What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder – The Defensive Line Edition

I know finding productive snaps behind Eddrick Houston and Kayden McDonald is a concern, but as long as everybody stays healthy, it’s not a LOT of snaps in any given game. Over the final 12 games of the year last year – not including the Purdue game that Tyleik Williams missed, there were 32 snaps per game allotted to the backup defensive tackles. So you’re basically talking 16 snaps for Houston’s backup and 16 snaps for McDonald’s backup this year. Those numbers have already factored in the Rushmen packages, though we may see it more this year than last year.

I think one caveat to the above is that the Ohio State defense may be on the field more than they were a year ago, which will require more snaps.

I wonder what kind of player Eddrick Houston is going to be this year because so far all we know is that he’s better than the other guys. We haven’t seen any kind of Dre’Mont Jones-type things from him, and Larry Johnson told me it’s too soon to make that kind of comparison for him.

I know it’s early in his career, but the Buckeyes need Eddrick Houston to be a 50-tackle guy. If he’s the athlete that everybody says, he should be able to make some plays.

I think after all the praise for the new offensive line staff, we’ll see a similar move on the defensive line. Tyler Bowen has two full-time assistant coaches and a graduate assistant working with him. Three full-time coaches on the defensive line with recruiting and development experience would be so beneficial.

I wonder how often we’ll see defensive ends playing defensive tackle on running downs. Logan George and Beau Atkinson both played in odd fronts last year, so facing double teams isn’t new to them. George isn’t the biggest guy, so I wouldn’t expect to see him there much, but it is good that the new guys have the kind of interior experience that the Buckeyes can utilize.

To read the rest of this edition of What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder, you can click here, but you must be a premium subscriber. Additional topics include more on the defensive tackle depth, the addition of Beau Atkinson into the mix, thoughts on Larry Johnson and the future of the defensive line coaching staff, the potential of Kenyatta Jackson, and more.