BOOM
Former Duke forward Sean Stewart, a five-star recruit in the 2023 class, commits to Ohio State.
Two games into the 2021 season, two key ingredients for successful defensive line play were glaringly absent for Ohio State.
The Buckeye pass-rush produced just two sacks combined against Minnesota and Oregon, with only one of those coming from a defensive lineman and none coming at all in the loss to the Ducks. Ohio State’s run defense, a nationally elite unit even during the Buckeyes’ defensive struggles in 2020, allowed 472 yards and six scores on the ground in the opening couple of weeks.
Nearly two months later, the Buckeyes are tied for seventh nationally in total sacks (28) while their 106.9 rushing yards allowed per game are the 16th-best mark in college football.
“We’re just dialed in more,” sixth-year senior defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson said Wednesday. “We just came closer.”
Improvement has transpired despite injuries and absences on both the inside and edge of Larry Johnson’s unit, as starting combinations have been altered on a weekly basis. But the Buckeye front line has hit its stride at exactly the right time, regaining its preseason status as the strength of the Ohio State defense with the Penn State game providing the latest proof of that fact.
The Nittany Lions entered with a struggling run game already, but for the fifth time in the past six games, Ohio State held its opponent under 100 yards rushing. In this case, it was well below, as Penn State mustered only 33 yards on 29 carries for an average of 1.1 yards per attempt.
“Well first, it makes Coach J very happy, so that’s what that does,” Jackson said about stifling an opponent’s rush attack. “And then after that, we just pin our ears back and just try to get some sacks.”
The pass rush produced as well, as it often has of late, finishing with four sacks and five quarterback hurries. One of those sacks, credited to Tyreke Smith but with help from Zach Harrison, jarred the ball loose from Penn State passer Sean Clifford to create a 57-yard fumble return touchdown for Jerron Cage. One of those hurries, also from Smith, led to a Clifford interception courtesy of Cameron Brown.
@luh_cam_ #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/LtzkSfmuOU
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 2, 2021
“(Smith)’s a great player. He plays fast, and he’s been injured, so that really sucked for us. But we got him back now, and just try to keep him healthy and just try to keep him playing great,” Jackson said. “He gets to the quarterback. Everybody sees it, he just gets to the quarterback. He messed up the quarterback and that’s how Cam got the ball last time. So him affecting the quarterback helps us as a defense.”
The impact of Smith and Harrison must be underscored not only for its obvious importance in the Penn State game, but also in juxtaposition to where both players were just a few weeks prior.
Although both missed games due to health issues, Ohio State’s season-opening starters at defensive end combined for just one sack through the first half of the season for the Buckeyes. Given the preseason expectations for a breakout junior season from Harrison and a career-best senior campaign for Smith, both were tabbed as players that had to produce more at the halfway point of the regular season.
It’s safe to say the duo has responded since then.
Smith has now registered sacks in each of the past two games and Harrison was the Buckeyes’ defensive player of the game in Ohio State’s post-bye thrashing of Indiana. Now with a combined four sacks, seven tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, the pair has stepped up accordingly.
“It’s really just great to have everybody back, honestly,” Cage said. “I mean, from the beginning of the season we’ve been dealing with injuries and all this extra stuff. But the fact that we’re all jelling together, you can actually see it on the field.”
On the interior, Johnson’s stable of defensive tackles have been one-upping themselves with standout plays as several continue to compete for the starting spot next to Haskell Garrett. No Buckeye defensive end has more sacks than Garrett (who has 4.5), true freshman tackle Tyleik Williams (four) or Jackson (2.5) this season.
Cage, Jackson and Ty Hamilton have all started games in recent weeks while Taron Vincent began the season as a starter on the inside. Cage was the star of this past week’s game with his scoop-and-score giving the Buckeyes their sixth defensive touchdown of the season.
BIG MAN TOUCHDOWN @CageJerron scoops it and scores to extend No. 5 @OhioStateFB's lead. pic.twitter.com/zpxf00wXtT
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 31, 2021
“Coach J does a good job of keeping everybody fresh. Whoever goes in, they got to do their job, and we take it very seriously,” Jackson said. “So whoever goes in, they got to do their job, and if they don’t, then somebody else gotta go in and do it.”
Garrett, Williams, Jackson, Cage and Hamilton have combined for 21.5 tackles for loss this season. And after Ohio State gave up an average of 236 yards and three scores per game on the ground in the first two contests, they’ve allowed just 397 total rushing yards and two scores in the run game in the last six.
Against Nebraska, the Buckeye front four should have success rushing the passer again, as the Huskers rank 86th in the country in sacks allowed per game this season. The run game could be a bigger challenge, as Nebraska ranks 27th in the FBS with an average of 203.4 yards per game.
Dual-threat quarterback Adrian Martinez brings an added threat to the table as the fourth-year Husker is Nebraska’s leading rusher with 451 yards and a team-high 11 rushing touchdowns.
“We know he’s a running quarterback, so just got to cage the pocket and just keep him in the pocket and just don’t let him try to get out the pocket and run,” Jackson said. “If he does, then he’s a dangerous guy. So we just got to keep him in the pocket and make him throw, and just try to make plays.”
More often than not as of late, it’s been the Ohio State defensive line bringing the danger to opposing offenses at the line of scrimmage, which is an encouraging sign for the Buckeyes as they begin the final month of the regular season.
