Promising Outlook: The Ohio State Defense in 2014

By Joseph Barry on January 5, 2014

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: the 2013 version of the Ohio State defense was flat out awful. They seemed to make a habit of giving up big play after big play, especially in their final two games. While the offense scored plenty of points, the defense was the reason average teams hung around.

Don’t expect poor defense to be a staple for the Buckeyes under Urban Meyer, however. While the Ohio State defense will lose a majority of its secondary, including standout Bradley Roby, as well as stud linebacker Ryan Shazier (who declared for the NFL Draft after the Orange Bowl), the Bucks are in prime position to improve.

Despite its youth going into the season, the defensive line turned out to be the bright spot on the Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes only allowed 109.43 rushing yards/game, good for ninth best nationally, from cfbstats. This is due in large part to the maturation of sophomore Noah Spence and freshman Joey Bosa. These two bookended the defensive line while putting up impressive numbers. In fact, according to a graphic by Eleven Warriors, Noah Spence’s numbers through eight games favorably compared to Jadeveon Clowney’s, the top prospect by most for the upcoming NFL Draft. Bosa was also impressive, especially coming on strong late, as he registered 9.5 of his 13.5 tackles for loss in the final six games. Michael Bennett and Joel Hale will return for their senior seasons to provide leadership while they anchor down the interior of the line.

Noah Spence (left) and Joey Bosa will terrorize Big Ten quarterbacks in 2014; photo from flickr.com

It is no understatement to say that the Ohio State defense will miss stud Ryan Shazier, who projects to be taken in one of the first two rounds of the NFL Draft and led the team in tackles for two straight years, including 144 his junior year (good for 3rd nationally). However, Urban Meyer was able to soften the blow of the loss by bringing in five-star ILB Raekwon McMillan, who has drawn comparisons to the likes of Brandon Spikes, current linebacker for the New England Patriots and former standout of Urban Meyer at Florida. Paired with the return of Curtis Grant and Joshua Perry, it’ll be a team effort to replace the productivity of Shazier, but this group is talented enough to do it.

The secondary will lose leadership and experience with the graduation of Christian Bryant, CJ Barnett, and Corey “Pitt” Brown, along with the departure of Bradley Roby; however, the drop off in talent will arguably be minimal if not an upgrade. Former five-star and freshman safety Vonn Bell got his first start in the Orange Bowl and, despite showing some freshman struggles (mainly getting beat by Clemson stud Sammy Watkins, who projects as the #1 WR for the NFL Draft), managed to hold his own. He especially showcased his pure athleticism with this one-handed pick in the redzone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdP8MZ8Z25I

Doran Grant will provide experience as he returns at corner. The rest of the secondary will likely be determined in spring ball, but the cupboard is overflowing with talent. Over the most recent two recruiting classes Ohio State has signed a total of eight ESPN300 DBs. Especially look for the #3 cornerback from the 2013 class Eli Apple to step up after being redshirted this past season.

It won’t be difficult for the Ohio State defense to statistically improve overall from 2013. They finished the season ranked 112 in passing defense nationally, allowing 268 yards/game. Meyer needs his defense to improve if he wants to compete for a national championship. As he learned the hard way in their two losses, you can’t win big games by outscoring your opponents. Eventually the defense needs step up and shut opposing offenses down. Depth shouldn’t be a problem next season, which will only help out the team overall. Injuries plagued the 2013 defense far too often.

A common theme of the 2013 Buckeyes was the offense outscoring opponents with the defense doing just enough to win. With the departure of Carlos Hyde, Philly Brown, and 4/5 of the offensive line, the offense, while it will still be dangerous with Braxton, will endure a learning curve, at least initially. The defense will be looked to early and often to produce in way the 2013 Ohio State defense didn’t. With the players they have, they will be ready to respond.

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