Of all the reactions from Ohio State’s defensive players to Indiana’s surprise triple option scheme on Saturday, Steele Chambers might have had the most visceral one.
He almost viewed it as amateurish, stating Tuesday that he didn’t think he’d seen it since high school.
“I didn’t say anything to Tommy (Eichenberg), but I looked at him and I was pretty pissed,” Chambers said. “A whole bunch of work (in practice), we saw two triple option plays.”
Two seasons ago, when Chambers was a fresh convert to the linebacker position after spending 2019 (a redshirt year) and 2020 in the running back room, the thought of adjusting on the fly to such an unexpected attack would have been overwhelming. That might have even been the case last year, the first under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
“We would have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off for probably like a whole half, at least,” Chambers said. “We just understand the defense more. Last year, if you asked me to fit the fullback in a triple option, I would have no idea what I’m doing. Probably just end up on my ass or something.”
The fact that Chambers led the Buckeyes with six tackles against the Hoosiers while the defense as a whole surrendered a mere 153 total yards, three points and 2.2 yards per carry is a testament to the progress he’s made.
Chambers’ time in the offensive backfield isn’t one he reflects on fondly.
“Life sucked back then, man,” Chambers said. “I was playing running back, I wasn’t doing anything. I didn’t have a dog or nothing. So I was just sitting around sulking.”
Chambers adopted a husky, Maverick, as he transitioned from running back to linebacker. While he was finding more joy in the 2021 season being the Buckeyes’ No. 5 tackler with 47 takedowns, he also found joy through companionship with his pup.
“Just having someone to walk around with me,” Chambers said. “I like to go take hikes and stuff, I don’t like being alone when I’m doing that. So I can just bring him with me.”
The offseason between 2022 and 2023 is the first in which he hasn’t gone through a major adjustment from a football perspective. Between 2020 and 2021 it was the transition to linebacker and from 2021 to 2022 it was the transition from Kerry Coombs to Knowles at defensive coordinator.
Chambers’ running mate at linebacker also stayed consistent. Eichenberg is fresh off one of the better seasons from a Buckeye at the position in recent memory, his 120 tackles in 2022 the most since Joshua Perry’s 124 in 2014. Both Chambers and Eichenberg elected to stay at Ohio State after being draft-eligible this past offseason.
“I think our communication has gotten a lot better. I know that’s something I struggled with last year,” Chambers said. “But we’re communicating a lot better, we’re getting calls all the way across the field where they want us calling them and then echoing it. Then just understanding how each other play, we’ve been roommates for four years so we’ve got a pretty good understanding about how we do stuff.”
That coordination proved key in countering Indiana’s triple option look Saturday.
“I was pleased,” Knowles said. “We were able to make the adjustments quickly and the communication was good. Guys were really locked in and helping each other, talking it out. They understand the system, so when I said something, they got it. I was happy with the way it went.”
"Last year, if you asked me to fit the fullback in a triple option, I would have no idea what I’m doing. Probably just end up on my ass or something.”– Steele Chambers
Chambers also made a strong open-field tackle in the game’s early goings, stonewalling Indiana running back Josh Henderson after he caught a pass out of the backfield for a 3-yard gain on 3rd-and-6, capping a three-and-out on the Hoosiers’ first possession.
“We do that drill out here in practice every Tuesday, then the third play of the season, it happens,” Chambers said. “It just shows you that the stuff you do out here on the practice field really translates to the game.”
Both the Ohio State defense and Chambers hope to maintain a high level of play for the remainder of 2023, while still not being completely satisfied with what they did in Week 1.
“We’re a lot closer, I think, as a defense compared to last year,” Chambers said. “Our mindset going into every single game is, ‘Don’t let up any points.’ So we were definitely mad when we let up three, but at the end of the day we got a win. It’s tough to get wins now in college football. We’re happy with that but definitely going for a shutout.”
