Replacing Jack Sawyer And JT Tuimolau: The Ends Of An Era

This is the 14th and final part in a series looking at how the Buckeyes will be replacing their departed starters in 2025. Up next are the two defensive end spots vacated by seniors JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer.

Take a guess at the number of times over the last five years you’ve said the phrase “Jack and JT,” because it’s probably a lot. Ohio State defensive ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau were mainstays for the Buckeyes over their four years. They were both five-star defensive ends in the 2021 recruiting class. Tuimoloau broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore, while Sawyer made it one year later.

In a 44-31 win at Penn State in 2022, Tuimoloau had arguably the greatest individual performance for a Buckeye defender ever. He finished with six tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions — one of which was returned for a touchdown, and a forced fumble.

For his part, Sawyer owns arguably the greatest individual play in Ohio State history with his strip sack and fumble return for a touchdown in the 28-14 Cotton Bowl win over Texas last month.

Tuimoloau finished his career with 24 sacks and 44 tackles for loss. Sawyer finished with 23 sacks and 28.5 tackles for loss.

The Candidates

Senior Caden Curry and fourth-year junior Kenyatta Jackson are the free spaces on this bingo card. They have been the backups to Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau each of the past two seasons. Redshirt sophomore Josh Mickens and redshirt freshman Dominic Kirks are the next most-experienced returnees — though they combined for just 32 snaps last season.

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson signed two defensive ends in the 2025 class. Zion Grady and Epi Sitanilei are both Top 150 recruits. Junior Logan George transferred in from Idaho State after posting 56 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and six quarterback hurries as a sophomore last year.

Spring Outlook

New defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will be using the spring to assess Ohio State’s talent with what he would like to add to the scheme. What fits, what doesn’t, and who can make plays?

Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson will lead the way as the veterans. They need to be leaders and producers this season, and that process is already underway. This spring will be big for Dominic Kirks and Joshua Mickens. There are jobs in the two-deep available to be won.

Logan George is stepping up in competition in a big way, so how quickly can he move up the ladder in the spring? Is this a situation where he’s towards the back of the line on practice one, but towards the front by April 1? How ready are the two freshmen in the spring? Are they big enough? Strong enough?

There is also the possibility that linebacker CJ Hicks could end up as an edge rusher, though that was more of the plan under former defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Will Matt Patricia see things the same way? And will some of that edge rushing come from a Sam linebacker in a three-down set? And if so, should some of that pass rushing be done by senior linebacker Sonny Styles?

Best Bet

The best bet here is that Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson will be Ohio State’s starting defensive ends in 2025. This assumes, of course, that the Buckeyes remain in a scheme that is mostly four-down and doesn’t require 280-pound defensive ends instead. Considering they don’t really have any of those types on the roster, that doesn’t seem to be a likely move.

Curry posted 22 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks last year. Jackson finished with 16 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Their snaps are about to go way up this year, and so will their production. Behind them, however, there are a bunch of unknowns.

Ohio State brought in Logan George to be a real part of the rotation. Larry Johnson will be looking for a fourth and fifth option who can be trusted. Can CJ Hicks be part of that rotation? He could provide some elite speed at the position if he can finally find a home.