Defensive line rotation is a delicate balance, but right now it seems Ohio State is leaning heavily on the starting side of the beam.
The Buckeyes' first front four of Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams played 85% of Ohio State's 291 combined snaps among defensive linemen against Nebraska. This trend is especially prevalent at the defensive tackle position, where Hamilton and Williams ate 90% of the action.
After a game at Oregon where some of Ohio State's defensive linemen were showing clear signs of fatigue on the sidelines in the second half, one has to wonder if that workload is sustainable – even if every snap matted in the Buckeyes' narrow 21-17 win over the Cornhuskers.
"I definitely think we want to rotate guys," Ryan Day said. "But when the game's on the line like that, we've got to make sure that we're getting stops. We did that. We'll have to do that again this week. But yeah, we've got to get (Kayden McDonald) mixed in more, Hero (Kanu) mixed in more, Kenyatta (Jackson Jr.), Caden Curry, and make sure that our guys are fresh in the fourth quarter."
Every snap is likely going to matter again this Saturday. No. 4 Ohio State hits the road to No. 3 Penn State for a top-five matchup in which a loss would all but eliminate the Buckeyes from Big Ten title contention.
Player rotation is often left to the judgment of Ohio State's assistant coaches, though it will of course align with whatever personnel package (4-2-5, 4-3, etc.) defensive coordinator Jim Knowles calls for. That being noted, Knowles deferred defensive line rotation questions to defensive line coach Larry Johnson on Tuesday.
"I'm comfortable with whatever Coach Johnson deems appropriate," Knowles said. "He's around those guys all the time. He manages those guys and he knows what he's doing."
Sawyer and Tuimoloau played 64 and 58 snaps against the Cornhuskers while Hamilton and Williams played 60 and 61 of the Buckeyes' 72 defensive downs. Jackson saw 15 reps and Curry got nine as the next two defensive ends on Ohio State's depth chart, with Mitchell Melton playing five snaps. McDonald had 10 snaps as the most-used backup defensive tackle, but no other true DT played more than two.
While Knowles said defensive line playing time is Johnson's call, it does seem like there's been a collaborative effort or at least a conversation behind the scenes about the proper way to deploy the bench up front.
"I think it always has to involve the full group, including the head coach," Knowles said. "You have to operate as a team. You always want to defer to the position coach. There are other opinions that people have and we all work on it, but it's got to be all together."
While Ohio State struggled against a team that, on paper, it shouldn't have, the win over the Huskers was a good day for the Buckeyes' defensive line. After not recording a single sack at Oregon two weeks prior, OSU's defense piled up three sacks and 13 tackles for loss against the Cornhuskers. Williams, Hamilton and Tuimoloau each had one sack. The defensive line combined for 5.5 of the 13 TFLs, and it would have been hard for the other defenders to record the rest if the defensive linemen weren't filling gaps and eating blocks.
Knowles and company also opened up the playbook and mixed in some three-down and even a five-down defensive line look with an increase in stunts, blitzes and simulated pressures to present varying looks and get after the quarterback in a better way schematically.
"I think it worked, bringing more people in different ways," Knowles said. "Not just relying on our guys up front, trying to give them chances for matchups and just creating more looks. When the quarterback gets out against a pressure, it can be a big deal. So we've just got to keep working on it."
One drawback of that aggression – at least in the first half against the Huskers – is that defensive linemen sometimes got out of their rush lanes and allowed Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola to scramble for first downs as he picked up a career-high 31 rushing yards. That number goes up to 52 if sacks are excluded, so Knowles knows containing the quarterback in the pocket is something the Buckeyes need to get better at.
"When we do decide to bring pressure, we need to be on our assignments and our gaps," Knowles said. "I think any time you bring pressure, there's a chance to create creases. And then just keep working on our rush lanes. It's not easily done. When you want guys to throw moves and get pressure, there's going to be some seams. So it's just a constant process of working on it."
“I think it worked, bringing more people in different ways. Not just relying on our guys up front, trying to give them chances for matchups and just creating more looks.”– Jim Knowles on being more creative with pass-rush scheme vs. Nebraska
That rush lane discipline will be of particular importance against Penn State this week. The Nittany Lions involve their quarterback in the running game. Starter Drew Allar has 129 rushing yards this season while backup Beau Pribula has gained 133 between special offensive packages and in relief of Allar after he was injured at Wisconsin last Saturday.
Allar's status for this week's game is still up in the air, but Day said the Buckeyes have been preparing for both quarterbacks regardless.
Much like the better mixture of schemes to pressure Raiola, a better rotation along the defensive line to ensure the best play possible at those positions in the fourth quarter must be considered for the Penn State game. Ohio State must find its equilibrium on the proverbial balance beam.
"The bottom line is it's our job to make sure we're putting our guys in the best position to be successful," Day said. "I know I keep saying that over and over again, but we've got to do that as coaches and allow them to play fast. And we've got to do that again this week. These guys throw a lot of stuff at you. You've got to be able to handle it."
