Ohio State football: Craig Young could be answer at bullet position

The Ohio State football team could revive the bullet position this year. They also may have found the perfect player to take that role.

The Ohio State football team needs to get better on defense. Whether that means they need to make a scheme change or the personnel needs to be different, something has to be done. One of the things that have been floated out there is reviving the bullet position.

Craig Young would be the perfect Buckeye to play that position. Young came into the Ohio State football program as a linebacker. The sophomore stands at 6’3 and 228 pounds. That would still be an okay size for a linebacker. But he also has speed like a safety.

In fact, Young has been taking reps with the safeties in Spring practice. Having both linebacker and safety skills is exactly what the bullet position calls for. It’s a hybrid of both positions, and no one seems to fit that role better in the coaches’ eyes than Young.

If Young does slide into that bullet position, assuming that position actually exists this season, it would be the first significant amount of playing time that Young has gotten in his career. Young has really only seen the field on special teams, although he has come in during mop-up duty a few times.

Working with the safeties will help Young develop some of the cover skills that he would need to excel at the bullet position. He was decent in coverage in high school but wasn’t asked to do that a ton. He is more of a downhill attacker who can stuff holes.

Young would be asked to do that too in the bullet position. It all depends on what Ryan Day and Kerry Coombs want to do with this defense. One thing I think they both understand is that something has to change from a year ago.

Young is fighting as hard as he can to be that positive change.