Ohio State Football: Javontae Jean-Baptiste transfers to Notre Dame
The Ohio State football team lost another member of its defense when senior defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste transferred to Notre Dame.
The Ohio State football team will be seeing a familiar face when it travels to South Bend in week three next season. Edge rusher Javontae Jean-Baptiste has transferred to Notre Dame. JJB will reunite with former Buckeye linebacker coach Al Washington, who is now the Fighting Irish’s defensive line coach.
Jean-Baptiste had a pretty good season for Ohio State as a backup edge rusher with 18 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. He played a lot of his snaps in the ‘Jack” position which is a standup edge rusher/linebacker-type role. Notre Dame has a position that is similar to that on their defense so the transition should go smoothly for JJB.
JJB was a very highly touted recruit from Spring Valley, New York, and was seen as a major recruiting win for defensive line coach Larry Johnson in 2018. While he has excellent length and speed for his position, Jean-Baptiste could never quite crack a starting role while at Ohio State. He hopes to get a lot more playing time for the Irish next season. He will have one more season of eligibility left.
JJB joins a slew of defensive players who have left Columbus this offseason. That list includes the likes of linebacker Teradja Mitchell (Florida), cornerback JK Johnson (LSU), safety Jantzen Dunn (Kentucky), and cornerback Jaylen Johnson (Memphis).
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With all these players leaving that side of the ball, one has to wonder about Ohio State’s depth at certain positions, especially the secondary. The Buckeyes will be counting on younger players from the last two recruiting cycles to fill in as needed next season. Hopefully, they are ready for the challenge.