Ohio State Buckeyes: Defense relying on new faces up front, veteran LBs

New nose tackle Tommy Togiai is the reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after notching three sacks in Ohio State’s win at Penn State last week, and he is tied for No. 2 on the team with 10 tackles so far.

Zach Harrison, a new starter at end, has 1.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss while Haskell Garrett, Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Darrion Henry-Young also have sacks under their belts.

While Garrett was the talk of game one for his activity against Nebraska, Togiai took the spotlight last week despite playing a position known more for dirty work than disruptiveness.

“He’s given us a lot of production, and then Haskell coming in and be able to play with some depth there has been huge,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “I think that this this group is a little bit different. We have a lot of guys who can play, and when when (coach Larry Johnson) is sending in different guys and keeping them fresh and keeping that snap count in that 30 or 40 range, it really shows.”

Fifth-year senior end Jonathon Cooper is also coming off a strong game in which he had five tackles and was noticeable on many plays even if he wasn’t credited with a stop.

“There was one clip when he took the tight end and just knocked him in the backfield,” Day said. “He was disruptive, and he has played like a guy who was dying to play a month ago that didn’t have football. He played hungry, played with passion.”

Togiai, who played all 14 games last season and 12 in 2018, entered the season with 26 tackles, including four for loss, but appears to be thriving in a bigger role.

He said this week he did not have any doubts entering the season about what the new guys in the middle would be able to do.

“I still have same confidence we had at the start of year,” he said. "I know the guys we have and what we’re capable of, and I just believe in the guys next to me and that we’re capable of doing something special.

“Haskell is playing at an astounding level. We need him to keep stepping up throughout the year because he’s been playing really big.”

“I think our ends probably have a lot of guys that are just waiting to go off like Zach Harrison or Tyler Friday or even Javontea. All those guys have a chance.”

Veterans Aiding Coaches' Plans

Linebacker Pete Werner leads the team in tackles through two games with 13 while Tuf Borland has 10 and Baron Browning six.

Werner and Borland are both multi-year starters while Browning has received regular playing time the last two seasons as well.

The presence of veteran linebackers helps expand the possible play calls for the coaching staff.

“I thought the guys on the staff did a really nice job formulating a plan to stop the run primarily,” defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs said of the Penn State game. “That was really important that we had some different schemes in the run game, and I thought they did a really nice job of putting together a package for the third downs. I thought on third down we were a really good combination of pressure and coverage and being able to do some things to keep him from being comfortable in the pocket.”

Werner, who played the SAM linebacker on the outside last year but has moved to WILL on the inside this season, appeared to play several roles as the coaches swapped packages and strategies throughout the night against the Nittany Lions.

That versatility is attributable not only to his athleticism but his overall knowledge of different defenses.

“I think being in my fourth year here at Ohio State you get to know the defense very well, and because I’m older veteran, I have the feeling that I can play every spot on the field, every position,” Werner said. “Although I might be better at some than others, I can play every one, and I think that goes for Tuf and Baron and Justin (Hilliard) as well. For those older guys and we have the ability to kind of interchange some guys so I think that works out in our favor.”