Ohio State Football: Unlike in 2014, Larry Johnson will roll in tackles
As I work through comparing units on the 2014 Ohio State football team to this year’s the next stop is looking at the two groups of defensive tackles.
In Larry Johnson’s first year as the Ohio State defensive line coach he inherited to fine defensive tackles. Adolphus Washington had played most of the 2013 season inside and Michael Bennett’s skill set was suited for the three technique position.
Then what? There weren’t proven backups.
Tommy Schutt and Donovan Munger gave the two tackles some time to catch their breath from time but Bennett and Washington carried much of the road.
That group shut down the Wisconsin running game and slowed down Alabama’s at the end of the 2014 season. Would anybody have guessed that would happen?
Fast forward to 2019 and coach Johnson’s unit is loaded.
I wrote about how deep and talented it is in a previous article and you can see it’s a stark contrast to the group he inherited when he took over as the Ohio State defensive line coach.
First a look at the starters.
Pesky, undersized nose tackle Robert Landers will make it difficult for interior linemen to keep him out of the backfield once again. After moving to defensive end last season Jashon Cornell has moved back to the three technique position.
For the rest of the players I have no clue as to what their primary positions as many have the size and talent to play either position. I’ll just wait to see how the ‘Magician’ Larry Johnson figures that out.
Like Landers, Devon Hamilton was a member of the 2015 recruiting class and has performed well. Here is a look at the younger guys.
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2017 class
- Haskell Garret: No. 6 DT
- Jerron Cage: No. 14 DT
2018 class
- Antwuan Jackson: No. 1 JUCO
- Taron Vincent: No. 1 DT
- Tommy Togiai: No. 3 DT
Larry Johnson has always wanted to have fresh players running in and out so he will have an advantage in the fourth quarter. With the guys he has in the interior, along with the edge rushers I wrote about in a previous article, he may have offensive linemen giving up by halftime.
Things certainly have changed since 2014 haven’t they? Now the best defensive line coach in America has a ton of talent at his disposal.
Next. Big Ten will be decided by 'The Game'. dark
That should be a scary thought for opposing offensive coordinators.