What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder — One Week Into Spring Edition

I know that Jack Sawyer only having to focus on defensive end is going to be beneficial to him this season. Will it lead to more production? Probably. He led the team in sacks last year while dealing with multiple roles, so if he’s no longer being pulled in two directions, it seems like he is in line for a bigger season.

I think the expectations of what a “bigger season” might be will likely be higher than reality, at least in terms of sacks. Outside of Chase Young and the Bosa Brothers, there have only been three defensive ends at Ohio State in the last decade with more than five sacks in a season: Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, and Noah Spence. And none of them had more than eight sacks in a season. Lewis and Hubbard were both part of a four-man rotation — and sometimes five and six-man — and still managed to top seven sacks.

I wonder if the Jack position can come from the defensive ends and coexist with Larry Johnson’s teachings. Jim Knowles last year said he wanted Jack Sawyer to be more reckless, but that’s not something a Larry Johnson defensive end has ever been taught to be. Could probably equate it to having two different math teachers. One demands that math be done the way it was 30 years ago, and the other demands you use Common Core.

I know that we shouldn’t dismiss Kyle McCord’s ability to run based on CJ Stroud’s disinterest in running. Just because Devin Brown is noted for his running doesn’t mean McCord won’t run as much as you wish Stroud would have. Don’t dismiss what McCord is willing to do before latching on to Brown simply because he is a more willing runner than Stroud. Stroud is not part of this competition any longer, after all.

I think it’s way, way, way too early to start awarding jobs on the offensive line, but if Carson Hinzman shows that he can start at center — even if he doesn’t win the job, then Justin Frye would feel pretty good about his three top backups of Hinzman or Cutler, Enokk Vimahi, and then the “loser” of the right tackle battle. This would be close to an ideal situation for this offensive line, assuming they can actually play

I wonder who the first true freshman to make a move will be. I’ll hedge my bet and take both Noah Rogers and Carnell Tate because they both look like how you want collegiate receivers to look.

To read the rest of this extended edition of What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder, you can find it here, but you must be a premium subscriber to Buckeye Huddle.

Go to discussion...