Ohio State football: The Manassas Mauler

The Ohio State football team has had some good play from true freshmen on both sides of the ball, including on the defensive line.

Tyleik Williams was not a top-ten defensive line recruit for 2021. He was ranked as just the 25th best tackle in the country. He was not even Ohio State’s top-rated defensive lineman in the latest recruiting class. Williams did not play against Minnesota and got on the field for just three plays against Oregon. But, this past week he was in the lineup far more often and made his presence as the Manassas Mauler known to Tulsa.

The true freshman from Manassas, Virginia (does the nickname make sense now?) rotated with Haskell Garrett for 22 plays (according to snap counts compiled by Eleven Warriors) on Saturday. His performance was impressive. Williams ended the day with three tackles, 1 ½ tackles-for-loss, and a sack.

That sack was one of the most important plays of the game because it came midway through the fourth quarter when the Golden Hurricane had driven into Ohio State football territory and were looking to tie the score. Tulsa had to punt and the Buckeyes mounted a scoring drive to put the game away.

Williams’ big moment came when he teamed with fellow true freshman J.T. Tuimoloau on a stunt. When Tuimoloau looped around him to the inside, it opened a hole for Williams. He showed surprising speed for being 6’3” and 315 pounds, got to Tulsa quarterback Davis Brinn before he could react, and wrestled him to the turf for a seventeen-yard loss.

While the play itself is impressive, the confidence shown by the coaching staff to have him on the field in that situation is equally impressive. Another indicator of the confidence the coaching staff appears to have in him is the amount of playing time he got in such a tight game. A coach is not going to put a guy out there with the game on the line if he doesn’t think they can get the job done. The Manassas Mauler is got the job done against Tulsa.

Because this week’s opponent is Akron, I don’t think we’ll get an accurate read on if we’ll see even more of Williams. Even with their defensive issues, the Buckeyes should roll over the Zips. The following week against Rutgers is when we’ll get more of an idea. Ohio State’s defense needs playmakers. The Manassas Mauler looks like he can help in that area.

Yes, as a longtime boxing fan I’m quite well aware legendary heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey was known as the Manassas Mauler, but I still think the bit of a twist on the name fits Williams quite well.