Ohio State breakdown: 4 preseason questions for the Buckeyes’ defense

After reviewing how the depth chart looks up front and in the back end, we still have some questions the Buckeyes will have to answer on the defensive side of the ball.

1. Will the defensive line be more productive?

Larry Johnson’s reputation as a great recruiter and teacher of defensive lineman is secure, but his unit is coming off back-to-back disappointing seasons.

This year he has a room full of veterans looking to finally reach their potential and some precocious youngsters who already have gotten their feet wet and could be ready to take off.

A great way to start improving the defensive output would be to make more stops in the backfield. No Buckeye had as many as six sacks or more than seven tackles for loss last season, and the unit has struggled without a game-wrecker in the mold of Nick Bosa or Chase Young the past two campaigns.

The team’s 37 sacks ranked in the top third of the country and the Big Ten, but 10 of those came against hapless Akron.

The picture is much the same when it comes to tackles for loss. Ohio State’s 83 TFLs are respectable (ranking third in the Big Ten and 40th nationally on a per-game basis), 28 of them came against Akron and Indiana. The Buckeyes had one against Oregon and none against Michigan.

2. Will a “Leo” emerge?

Much of the talk about Knowles’ defense has centered on the Leo, a versatile position in the front who can serve as a chess piece for a coach who wants to make the offense react to what he is doing. Not only will the coach ask the Leo to rush the passer and drop into coverage, he can also line up inside to confuse blocking schemes.

Someone has to earn the spot, though, or the defense will simply have a “Jack” who plays a more traditional role on the edge.

Youngsters Jack Sawyer and Caden Curry look like potential “Leos,” but senior ends Zach Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptiste and even a bigger linebacker such as Palaie Gaoteote could also find themselves there.

3. Can the linebackers be more dependable?

The line’s struggles also made life tougher on the linebackers, who are now under the management of Knowles after coach Al Washington moved on to coach the defensive line at Notre Dame.

Washington had a hard time settling on a lineup early in the year then had multiple players leave the team on him after the season started.

Tommy Eichenberg led the group with 64 tackles while Cody Simon and Steele Chambers came next with 54 and 47, respectively. They all had their high and low points last season and are back in 2022, but Arizona State transfer Chip Trayanum, senior Teradja Mitchell and some youngsters will be pushing them for playing time.

Will linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez was one of the standouts of Knowles’ last Oklahoma State defense, and finding someone to fit that role will be critical.

4. How does the secondary shake out?

Ronnie Hickman, last season’s leading tackler, is a sure-thing starter, and Oklahoma State transfer Tanner McCalister is a good bet to be in the lineup on the first play against Notre Dame, too.

McCalister will be the nickel while Hickman could play either deep safety spot. Senior Josh Proctor and sophomore Kourt Williams are both candidates to start, but neither has much playing experience to fall back on at this point. They have different skill sets with Williams being more of a run-stopper, so the winner of that starting role could impact how the defense is deployed.

There is also the possibility each ends up with his own niche and playing time is dependent on the opponent.

Cornerbacks Cam Brown and Denzel Burke have the potential to be a strong duo, but who backs them up is a big question mark after an exodus of defensive back transfers late spring and early summer.