The Ohio State defense struggled in 2021. Last year they ranked 38th in scoring defense (22.77) and 59th in total defense (372.9). This off-season Ohio State wiped out almost the entire defensive coaching staff. Jim Knowles is now the defensive coordinator and will look to make a real change on that side of the ball. Ohio State is a good defense away from a national championship. We will now take a look at Ohio State’s projected starting defense for 2022.
DE: J.T Tuimoloau
Tuimoloau wasn’t a full-time starter as a freshman last year, but he did play in all 13 games. With Tyreke Smith leaving to the NFL, J.T should get most of the playing time at defensive end. Tuimaloau was the number four overall player in the country coming out of high school and will look to prove why in 2022.
DT: Tyleik Williams
Williams had 6.5 tackles for loss in his freshman season last year. With Haskell Garrett gone, Williams will have to be the main guy who steps up and make a huge impact on the defensive line. He was second on the team in sacks last year with 5.0.
NT: Taron Vincent
This will be Vincent’s 5th season at Ohio State. He has played in 28 games in his career and has eight starts which all came last season. Vincent and Williams should be a good pair inside making it tough for opposing teams to run the ball.
LEO: Zach Harrison/Jack Sawyer
The LEO is the new position that comes with Jim Knowles defensive scheme. It is basically a defensive end who stands up at the line of scrimmage. I think both of these guys are a perfect fit for the position and will rotate with each other a lot during the season. Harrison is a senior with the most experience on the defensive line and Sawyer is a very talented sophomore. Both guys should cause problems for opposing QBs in this position this year.
LB (WILL): Steele Chambers
Chambers was recruited to the Buckeyes as a running back but was converted to a linebacker before the 2021 season. With linebacker being the weakest spot on the team last year, Chambers was able to come in and make an immediate impact. Chambers was 5th on the team in tackles last year with 47 and will look to hold that linebacker position with highly recruited true freshman C.J Hicks right behind him.
LB (MIKE): Tommy Eichenberg
Eichenberg played in all 13 games last year and was 2nd on the team in tackles with 64. He looked great in the last game of the season in 2021 when he had a rose bowl record 17 total tackles. Eichenberg will look to build on his rose bowl performance and carry it over to the 2022 season.
CB: Denzel Burke
Burke was a true freshman last year and was arguably the best defensive player for Ohio State. He was the 1st Ohio State true freshman to start the season opener on defense since 1996. He had 13 total passes defended, 36 tackles and 1 interception in 2021. Burke will look to continue to lock down number one wide receivers in 2022.
FS: Ronnie Hickman
You could also argue that Hickman was the best defensive player for Ohio State last year. Hickman led the team in tackles with 100 which was 36 more than any other player. He was named to the second-team all-big Ten. He will look to continue to be a force all over the field in Jim Knowles new defense.
SS: Josh Proctor
Proctor was the starting safety last season before injuring his leg in the second game of the year forcing him to miss the rest of the season. In the 2020 season he had 20 tackles, one tackle for loss and one interception. Getting Proctor back this year is huge for the Buckeyes defense.
CB (Slot): Tanner McCallister
McCallister is a graduate transfer who followed his defensive coordinator from Oklahoma State over to Ohio State. He had 42 tackles, six passes defended and one interception last season for the Cowboys. He started 23 games total for Oklahoma State the last two seasons. McCallister should make a huge impact on the defensive side of the ball for Ohio State this season.
CB: Cam Brown
Brown started almost every game last year at corner. In 2021 he had 25 tackles, seven passes defended and one interception. Brown in his in-5th season at Ohio State and is one of the most experienced players in the secondary. He has to play very well to keep hit starting spot because Jordan Hancock and Jaklin Johnson are two highly recruited sophomores looking for playing time.
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