A stout defensive line means a better offensive line for Ohio State
Scott Stuart
COLUMBUS, Ohio – You can expect to see an improved offensive line for Ohio State in the Buckeyes’ first game against Indiana.
The unit is more experienced, picked up two of the best offensive line commits in the 2017 class and is exuding a kind of confidence that was rarely seen last season. However, there’s another big reason for the sudden improvement.
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Proverbs 27:17 reads, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person shapes another.” This mantra has been popular with the Buckeyes for quite some time, and has never rang more true than this year, with potential first round picks in the NFL draft all over the same defensive front for Ohio State.
Playing against a defensive front as formidable as Greg Schiano’s has, naturally, pushed the Slobs to get better.
If you ask Jamarco Jones though, he thinks there is still room to make room in the rotation at defensive end for either Jonathon Cooper or highly touted freshman Chase Young.
“Oh man, Chase is gonna be good,” Jones said Monday. “He’s still a freshman, so he’s still learning, but he’s going to be really good. Coop, he’s explosive. He’s been getting his step back a little bit. He’s been looking really impressive this camp.”
A hamstring injury limited Cooper during the spring, but he seems to be earning valuable playing time with each passing practice. On top of Cooper and Young, Urban Meyer alluded to another young Buckeye who will see the field this year.
"Haskell Garrett, he's going to play," Meyer said Monday. "He's another one, without anointing any guy, but right now he's on course to play. That's unusual for an interior D-lineman (who is a true freshman), but he's really impressive right now."
Catching on yet?
The talent across the board is staggering, and with each passing the day, both the offensive and defensive line for Ohio State continue to improve by working with one another. Isaiah Prince, public enemy number one from last year’s 2.15 sacks allowed debacle, has been said to have been a massive improver this spring.
And the most likely cause of that is seeing veteran defensive ends like Tyquan Lewis and Jalyn Holmes.
"Tyquan is a really good player, we go against each other every day in practice, we're both with the ones," Prince said. "We use the term iron sharpens iron. We just compete to make each other better."
Holmes is often the forgotten man along the defensive line for Ohio State, but his teammates think there is no drop off in terms of skill when he comes on the field.
It would stand to reason to question why the offensive line did not improve when they faced a near carbon copy of this year’s Ohio State defensive line. The obvious answer would be youth, and the kind of simple mistakes than first year players Michael Jordan and Prince made during the 2016 campaign seem to disappear after another year of camp.
It’s too early to say 2017 will be better for the Buckeyes’ offensive line, but with so much talent squaring off with them every practice, something has to change.
