Veteran Ohio State defensive linemen looking to make most of time they have left

Vincent, a five-star recruit in the class of 2018, finally became a regular last season when he started eight games and played 370 snaps.

He registered 23 tackles but wasn’t much of a play-maker, finishing with 3.5 tackles for loss. Pro Football Focus credited Vincent with only nine quarterback pressures, including three hits on the QB, as the team’s three-technique tackle, a spot designed to wreak havoc on opposing offenses.

The 6-2, 300-pounder had his best game in the Rose Bowl, though, and hopes to be able to look back and see that as just the beginning.

“I never had a doubt in my mind — it was just like a matter of fact of when,” said Vincent, whose first two seasons were mostly wiped out by injury. “That’s all I’ve been waiting for is when I’m gonna be healthy, when I’m gonna be able to fully just go and not have to have second thoughts in my mind about how my body’s feeling. I can just go now.

“I have a motor. I can get off every play. Just relentless. Get to the quarterback, get to the ball, (tackles for loss) — just relentless every play.”

Cage, a 6-2, 310-pounder, also had to overcome adversity early in his career before finding a niche at nose tackle last season.

Charged with plugging the middle, the Cincinnati native had only 10 tackles, but four of them went for loss, and he returned a fumble for a touchdown against Penn State.

After playing 210 snaps last season, Cage is back as a “super senior” who will be in his sixth season thanks to the NCAA granting everyone who played through the COVID-19 pandemic an extra year of eligibility.

“I felt like I needed more proof, more things to do to show me I can improve my game so much after coming back from a little struggle I had at the beginning of the season,” Cage said. “Now I’m back. I had to come back so I can improve myself.”

Less than a year ago, Friday felt like he could be on the verge of a breakout season at end.

Then he suffered a season-ending knee injury during workouts just weeks before the start of training camp.

“You know, before I got hurt, I thought I was ready to play,” he said this week. “I thought I knew everything about the game. I thought I was fully prepared, and after I got hurt, I realized I had a lot more room to grow as far as mentally — not even the physical part of the game. Football IQ, play recognition, things like that. So I will say that, yeah, I just had a lot more room to grow.”

He is not full-go this spring but said he would be when preseason practice begins late this summer.

Then he is expecting big things.

“I feel like I’m gonna have a great season,” he said Wednesday. “I feel like by the time the season comes, my body will be fully prepared.

“From this point last year a lot has changed obviously, but I feel like when I get back to that point around full camp, my body will be in tip-top shape. My (mind) will be where it’s supposed to be, so I feel like this year will be a definitely impact year for me, what I planned for it to be it for a couple years.”

He expects to be part of the rotation at end, where fellow seniors Zach Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptiste have been regulars for two years but also have plenty of room to improve in their own ways.

Harrison led the team with eight tackles for loss last season and was second with four sacks. He played a team-high 552 snaps and had the highest Pro Football Focus grade of any Ohio State defender -- 82.0, or all-conference level per the PFF grading scale -- but still harbors hopes of being the next great Buckeye edge rusher.

Jean-Baptiste received an overall defensive grade of only 60.7 (below “starter level”) for his 303 snaps. He had 14 tackles, including 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.

“We have good depth at each position, so everybody’s getting the work that they need and improvement that we need for next season,” Vincent said.

“I’ve been doing this for so long. I know what is expected of me like what I need to do how to produce. Now I’m just trying to bring guys along, teach them how the we practice.”