Going into the 2021 season, it looked like Ohio State's veteran depth on the defensive line could limit opportunities for the Buckeyes' freshman defensive linemen to play. In Ohio State's fourth game of the season against Akron, however, many of those veteran defensive linemen won't even be available to play.
Three of the Buckeyes' four most experienced defensive ends are unavailable to play against Akron, as Tyreke Smith and Javontae Jean-Baptiste are both out this week along with Tyler Friday, who's out for the season. At defensive tackle, Taron Vincent is out this week while Noah Potter also remains unavailable.
Given that, you can expect to see plenty of Ohio State's freshman defensive linemen on the field against the Zips on Saturday night.
While Zach Harrison is expected to return to the starting lineup tonight after missing the Tulsa game, no other defensive end who has previously started a game for the Buckeyes is available to play against Akron. That likely means J.T. Tuimoloau, who made the third-most snaps (45) among all defensive ends behind Smith and Jean-Baptiste against Tulsa, will make his first career start.
Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson indicated earlier this week that Tuimoloau was in line for even more playing time going forward than he got against the Golden Hurricane.
“You start freshmen slow. You bring them along. Last week was his biggest where he played 45 plays. We’re gonna continue to increase that probably up to 50-55, depends on the game,” Johnson said Tuesday. “But yeah, we’d like to see more from him as we go forward.”
Fellow five-star freshman defensive end Jack Sawyer has only played 24 snaps in Ohio State's first three games, but that's also likely to change in a big way against Akron. Sawyer is likely in line to be the No. 3 defensive end against the Zips – and considering that Harrison missed last week's game with an undisclosed injury, it wouldn't be a surprise if Ohio State limits his snaps against Akron and gives Sawyer a heavy dose of action in the non-conference finale.
Johnson said Tuesday that even though Sawyer hasn't played a lot yet, Johnson is pleased with the progress he's seen from the Pickerington native on the practice field.
“Jack is a finesse player. He really is. He can use his hands, he can rush and he’s a guy that’s got a lot of confidence in his ability,” Johnson said. “When you put him in the right spot, he’ll make a play and that’s kind of who he is, so I like his attitude.”
Johnson said Tuesday that he also wanted to get Jacolbe Cowan and Cormontae Hamilton more playing time in the defensive end rotation, and Darrion Henry-Young is also a candidate to see some snaps on Saturday night. Seemingly, though, Saturday night's game will be a prime opportunity for Sawyer and Tuimoloau to show what they can do – and if they can take advantage, they should continue to get plenty of opportunities to play for the rest of the season, considering that Ohio State's defensive ends have combined for just one sack (by Harrison) in the first three games.
Inside, Johnson already said earlier this week that freshman defensive tackle Tyleik Williams – who made a huge third-down sack in the fourth quarter of last week's game, in which he played 22 snaps as the backup 3-technique – was in line to continue seeing more playing time this week. With Vincent and Potter out against Akron, Williams should be in line for most of the snaps at that spot behind Haskell Garrett once again, giving him a chance to continue establishing himself as one of the Buckeyes' top players on the interior defensive line.
“Tyleik’s a guy that stands out right now, he’s gonna probably see more time,” Johnson said. “He’s got a great spirit, he works hard and he’s starting to show exactly what he can do. I’m proud of where he’s at right now.”
Saturday night could also be an opportunity for Mike Hall, who just lost his black stripe on Wednesday, to get his first snaps in the defensive tackle rotation.
Hall didn't play in any of the first three games, in part because Ohio State is considering limiting him to four games or fewer to preserve his redshirt, and Ty Hamilton and Jerron Cage should also see plenty of playing time behind Garrett and Antwuan Jackson in the defensive tackle rotation against Akron. But the Buckeyes' final non-conference game, which they're heavily favored to win even with C.J. Stroud resting his shoulder and numerous key players unavailable, seems like a prime opportunity for Hall to get into the mix.
“Mike is close. Mike is really close to getting the feel,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We just don't want to waste his year yet, we can play him in four games before we decide to redshirt him. But he's close. Mike's a lean guy, he's 270, 275, we're trying to get weight on him, to be honest with you. But he's gonna be fine, he's gonna be a good player. He's really energetic, he's really powerful, so I like where Mike is at right now.”
Ohio State wants to see its pass rush come alive against Akron after a slow start to the season. They'll likely be relying heavily upon their four freshmen to try to make that happen.
