Ohio State Football: Three breakout candidates for 2022
By Ryan Stano
J.T. Tuimoloau was the best recruit in the country last season according to some recruiting services. He waited until the last possible second to choose his college though, not choosing Ohio State until July. That put him behind the eight-ball to prepare for the 2021 season.
His lack of reps in the spring and early summer hurt his playing time a bit in 2021. Even so, when he got on to the field, he did some really nice things. He still managed to record 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks on the year. Even when he didn’t get to the quarterback he was pushing the pocket around.
The Buckeyes need someone like him up front to get going on the defensive line. They did not pressure the quarterback enough in the biggest games of the season. This is where I think Tuimoloau can improve on from last season now that he is going to get more reps.
Tuimoloau will play in the Spring game and have a full offseason this year. That will certainly help his development. He has a real opportunity to grab ahold of the starting defensive end position opposite of Zach Harrison next season. More reps mean more opportunities for him to wreak havoc.
JTT should be able to improve his sack totals easily. I would be shocked if he didn’t have at least 8 in 2022. His talent isn’t the question. It’s how much he’s able to develop between now and the start of next season, both physically and mentally.
The final player on this list is an older player that missed most of the season due to injury.