Ohio State football: Three who deserve more playing time

Through the Ohio State football team’s first two games we have seen a myriad of players and combinations shuffled in and out of the defense. Three of those players stand out to me as meriting serious consideration for more playing time.

After playing only on special teams in the opener against Minnesota, senior Will linebacker K’Vaughan Pope made his season debut on defense against Oregon. Much of the time he was used in combination with Steele Chambers in passing situations.

Pope was only on the field for seven plays, but he flew around. On a defense that has looked very passive and tentative, watching him be aggressive was refreshing. On one play he faked a blitz, dropped off into coverage, got underneath the receiver, and nearly came up with an interception.

Terajda Mitchell, the starter at Will, is tied for the team lead in tackles, but he’s been tentative and slow to react at times. I’m at the point where I don’t care if a player makes a mistake, as long as it is an aggressive mistake. I’d like to see more of Pope this week and think he’s earned consideration for more time.

Through their first two games, the Ohio State football team’s defensive ends have one sack, five quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups. Javontae Jean-Baptiste has two of those hurries and one of the pass breakups. The starters, Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith, have played 120 and 99 plays respectively.

Jean-Baptiste has played just 61. The junior from Bergen Catholic in New Jersey has been as productive as the starters in far less playing time. I think that has earned him more snaps. We all expected this group to be a sack machine in 2021, but that has not happened. Give Jean-Baptiste more of an opportunity and let’s see what he can do.

When the Buckeyes won a titanic recruiting battle this summer for J.T. Tuimoloau, we all knew he was going to be something special. What we did not know is just how long it would take for him to assert himself. He did that twice against Oregon despite playing just twelve snaps.

Why do I include him among those who I think deserve more playing time? Because others on the defense have played far more and have barely made an impact. He was first noticeable in the third quarter when a pulling guard tried to block him and the true freshman put the Ducks’ player on his back.

The next time he made himself visible was when the Buckeyes needed a stop later in the fourth quarter and he batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage. The more he plays, the more he will develop.

When Urban Meyer would get frustrated with a player’s lack of progress, he’d say the player needed to DO something. Well, these three have DONE something. It may not be much, but it is as much or more than some others. With what we’ve seen from the defense so far can it really hurt to give Pope, Jean-Baptiste, and Tuimoloau more of a look?

Regardless of what changes are coming to the defense, I still want to see these two on the field more often.