Ohio State Football: What can Tanner McCalister bring?

The Ohio State football team will have a new group of safeties playing the majority of the snaps for them this season. Josh Proctor is back after being injured in the Oregon game last year. Gone is Bryson Shaw, Proctor’s replacement after he was hurt. Ronnie Hickman is the only safety back who played significant snaps for the Buckeyes last season.

Besides Proctor and Hickman, the Buckeyes also add transfer from Oklahoma State Tanner McCalister. McCalister follows his defensive coordinator to Columbus, as now both he and Jim Knowles are members of the Ohio State football program.

The Buckeyes need someone like McCalister on the roster. He’s the only one who has played in Knowles’ system before, so he can give them some guidance on how to best play within the system. How much he plays is still up in the air though.

My thought process is that McCalister wouldn’t have come to Columbus if he wasn’t going to get some playing time. He will probably be one of the three safeties that play the most snaps. He’s a pretty good player that is a good tackler and can come in and play the run well.

That’s something Ohio State hasn’t had in a while from the safety spot. They haven’t had a thumper that can come in and lay some wood in the running game. He is the safety that can do that on this roster, although Hickman can too. Those two could possibly lead the team in tackles.

We’ll see how McCalister is able to integrate himself into Ohio State’s culture. My guess is that he will end up being a pretty solid player this season.