that position or utilizing more nickel and dime packages that put three or even four cornerbacks on the field in passing situations.
Of course, the balance can go both ways. While it seems unlikely that Ohio State will rely on the same seven players to play all of the snaps at linebacker, cornerback and safety this year, the Buckeyes need to make sure – at least in close games against top competition – that their substitution patterns help them match up with the opposing offenses. While they’ll want to find ways to get their backups involved, they don‘t want to do that at the expense of the defense’s performance with the game on the line.
That conversation certainly extends to the defensive line, where Larry Johnson has been known to rotate frequently throughout his Ohio State tenure. While he’s repeatedly defended that strategy because he believes his players need to be fresh to perform at their best, it’s also often led to situations where the Buckeyes don’t have all of their best defensive linemen on the field in critical junctures of the game.
Ohio State seemingly has enough talent to maintain deep rotations on the defensive line again in 2023. Kenyatta Jackson, Caden Curry and Omari Abor are all candidates to rotate in behind projected starters JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer at defensive end. Mike Hall, Ty Hamilton, Tyleik Williams and Tywone Malone are all expected to see their share of snaps in a defensive tackle rotation that could also theoretically include Hero Kanu or Jaden McKenzie.
That said, recent comments from Ryan Day have suggested that while Ohio State is likely to substitute at least a bit more at linebacker and safety this year, the Buckeyes could tighten up the defensive line rotation to lean more heavily on their top players.
“I think we now have guys who have experience going into the season, and I think they can handle a lot more reps,” Day said Wednesday about the defensive line. “It typically comes down to how many guys you think can play at a starter level, and those guys will play, but I think the D-line that we have can handle more volume than maybe in the past.
“We'll see how the younger guys develop. It's always good to have more guys who can play in the game that you feel good putting in the game to rotate a little bit. But these guys can handle more, and I think you'll see them in there more.”
Another factor Knowles and the Buckeyes are balancing is whether and how much they should utilize the Jack position in 2023. Knowles has acknowledged he didn’t get that balance right last year when Sawyer and Javontae Jean-Baptiste often moved from defensive end to play as a standup linebacker but didn’t make many noteworthy plays in that role. As a result, the Buckeyes are likely to utilize the hybrid edge position less frequently this year – yet it could be more noticeable when they do, as they’re specifically looking at Mitchell Melton and Hicks as candidates to substitute in and play Jack rather than moving one of their defensive ends to that spot.
“I see it as a changeup for this year,” Knowles said Thursday of the Jack position. “Changeup, curveball, not the focus. But definitely something I want to look at this camp.”
With numerous candidates to play significant roles at every defensive position, Knowles and the rest of Ohio State’s defensive coaches face tough decisions about who will play regularly and who won’t this season, and that’s a good problem for the Buckeyes to have. For a defense that stumbled in its biggest games last season, however, finding the right blend of starters and substitutes and managing personnel effectively at all three levels of the defense will be a key factor in whether Ohio State’s defense can get the job done in big games this year.
