Tommy Eichenberg has been referred to as the “quarterback” of Ohio State’s defense by Jim Knowles. He’s the lone defensive captain and a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award as the best defender in college football.
The linebacker suffered an injury against Rutgers 13 days ago, however, and missed last week's game against Michigan State.
To say there isn’t some drop-off in losing the Buckeyes’ leading tackler each of the past two seasons might be foolish, one would think, even if a proven replacement was ready in Cody Simon. But that’s not the case if the man who has started alongside Eichenberg during the 2022 and 2023 campaigns is to be believed.
“No difference. Not at all,” Steele Chambers said.
Thanks to his advanced understanding of the game and instincts at the linebacker position, Ohio State’s defense still feels every bit as confident with Simon at Mike as it does with Eichenberg.
“I’m very comfortable with Cody,” Knowles said. “Cody not only plays well but he manages the game like Tommy does. He’s got that kind of brain and that kind of football intelligence.”
When it comes to tackle production relative to playing time, few players on Ohio State’s defense perform like Simon does.
Simon’s 244 snaps this season are 243 behind Chambers and 302 behind Eichenberg, but Simon is tied for fourth on the team with 42 tackles on the year.
That’s a rate of one tackle every 5.8 defensive snaps, easily the best among Ohio State defenders who have played at least 100 snaps this season. Eichenberg is second with one every 7.5 defensive snaps.
“They both work their butts off preparing before the game, so there’s no real difference,” Chambers said. “You put Cody in there and there’s no change.”
Asked his third follow-up question on any differences between Eichenberg and Simon, this time pertaining to whether Simon talks more, Chambers responded bluntly that Simon "grunts less.”
Simon still feels that Eichenberg’s absence leaves a “big hole” on defense for Ohio State, and partially credited Eichenberg with his own success as a starter against Michigan State, during which he recorded a team-high five tackles.
“Tommy, he’s an all-time leader,” Simon said after the game against the Spartans. “It doesn’t matter what his role is on the field or at practice, he’s going to be vocal and make sure that we’re all on our stuff. He’s always helping us out. He’s another eye for us to make changes and everything. I’m so happy to have him on our side.”
Of course, that wasn’t Simon’s first time playing meaningful snaps this season. He’s rotated at Will linebacker with Chambers throughout the year, playing at least 15 snaps in every game since Week 2 with three outings over 35 snaps.
He first appeared on the radar of Ohio State fans against Notre Dame in Week 4, making a big 4th-and-1 stop of Fighting Irish quarterback Sam Hartman.
A big play for the @OhioStateFB defense stopping Sam Hartman on fourth down!
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 24, 2023
: NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/4FXbGA7ENq
Simon later racked up eight tackles against Purdue in Week 7 and nine takedowns against Rutgers in Week 10.
“Cody has paid attention from the time I’ve arrived here and asks questions all the time,” Knowles said. “He actually speaks where Tommy grunts, Cody (it’s) conversation. But yeah, he’s got the same kind of mind, the same football vision.”
Ryan Day stated Tuesday that Eichenberg is practicing this week and could return to the field this week. When that happens, Simon will still maintain an active role in the defense, as he did before Eichenberg’s injury.
“We need them both as we come down the stretch here,” Knowles said. “We need to have the ability to put them in different places.”
Regardless, if Eichenberg is unable to go against Minnesota, the Silver Bullets will rest assured they have another option to lead the defense from the Mike linebacker spot.
