Ohio State Football: Young linebackers stepped up big time in 2014

Like this year’s Ohio State linebacker unit, there were questions concerning the one in 2014 prior to the season.

In previous articles I compared units as the way things stood prior to the 2014 season and this year’s. Here I just want to focus on the terrific LB unit on the 2014 Ohio state football team and get to the one this year later.

Prior to the 2014 season there were questions about how the Ohio State linebackers would perform. They often struggled getting ball carriers to the ground in 2013, similar to last year’s unit, and Ryan Shazier had left for the NFL.

In 2014, veterans stepped their games up a notch and freshmen made a huge impact. The LB unit became one of the best in the country by the end of the season, but you may not have thought that would have been the case five years ago.

Let’s take a look at how things stood in the LB unit in July of 2014 as fall camp was approaching.

Curtis Grant was the returning middle linebacker. He played well his first three years at Ohio State but had yet to live up to his five-star status coming out of high school. He did have a promising young freshman as a backup though.

Raekwon McMillan was the top ranked middle linebacker in the 2014 recruiting class and had impressed the coaching staff since he stepped on campus as an early enrollee. But could a true freshmen in the middle of the defense be able to stand up to the pounding he would face weekly against Big Ten teams?

At strong-side linebacker there was former four star linebacker Joshua Perry who had made strides as a sophomore when he recorded 62 tackles. Cameron Williams was heading into his third season and had proven to be a solid backup. That position appeared to be in good hands.

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But there was a question mark at weak-side linebacker with Shazier gone.

Darron Lee and Chris Worley were Luke Fickell’s project players but redshirted in 2013 to bulk up as both weighed around 200 pounds as high school recruits. Both players performed well in the spring and Lee eventually won the starting job.

Buckeye fans are well aware both turned out to be fine players and Lee made a big impact during the championship season. McMillan came on strong as the season progressed and he and Grant formed a great 1 and 1A combo in the middle.

Perry and Williams exceeded expectations and the unit developed into one of the best. They stood up to the ground and pound rushing attacks of Wisconsin and Alabama down the stretch and were instrumental in keeping Oregon’s passing attack under control.

Next. Ohio State has become 'Wide Receiver U'. dark

The 2014 LB unit turned out to be an outstanding one. Could this year’s group rise to their level? Stay tuned, I’ll look at their situation later.

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