National Football League

Ohio State Football: From a Question Mark to a Strength

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 4:36 p.m. ET

Fansided, Charlie Lockhart/FanSided via Scarlet and Game

Biggest surprise for Ohio State this season?

At the beginning of the football season, the biggest question mark for Ohio State was the defensive line, but primarily the tackle position. It was an obvious concern for fans and coaches as the Buckeyes lost starting tackles Adolphus Washington and Tommy Schutt as well as back-up Joel Hale to graduation. All-American defensive end Joey Bosa also moved on to the NFL.

Then defensive tackle Tracy Sprinkle went down with an injury early in the season and Michael Hill was the only interior lineman with any experience. Things didn’t look very good for the Buckeyes, but instead of the defensive line becoming a liability, it has become a stength for Ohio State.

Four red-shirt freshmen, Dre’Mont Jones, Jashon Cornell, Devon Hamilton and Robert Landers stepped in to pick up the slack. A true freshman named Bosa continued to make progress and soon became an impact player as well.

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It is unusual for freshmen to be able to contribute at defensive tackle for an entire season with all of the pounding they take. But then no other team but Ohio State has Mickey Marotti and his conditioning staff and a defensive line coach like Larry Johnson.

Coach Mick had the defensive line physically prepared and coach Johnson used his “fastest line he has ever coached” the way it could be utilized most effectively. He rotated players often and substituted defensive ends for tackles in passing situations limiting their reps.

It was because of the tremendous effort by the young guys, a great conditioning staff and tremendous coaching that enabled the Buckeyes to have a strong defensive line this season. Their performance is a big reason the Buckeyes are preparing for a playoff game at the moment.

Hat’s off to everyone involved in the process. They took the defensive line from a question mark and turned it into a strength.