Familiarity With Jim Knowles' Defense Eases Tanner McCalister's Transition At Ohio State

The Oklahoma State transfer became the first newcomer to lose his black stripe during spring practice.

It should come as no surprise that Ohio State fifth-year senior safety Tanner McCalister became the first newcomer to shed has black stripe during spring practice given he spent the last four years at Oklahoma State under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

“I think, first off, what Tanner’s done is he understands the defense,” head coach Ryan Day said during his press conference on Tuesday morning. “It’s almost like a coach out there, kind of like one of those old player-coaches on the field.

“He’s been able to help guys with that and his experience really shows up on the field because he can recognize how teams are trying to attack them and he feels comfortable in this style of defense. Obviously, he’s got years of experience in it.”

McCalister is one of 13 scholarship players that joined the program this offseason, including Arizona State transfer DeaMonte Trayanum, who will play linebacker for the Buckeyes after two seasons at running back for the Sun Devils.

The 11 early enrollees, meanwhile, include quarterback Devin Brown; wide receivers Caleb Burton and Kyion Grayes; tight end Bennett Christian; offensive lineman George Fitzpatrick; defensive end Caden Curry; linebackers C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers; cornerbacks Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner; and safety Kye Stokes.

Perhaps one of them will soon join McCalister as an official member of the team, which is what the black stripe tradition signifies. In the meantime, he'll continue to do everything he can this spring to lock down the starting nickel safety spot.

“There’s a bunch that have flashed,” Day said of the true freshmen. “If I say one, I’m going to forget two or three and they’ll get upset, so I think that hopefully we’ll get some more of these black stripes off pretty soon.”

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