It’s down to four days until spring practice begins for the 2026 Ohio State football team.
As we continue previewing the Buckeyes’ roster position-by-position ahead of spring football, we arrive at another position with important new faces for Ohio State in 2026: Defensive tackle. The Buckeyes brought in two transfers to bolster their ranks in a post-Kayden McDonald world, and how the new bodies mix with those returning will be a key defensive storyline to follow.
Spring Previews
There’s been a lot of turnover overall at defensive tackle for the Buckeyes, with four transfer portal departures and senior Tywone Malone Jr. joining McDonald in finding new destinations to continue their football careers. But there’s a core group of five upperclassmen to lead the charge heading into spring practice.
Who’s Back
Eddrick Houston (Rotational Starter in 2025), Will Smith Jr. (Second-String in 2025), Jason Moore (Third-String in 2025)
Junior Eddrick Houston headlines the returning players for Ohio State after a tumultuous 2025. Entering the year with plenty of hype as a five-star prospect embracing a starting role, Houston suffered an injury in preseason camp that sidetracked his development for a bit, though he ultimately started the Buckeyes’ first two games. His performance was lacking, however, and Malone passed him as the team’s starter by Week 3.
Houston held onto a rotational role throughout the rest of the season, showing strides in the second half of the year. He won his starting job back for the College Football Playoff quarterfinals against Miami and is now aiming to tap into the five-star promise he showed coming out of high school. He posted 21 tackles with four tackles for loss and three sacks across 323 snaps in 2025.
Will Smith Jr. emerged as a decent backup option at nose guard behind McDonald in 2025, recording 20 tackles in 223 snaps. The Ohio State legacy gives the Buckeyes quality, veteran depth heading into his redshirt junior year.
Jason Moore was a top-70 prospect out of high school, but hasn’t carved out a role in his three seasons at Ohio State thus far. His senior year will be his final chance in 2026. He played just 43 snaps in 2025, sixth-most at the position, logging six tackles with one TFL.
Who’s New
James Smith (Transfer), John Walker (Transfer), Jamir Perez (Freshman), Emanuel Ruffin (Freshman), Damari Simeon (Freshman)
Ohio State landed a pair of exciting contributors at defensive tackle in the transfer portal.
No player in college football could have replaced McDonald’s generational levels of run defense at the nose guard position. But as space-eaters go, it’s hard to do better than 6-foot-4, 325-pound behemoth John Walker, formerly of UCF. He had 40 tackles with three TFL and one sack. A top-100 prospect out of high school, he’ll work to start setting new lines of scrimmage this spring.
But the crown jewel of perhaps Ohio State’s entire transfer portal class is former Alabama defensive tackle James Smith, the No. 1 defensive tackle in the portal per 247Sports. Smith had 28 tackles with 6.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks in 2025, statistics that the five-star prospect aims to build on in 2026. He completes the quintet of upperclassmen forming the core of the room with Walker, Houston, Will Smith and Moore.
A trio of well-regarded freshmen defensive tackles will start their Buckeye journeys in 2026, two four-stars in Emanuel Ruffin and Damari Simeon, and a three-star in Jamir Perez. Defensive line coach Larry Johnson flipped Ruffin from Colorado and Perez from Florida. Both Ruffin and Simeon are top-300 prospects in the 247Sports composite.
Who’s Gone
Kayden McDonald (NFL Draft), Tywone Malone Jr. (Senior), Jarquez Carter (Transfer), Eric Mensah (Transfer), Trajen Odom (Transfer), Maxwell Roy (Transfer)
Underselling the impact McDonald had in 2025 is impossible. A nose guard piling up 65 tackles is almost unheard of. He tacked on nine TFL, three sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for good measure. Pro Football Focus placed him as the highest-graded run defender in the country at 91.2. He earned unanimous first-team All-American honors and was an Outland Trophy finalist. He’ll likely be a first-round pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
Malone finally found the field at Ohio State in his redshirt senior season, originally a transfer from Ole Miss back in 2023. He started the majority of the season for the Buckeyes and proved a serviceable three-tech, collecting 26 tackles.
Four young transfers left Ohio State in the offseason: Maxwell Roy (UCLA), Eric Mensah (Virginia Tech), Trajen Odom (Arkansas) and Jarquez Carter (Miami). Of the four, only Carter had a real chance to play a role for the Buckeyes in 2026 after playing 51 snaps as a freshman, surpassing Moore on the depth chart.
The Big Question
What level of production can the room reach?
There’s not a scenario in this writer’s head where any defensive tackle on this roster matches the monstrous output of McDonald, but doubtless, there are several talented bodies in this DT room. Great DT play is about a lot more than the stat sheet with the tackles and sacks; it’s about creating trainwrecks at the line of scrimmage on run plays and collapsing the pocket on pass plays.
Houston, James Smith and perhaps even Moore (should things click) have the athleticism to turn into strong interior pass rushers. Any of the five underclassmen could pile up a few tackles and create those pile-ups at the line to stifle opposing ground games. It’s about putting it all on the field. Otherwise, Ohio State will feel the weight of McDonald’s departure.
Battle to Watch
James Smith vs. Eddrick Houston
It’d feel weird for Ohio State to dedicate the resources it takes to land the nation’s No. 1 defensive tackle in the transfer portal and not start him at his primary three-technique position, but nothing is given in Columbus. Houston could challenge for the spot if he matches his five-star hype better than Smith does his.
Walker projects as the slightly weaker of the two portal acquisitions, but he’s the truest nose guard body on Ohio State’s roster, and Houston is a former defensive end who might lack the body type to fit into that position. His 6-foot-3, 290-pound frame isn’t terrible at nose, but the 325 pounds sounds a lot better. Same for Smith, who checks in at 300. That being said, the loser between Smith and Houston at three-technique could still challenge for that nose guard spot, especially if that man packs on some extra weight this offseason.
In truth, this could turn into a battle to see who the two best starters are between Houston, Smith and Walker, then Johnson and company could figure out the configuration later.
Overall Pre-Spring Outlook
There’s a lot to like about Ohio State’s defensive tackle room in 2025. Four players with a backlog of major college football experience create good depth. James Smith and Walker make for an exciting transfer portal tandem and Houston could take the next step and become a star if he carves out a starting job.
A room is never going to have the same feel after losing a generational player. But even without McDonald, Ohio State should feel confident in its defensive tackles heading into this spring.
