Larry Johnson and nine of his defensive linemen met with the media on Thursday afternoon as Ohio State’s preseason camp interview sessions continue.
Defensive tackle depth was a big topic of discussion with Ohio State’s defensive line coach on Thursday. Interestingly, the first player Johnson named at the position after starters Eddrick Houston and Kayden McDonald was Jarquez Carter, seemingly indicating that the freshman is making a push for immediate playing time.
Carter didn’t meet with the media on Thursday, but five other defensive tackles did: Houston, McDonald, Will Smith Jr., Tywone Malone Jr. and Jason Moore. Houston told reporters he’ll be “ready Week 1,” though he didn’t want to discuss the specifics of the knee injury he suffered on Ohio State’s first day of preseason camp.
Ohio State’s top four defensive ends – Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Caden Curry, Beau Atkinson and C.J. Hicks – also sat down for interview sessions with local media. Jackson and Curry talked about how they’ve stepped up as leaders, with Jackson admitting he didn’t want to be a leader at first and how he overcame that. Atkinson discussed his first few weeks of practice as a Buckeye and Hicks talked about how he’s settling in as an edge rusher.
Videos, quotes and notes from all 10 of Thursday’s defensive line interview sessions can be found below.
Larry Johnson
“If I can get six guys to play as one, we have a good deal. That’s the whole approach. We don’t know who’s gonna be the ones, who’s gonna be the twos, who’s gonna be the threes. It’s all about driving them to understand what it takes to play that first game.”– Larry Johnson on Ohio State’s defensive line depth chart
- Johnson named freshman Jarquez Carter when listing off defensive linemen who have worked hard in preseason camp. “He’s working hard to have an opportunity to get on the field. I think that’s the key. He has some things that we like. He’s doing really well. But we’re still in the process of building him.”
- Johnson said he looks for effort, the ability to play fast and great technique from all of his defensive linemen, but he has a sharper eye for freshmen like Carter who are looking to carve a role for themselves early in their career.
- On Eddrick Houston: “I think he’s got a chance to be really special. I think he’s got a chance. But again, he’s a young player learning how to develop. I don’t want to put all that pressure on him like he’s got to do this. He’s just got to play to his ability. If he can do that, he’ll give himself a chance to play really, really solid.”
- Johnson said Ohio State’s defensive tackle depth has “moved forward” during preseason camp. “We’re trying to find the right path to manage evaluation. I tell them every time I get to the field, it’s an evaluation and the camera is on you.”
Eddrick Houston
“I feel good. I’ll be ready week one.”– Eddrick Houston on any lingering effects from his fall camp injury
- Houston said his lower leg injury initally occured because he took a wrong step, “messed it up,” then had to rehab it for a few days but then came back to practice.
- Houston doesn’t believe he’ll be limited against Texas, saying multiple times Thursday that he’ll be ready to go.
- Houston declined to mention specifics about what his injury entailed but said he felt great to be back on the field and be able to contribute against the Longhorns.
Kayden McDonald
“I (became) Slim-Mac. That’s what they say. I’m just excited, man, for my guys. I’m really excited for this season.”– Kayden McDonald on his offseason weight loss
- On how he’s prepared to embrace a starting role: “It started in the offseason, fixing my diet, getting my weight down, having Coach Mick on me every day. Shout out Kaila (Olson), preparing my meals every day in the offseason. I just kept working.”
- On Eddrick Houston: “He's a freak athlete. He was a d-end first, and now he's a three-technique, which makes him more versatile at the three-technique. He's just ready.”
- McDonald said he wants to be a “four-down player” for the Buckeyes in 2025. “Having the guys like Tyleik (Williams) and Ty (Hamilton), they showed me what it took. So now I just took the steps, doing more conditioning.”
Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
“I just come in every day and just bust my butt every single day, just trying to get 1% better each and every day.”– Kenyatta Jackson Jr. on his day-to-day approach
- On his style of leadership: “It's pretty much just being myself. You have different leaders. You got the vocal leader, you got the leader that's set by example, and I just try to be myself around the guys. A leader can't tell a younger guy what to do when a leader's not doing it. So every day I just push myself to the standard of the Rushmen, and they just follow after me.”
- Jackson admitted he didn’t want to be the leader of the defensive line at first. “There would be days where Coach Mick and the other coaches would be hard on the D-line, and it would be tough, and I would go home and shed tears. But I stayed with it, I stuck with it. Coach J, Coach Day and Coach Mick, they helped me along with it, and I'm in this position now.”
- Jackson, who played with Jeremiah Smith at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School, said he tried to tell his teammates from the beginning how good Jeremiah was. “He's going to be great, man. He just keeps his head down and be humble and keeps pushing each and every day, he’s going to be a great player.”
Caden Curry
“Our defense was great last year. I think we need to just keep playing with our hair on fire and just keep playing it one play at a time and just doing our best.”– Caden Curry on Ohio State’s defense building off last year’s success
- When asked to describe his playstyle, Curry answered, “I’m somebody who never gives up on a play. I’m sideline to sideline. I just fight to get better every day.”
- Curry said he learned a lot from JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer during his three years as a teammate with them. “Just the way they went about themselves — the way they live, their lifestyle on and off the field. One thing that was really big to me was their faith. And that kind of helped me jump in and kind of go to a different path that maybe I didn’t really see before and kind of just jump forward to help others.”
- On Beau Atkinson: “I think Beau is a great player. I think Beau is definitely gonna bring a lot of impact to this defense. I love the way he plays and I love how hard he plays, too.”
- On Eddrick Houston: “Eddrick is one of those guys that, I mean, he’s a fierce competitor. He fights. He plays hard every single play. He does his job.”
Beau Atkinson
“We have a lot of studs, a lot of very talented guys. Every single one of them is ready to get out. I think we’ve all had a very good camp, so yeah, I’m excited for it.”– Beau Atkinson on Ohio State’s defensive line room
- Atkinson described his experience during summer workouts and preseason camp as “amazing.” He added: “We have a lot of very talented guys. I’m just excited for us to be able to work together as a unit and continue to get after it.”
- Atkinson said he loves to play for Johnson, who he said has helped him with technique on the football field and his faith off of it. He also loves to play for Matt Patricia. “Coach Patricia’s awesome. I love Coach Patricia. He’s a great dude.”
- A North Carolina native and resident for over 20 years, Atkinson said he’s looking for restaurant recommendations in Columbus. “I mean, I go to Chipotle every other day. Y’all got to give me some recs.” (The Eleven Warriors staff recommended Wario’s Beef and Pork to him.)
C.J. Hicks
“I feel like it can just show how versatile I can be, because of the fact how I've played linebacker for the past few years, and now I'm rushing the passer.”– C.J. Hicks on what he thinks he brings to the edge
- Hicks said his teammates have been calling him Abdul Carter since he moved to the edge, but he’s just trying to be himself. “I don't really pay attention to being nicknamed or comparing myself to other people. I'm my own person. I rush my own way. Yes, we might have similarities, but like I said, I'm my own person.”
- Hicks said Caleb Downs is “100%” the best player on the defense at recognizing what opponents are doing. “I feel like just being on the field with Caleb, Caleb will call out the whole play before it happens. Like even if you watch film and we're watching film now, Caleb is pointing out where the ball's going before they even snap the ball. Like he'll point out it if it's a screen or anything like that, he's pointing to the receivers and who’s getting the ball.”
- Hicks said he’s up to 240-245 pounds after weighing 235 pounds last year.
Will Smith Jr.
“I'm better working vertical than I am more horizontal. I feel like I have a better get off and that's where I shine. I can knock the center back.”– Will Smith Jr. on why he fits at the nose guard position
- On his approach to preseason camp: “I just come here every day with a chip on my shoulder and I try to stack every day. And just keep on stacking, building my foundation.”
- On where he’s grown this year: “I feel like I'm starting to play a little faster. I'm starting to just understand the defense more.”
- Smith wants to chart his own course at Ohio State while still honoring his late father before him. “I want to build my own legacy, but I don't want to discredit his own legacy. It's the Smith name.”
Tywone Malone Jr.
“My mindset on the game itself and just reading my keys and understanding how offenses like to play. Getting with Coach J and Coach (Patricia), they really taught me a lot more about the game.”– Tywone Malone Jr. on his biggest improvements this offseason
- Malone said he’s primarily working at three-technique defensive tackle, but Ohio State continues to rotate guys at both DT positions.
- On the mentality of the defensive tackle room after Houston’s injury: “Next man up, ‘cause that's always what Coach J say. We're a unit. We always look out for each other. So one man goes down, the next one has got to be ready to come up and take over.”
- On his growth since transferring from Ole Miss in 2023: “A lot of people come from different places to come here to Ohio State, and it's different here. That's our motto here, tough love and just understanding what our coaches want from us and how we can help them out. So just getting with the coaching staff, getting with the older guys, like they really taught me a lot of things of what I need to do or what this whole unit needs to do to maintain being the best unit in the country.”
Jason Moore
“My mindset, taking everything seriously, coming in every day … just taking it up to another notch.” – Jason Moore on how this year is different for him than 2024
- Moore said his mindset is every year he’s at Ohio State, he has to take his game to another notch and treat things as a learning experience until it’s your turn to get reps on the field.
- Moore says hes’ gotten stronger physically and has increased his speed. He’s focusing on learning his role and attacking his job to the best of his ability daily.
- Moore said patience is one of the most important things he has had to learn at Ohio State, and that came once he talked to former Buckeye veterans about waiting for their time to come.
