Ohio State Football: A Tuf situation at middle linebacker?
One Tuf guy in the middle of the Ohio State defense.
When middle linebacker Chris Worley went down with a foot injury in the Army game, there had to be some concern among the Ohio State coaching staff. There was no proven backup at the position and the Black Knights were going to run the football on nearly every play. No worries, a redshirt freshman named Borland came in and performed well. And man was he Tuf.
Yes, Tuf is his first name and I think his parents named him appropriately. He was a run stuffer the entire game and finished with a team high 12 tackles with one for a loss.
Now Worley is questionable for the UNLV game and Borland is listed as a co-starter this week. My guess is that Tuf will be on the field when the defense takes the field for the first time this Saturday.
It’s quite a story that Borland made the impact he did against Army his first game seeing extensive playing time at middle linebacker. As I wrote last year in an article titled “Can Tuf Borland live up to his name?”, it’s interesting that the young man even chose to play for the Buckeyes.
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His father played for Wisconsin and the Badgers were after the 4 star athlete, so that just seemed like an ideal fit for Borland. And Urban Meyer had loaded his linebacker corps with 4 and 5 star athletes so the competition would be stiff. Evidently that didn’t bother Borland one bit.
There wasn’t much reported about Borland last season, which is often the case with a first year guy who is being red-shirted. After all, players have to adjust to the college game, and some need more time in the weight room to handle the pounding they will take on a regular basis.
But during spring practices and fall camp, Ohio State coaches and players commented on how well Borland was performing. Last Saturday, Tuf showed everyone what that buzz was all about.
Hopefully Chris Worley will get healthy soon and will have a fine season. He has been a big asset to the Buckeyes’ success over the last five years and it’s always nice to have senior leadership, especially in the middle of the defense.
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But it is a great situation to have a young player who can also be an effective middle linebacker for Ohio State. Not only for this year, but in the future as Worley will be moving on after the season ends. And it looks like the guy who will fill that role for the Buckeyes is Tuf.