Ohio State didn’t need to mix up its defensive fronts much over the past two years. It’ll have more reason to in 2025.
With Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau at defensive end and Tyleik Williams, Ty Hamilton and Mike Hall Jr. (in 2023) at defensive tackle, Ohio State rarely deviated from using a four-man defensive front over the last two seasons. Although its pass-rush scheme drew scrutiny at times – even from Nick Saban after last year’s loss to Oregon – the Buckeyes’ defensive model was ultimately justified as Ohio State led the nation in pass defense in 2023 and in total defense in 2024, also finishing last season third in the FBS in sacks per game as the defensive line’s dominance in the College Football Playoff led the way to a national championship.
Now that Sawyer, Tuimoloau, Williams, Hamilton and Hall are all in the NFL, however, Ohio State might need to change things up more this upcoming season. Fortunately, it has the variety of pass-rushers it needs to do so, along with a new defensive coordinator with a history of success using multiple defensive fronts.
While Tuimoloau and Sawyer were two of college football’s best defensive ends last season, with both being capable of taking over games and making game-changing plays, it’s uncertain whether Ohio State will have a defensive end as good as either of them this season. But it has at least five edge players who are expected to have roles in the 2025 defensive line rotation.
Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry are both candidates for breakout seasons in their fourth year as Buckeyes after serving as Sawyer and Tuimoloau’s top backups for the past two years. North Carolina transfer Beau Atkinson was among the ACC’s top defensive ends last season, while Idaho State transfer Logan George was highly productive at the FCS level. C.J. Hicks is the wild card of the group as the former five-star linebacker moves to the edge for his senior season at Ohio State.
Collectively, they had fewer sacks (20) than Tuimoloau and Sawyer (21.5) combined for in 2024, so OSU will be counting on at least a couple of them to elevate their game to another level this season. But they bring a variety of different skill sets to Ohio State’s defensive end rotation, which Ryan Day believes can be an asset for the Buckeyes, especially with new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia finding creative ways to scheme them up against their opponents.
“There are different skill sets of those guys that we can try to be creative, and that's one of the reasons why Matt's here is to find out what they do best and then get them on the field and do that. And I think that's exciting as we head into the summer to figure out what that looks like,” Day said in April. “Just like on offense, you try to put the guys in the right position to be successful, it's our job to do that now because numbers-wise, when you look at the guys on the defensive line, I think we're now at like 18 (players on scholarship). So that's a big number. So we've got plenty of guys to work with. So now we've got to figure out what they can do well, and that's coaching.”
Perhaps the most obvious and interesting wrinkle Ohio State could add to this year’s defense is the use of a hybrid edge rusher/standup linebacker. Hicks is the clear-cut candidate to play that role, and how he continues to develop as an edge defender – especially against the run – could determine how big a part of the defense that role becomes.
“Some of the other type of hybrid-like outside linebacker/defensive ends that I've coached in the past, (Hicks has a) similar type of skill set, similar type of body frame, things like that. And that's good, ‘cause you can use them in unique ways and in different ways and hopefully cause the offense a little bit of confusion when you do that with those guys,” Patricia said this spring.
Jackson could also play that role situationally, and freshman Zion Grady and redshirt sophomore Joshua Mickens could also fit that spot if they prove ready to play this year. Another option could be to build a three-linebacker package in which Arvell Reese and/or Sonny Styles – particularly Reese, who briefly moved to defensive end as a freshman before settling in at linebacker – rush off the edge, which could be an appealing change-up with Payton Pierce pushing for playing time as a third linebacker.
Ohio State last used a hybrid rush linebacker regularly in 2022, when then-first-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles introduced the “Jack” position to the defense. That experiment proved to be short-lived, as the two players tasked with playing the position that year – Sawyer and Javontae Jean-Baptiste – didn’t make many plays in that role. That’s led to a perception that Johnson is opposed to using anything other than a four-down front, but Johnson dismissed that notion this spring.
“I'm always open to change, because it's all about winning, it's all about putting our kids in the best position to be in,” Johnson said. “3-4 or 4-3, it doesn't really matter what we play, as long as we're successful in what we're doing and put our players in the best position to be successful.
“A multiple defense, that’s what we are. We need to find a way to use our players in the best position possible to be successful … if it's going to get us in the best position for our players to play as fast as they can, whatever you play, I'm all in. There's no resistance from Coach Johnson like we’ve gotta be a four-man front. We can be whatever we want to be if the personnel fit what we are trying to do.”
“There are different skill sets of those guys that we can try to be creative, and that’s one of the reasons why Matt’s here is to find out what they do best and then get them on the field and do that.”– Ryan Day on Ohio State’s defensive ends
One package that Ohio State has utilized in pass-rush situations many times in Johnson’s 11-year tenure leading the Buckeyes’ defensive line is the “Rushmen” package, in which the Buckeyes put three or four defensive ends on the field simultaneously. While that package was only used occasionally over the past couple of years – in large part because Williams, Hall and Hamilton were effective interior pass-rushers – the Buckeyes have multiple reasons to consider using it more frequently this year.
Curry and George both have experience lining up inside and are candidates to play defensive tackle situationally in pass-rush packages. Atkinson and Jackson (both listed at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds) have the size to kick inside, too, giving Johnson and Patricia plenty of options for how they could align a four-defensive end front. And while starting defensive tackles Eddrick Houston and Kayden McDonald – especially Houston, who was recruited to Ohio State as a five-star defensive end – both have the potential to be disruptive interior pass-rushers, the Buckeyes’ lack of proven defensive tackle depth could create more incentive to kick defensive ends inside when possible.
Caden Curry is a top candidate to play as an interior pass-rusher in Rushmen packages.
Ideally, at least one of Ohio State’s backup defensive tackles, such as Jason Moore, Tywone Malone Jr. or Will Smith Jr. will prove they can also be an effective interior pass-rusher off the bench. But the Buckeyes’ defensive end depth and ability to move some of those DEs inside in certain situations could help mitigate their suspect defensive tackle depth by taking some snaps off of Houston and McDonald’s plates.
Of course, being creative is about more than just changing personnel. Patricia can also help Ohio State’s defensive line generate more pressure by running stunts, dialing up blitzes and disguising plays to confuse opponents. Having a pair of physical freaks at linebacker in Reese and Styles will help with that effort, as will having the nation’s best safety in Caleb Downs, who proved he could be a missile into the backfield with his 7.5 tackles for loss in 2024.
While Patricia didn’t delve into many specifics this spring about what his Ohio State defenses will look like, he has a track record of mixing up defensive fronts and personnel packages frequently, particularly during his highly successful eight-year run leading the New England Patriots’ defense. And with all of last year’s starting defensive linemen now playing in the NFL, that just might be what Ohio State needs to get the most out of its pass rush this year.
Johnson believes the Buckeyes’ success will ultimately be determined by their players more than their scheme.
“It's not schemes, it’s the Jimmys and the Joes,” Johnson said. “We can talk scheme all you want, 3-4, whatever you have; at the end of the day, it's those guys up front and the guys in the back half and we're all on the same page to play the best possible defense we can play.”
That said, Patricia is optimistic about the Buckeyes’ ability to be successful using a variety of defensive fronts this season based on what he saw this spring.
“I think the guys have done a really good job with the multiplicity of some of the things that we're doing right now and moving around and kind of being in some different spots just to kind of get an evaluation of it to see if we can have some of that depth and put them in those alignments,” Patricia said in April when asked about the defensive line. “So I think that's been pretty impressive.”
