Does the Ohio State football team need to rotate defensive linemen?

The Ohio State football team had been known for rotating defensive linemen in and out. It was one of the staples of Larry Johnson's philosophy, almost to a fault. He wanted to make sure that his guys would remain fresh throughout the game, so he would give a lot of guys a run.

Last year, that changed a bit. The Buckeyes didn't rotate guys as much for whatever reason. He left the best players out there for longers stretches, which could be argued as a good thing. Both J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer played more snaps at the end than they did in 2022.

While Ohio State was able to generate a lot of sacks, they didn't generate a lot of depth. The Buckeyes will have to rely on those two guys again. Jim Knowles' system has a lot to do with it because he wants his best guys out there for longer stretches throughout the game.

When you see the stats that the Ohio State football team had on defense last year, that makes sense. They were one of the best defenses in the entire country. The pass defense was the best in the country, and the defensive line getting pressure on the quarterback had a big impact on that.

I think that the Buckeyes will be rotating guys in a bit more this season. They don't have a lot of depth on the defensive line beyond this year, so they have to get some guys some experience. Otherwise, they're going to be in big trouble next season when these older guys leave.

Ultimately, Buckeye fans need to trust what Knowles wants because the stats have drastically improved since he was brought in as the defensive coordinator. Whatever rotation he wants is the one they should use. The stats speak for themselves.