Ohio State Football: Three ways to fix the defensive line

By Ryan Stano | Sep 30, 2021

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. (51) celebrates after a tackle during the fourth quarter of a NCAA Division I football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Akron Zips on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.Cfb Akron Zips At Ohio State Buckeyes /

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If the Ohio State Football team blitzed more, they could be better in both defending the run and the pass.Cfb Akron Zips At Ohio State Buckeyes /

A great way to get to the quarterback more is to send more people at him. Initially, the defensive coaches thought that the defensive line was going to be good enough that they could drop seven in coverage every single play. That has proven to not be the case.

Sending linebackers in on blitzes helps the defensive line because it evens out the numbers. Instead of five guys blocking four players, it is five on five or five on six. It makes it much easier for the defensive linemen to get off blocks and sack the quarterback.

Blitzing more would help the Buckeyes stop the run game too. They got absolutely gashed in the ground game by Oregon, and part of the reason for that was that they didn’t run blitz more. Because of that, there were wide open holes for running backs to get through.

I’m not saying to blitz every single play. That’s a recipe for disaster with a back seven that is very inexperienced. But the young corners have proven that they can make some plays. Leaving them on an island from time to time isn’t the worst idea.

The final way to improve the efficiency of the defensive line has to do with certain plays the defense runs.

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