Does Ohio State Have A Bad Offensive Line Or A Good Defensive Line?

During Saturday's spring game, five different Ohio State Buckeyes got after the quarterbacks and recorded one sack each. Do the Buckeyes have an offensive line problem or a good defensive line?

Author:
Casey Smith
Apr 15, 2023 9:58 PM EDT

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has continually said throughout spring practice that evaluating players is hard because on one hand, one unit looks good, but on the other, another group does not.

The epitome of that concept this spring has been in the trenches, as the Buckeyes' pass rushers have gotten the better of the offensive line time and time again and Saturday's spring game was another example of that.

Day said after the scrimmage that he thought the offensive line was inconsistent.

"There were some good things, but we need more consistency there," Day said. "The good news is on defense are getting in the backfield and creating confusion and chaos."

Last season's offensive line allowed 12 sacks all year — four of which were against Georgia in the Peach Bowl — but surrendered five two-hand-touch sacks on Saturday.

There are three big differences between last year's line and this year's line: their names are Paris Johnson Jr., Dawand Jones and Luke Wypler.

The only two returners from the line a season ago are guards Donovan Jackson and Matt Jones, potentially filling the holes at left and right tackle with Josh Fryar and Zen Michalski and with Carson Hinzman at the center, all of whom took first-team reps during the spring game.

There's been a sifting and sorting process to see how different linemen handle playing against the ones, and Day said he doesn't believe that creates inconsistency since it's still spring ball.

"That's more during the season when you start to get into calls and things like that," Day said. "We were very vanilla on defense today. We didn't blitz one time, so there really isn't a lot of communication that this is a one-on-one, me-against-you technique. That's what really the spring is we think and then we start getting to schematics more. We did it a little bit at the end of spring, but more in the preseason. So this is about being able to consistently do it."

Quarterbacks Kyle McCord and Tristan Gebbia did their fair share of scrambling and avoiding pressure rather impressively, despite being sacked three and two times, respectively.

On the other side of the coin, the guys getting after the two quarterbacks looked rather promising.

Ohio State was fourth in the Big Ten with 34 sacks last season, led by defensive end Jack Sawyer and defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. who each had 4.5 sacks apiece. Neither of those two had a sack Saturday.

Instead, Hero Kanu, Kenyatta Jackson, Caden Curry, Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams all had one sack each which is encouraging for defensive line coach Larry Johnson, who usually rotates at least 10 players on the defensive line per game.

The room will likely be led by Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau, as the former has converted from the "Jack" position he played a season ago to a full-time, hand-in-the-dirt defensive end.

However, Jackson excelled in spring practice and the No. 60 player in the class of 2022 put that on display Saturday, cementing himself as the first option off the bench behind Sawyer and Tuimoloau.

Getting after the quarterback is one way to derail an opponent's gameplan and aerial success, and the Buckeyes might have their deepest defensive line since 2019, something Day said they need to continue to build.

"We have the right people in place in terms of starters, the first group or so. Now, those guys have to play great. That's important," Day said. "As you take the next step in your progression, it's one thing to be a starter, it's another thing to be a difference maker. I think we have quite a few guys that can be difference-makers."