In his postgame press conference after Ohio State’s 24-6 win at Washington on Saturday, Caden Curry described the Buckeyes’ defensive line this season as “just a bunch of no-names.”
That may have been true before Saturday’s Big Ten opener, but it certainly isn’t true now.
Curry more than made a name for himself with his performance against the Huskies, recording a whopping 11 total tackles with five tackles for loss – tying Ohio State’s single-game school record – and three sacks. So too did Ohio State nose tackle Kayden McDonald, recording seven tackles with three tackles for loss and two sacks – both in crucial moments – to lead a stifling defensive performance against a Washington offense that has one of the nation’s most dynamic dual-threat quarterbacks (Demond Williams Jr.) and had averaged more than 55 points per game entering its game against the Buckeyes.
“Both of those guys played great,” Ryan Day said after the game in what could be described as a massive understatement.
Going into the 2025 season, Ohio State’s defensive line was viewed as one of its biggest question marks. The Buckeyes had to replace all four of their starters from last season, all of whom were selected in the NFL draft (Tyleik Williams, JT Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Ty Hamilton).
With no established stars, Ohio State’s defensive line was expected to take a step back and potentially even be the Buckeyes’ biggest weakness. But the Buckeyes’ defensive linemen were always hungry to prove the doubters wrong.
“Our defensive line, we're always motivated. Our whole defense is motivated. We feel like we always have a chip on our shoulder, because we lost so many players last year,” Curry said. “We have so much to gain now. We have so many players that just have an edge. We have such a good defense that just needs to play, and just keep playing.”
In the preseason, most of the hype surrounding a potential breakout star along the defensive line was centered on Kenyatta Jackson Jr. after multiple teammates predicted he’d be a first-round NFL draft pick. Four games into the season, however, it’s Curry who’s emerged as the Buckeyes’ new star defensive end.
Curry’s five tackles for loss against Washington tied seven other Buckeyes for the most in a single game in school history. His 11 total tackles – more than one in every five Washington plays for the entire game – were the most by an Ohio State defensive lineman in one game since Cameron Heyward had 11 tackles vs. Penn State in 2009.
SACKED!
— CBS Sports College Football (@CBSSportsCFB) September 27, 2025
Caden Curry gets to Demond Williams Jr. pic.twitter.com/zvIAKtPTo0
Demond Williams goes down again!
— CBS Sports College Football (@CBSSportsCFB) September 27, 2025
Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry in on the sack. pic.twitter.com/cGFRB6ivPX
The senior from Indiana leads the Buckeyes with 25 total tackles, eight tackles for loss and five sacks through four games. His constant motor and ability to rush the passer from both outside and inside, which he showed in flashes over the past three seasons, has enabled him to break through as a dominant force in his first year as a starter after waiting his turn behind Sawyer and Tuimoloau.
“I've been seeing it since freshman year, so it's not surprising, but I'm very excited for him,” Jackson said of Curry’s breakthrough.
“Caden Curry, man, he's a hard worker,” McDonald said after the game. “How you practice is how you play, and we work really hard. We always push each other to go as hard as we can, and it shows.”
McDonald, meanwhile, wasn’t necessarily expected to be Ohio State’s top defensive tackle this season either, as five-star recruit Eddrick Houston had the most buzz among Buckeye DTs entering the year. But while Houston has had a shaky start to the year, losing his spot in the starting lineup to Tywone Malone Jr., McDonald has looked like the future first-round draft pick on Ohio State’s defensive line.
He made two of the most important plays in Saturday’s game, forcing Washington to settle for a field goal in the red zone with a 3rd-and-goal sack in the third quarter and forcing a turnover on downs on the Huskies’ side of the field with a fourth-down sack in the fourth quarter.
SACKED!!
— CBS Sports College Football (@CBSSportsCFB) September 27, 2025
The Buckeye defense holds down near the goal line once again. pic.twitter.com/hu7R0ooSqL
SACKED!!!
— CBS Sports College Football (@CBSSportsCFB) September 27, 2025
Kayden McDonald takes Demond Williams Jr. down on fourth down! pic.twitter.com/3owcNbjAWg
Playing a position where players often don’t rack up box-score statistics, McDonald has done so in spades, tallying 21 tackles with five tackles for loss and three sacks. Possessing rare explosiveness for his size at 6-foot-3 and 326 pounds, McDonald – who was already graded by Pro Football Focus as the nation’s best defensive tackle before his dominant game against Washington – has overwhelmed opponents all season long with his power and quickness.
Both Curry and McDonald were humble about their individual accomplishments after Saturday’s game, attributing their success to Ohio State’s entire defensive line and defense as a whole. And even now that they have proven that they are stars, they aren’t going to stop playing with the chip on their shoulder that’s led to their early-season success.
“I feel like we're always going to have that mindset, and we're never going to let it get to our head,” Curry said. “And we're always going to play like we are those guys that just kind of play as one unit.”
But in a position group where it wasn’t clear if Ohio State would have any stars entering the season, it’s now clear that they have two All-Big Ten if not All-American candidates in McDonald and Curry, who are leading the way up front for an Ohio State defense that’s allowed just 22 points through four games.
