Ohio State football: Please make me forget Jordan Fuller

I think of Jordan Fuller a lot. I think of him every time the Ohio State football team has played a game over the last two seasons. Every time in the last 21 games a Buckeye free safety has missed a tackle, taken a bad pursuit angle, is woefully out of position, or just plain can’t make a play, I think of Jordan Fuller. I’m tired of thinking of him. To the Buckeyes I say, please make me forget Jordan Fuller. PLEASE!

Fuller patrolled the backend of the Ohio State football team’s defense for three seasons (2017-19). He didn’t just patrol it, he locked it down. He was so good, so steady, so reliable, and made it look so easy we took him for granted. Considering Fuller was preceded by consensus All-American Malik Hooker (2016) and Tyvis Powell (2014-15) it is safe to say OSU fans came to expect quality play from Buckeye free safeties. We were obviously spoiled and learned just how much when the 2020 season began.

Marcus Hooker, Malik’s younger brother, won the free safety job when the 2020 season finally began. He had nowhere near the success of his brother and was eventually replaced with Josh Proctor. He may not have been spectacular, but Proctor was an upgrade from Hooker.

When last season began, Proctor was the starter and looked like a different player. He was much more confident and was flying to the ball. Unfortunately, his season ended way too early with a serious leg injury. Bryson Shaw took over for Proctor and was, well, let’s just say underwhelming at best. Hooker is now at Youngstown State, while Shaw transferred to USC.

Free safety has been a liability on the Ohio State defense over the last two seasons and that has to change if new coordinator Jim Knowles’ scheme is going to be successful. How important is this position to Knowles? He calls it a safety-driven defense. When you think of the play of the OSU free safeties over the last 21 games, does that scare you a bit? It definitely makes me a bit nervous.

If his leg is completely healed, Proctor is going to be the starter when Notre Dame rolls into Ohio Stadium for the opener. He will have a lot of responsibility before the ball is even snapped each play. Knowles calls his free safety the adjuster. It will be up to Proctor to make adjustments to the entire defense based on the offensive formation.

Because he was still working his way back from that leg injury, the fifth-year senior from Oklahoma was limited to non-contact drills during spring practice. He got plenty of mental reps in the new defense, but Knowles is anxious to have Proctor at full strength,

"“We need him. We want him. I’ve seen film on him from last year and he’s a guy that can really change the game. He’s what we want at safety, so I just want him to get healthy.”"

If Proctor lives up to the expectations of Jim Knowles, he can make me stop thinking about Jordan Fuller every time the Ohio State football team takes the field. Please, make me forget Jordan Fuller.