Ohio State DE Caden Curry respects targeting call from Marshall game: 'It's whatever, gotta move on'

Caden Curry used a swim move to swiftly skirt by Marshall left guard Bryce Ramsey, freeing up an uncontested path for the Ohio State junior defensive end to sack Thundering Herd quarterback Stone Earle last weekend. Curry’s sack pushed Marshall out of field goal range, killing a promising first-half scoring drive.

The next defensive series, however, Curry slingshotted a potential Herd scoring drive in the other direction, with a targeting penalty on 4th-and-4 and less than a minute to go in the second quarter.

This time, Curry didn’t get home before Earle got the ball out. Still, Curry delivered a face mask-to-face mask hit. Then came a flag, a subsequent review and an ejection for the third-year Buckeyes defender. The infraction tacked on an additional 14 yards to Earle’s 10-yard completion, and the Herd went on to score a touchdown right before intermission.

“It’s whatever, gotta move on,” Curry said after Wednesday’s practice. “Wish I could go back and keep my hand up and keep my head out of it. But, I mean, it’s a call that the ref had to make.

“And I mean, you move on.”

Curry’s sack was his only tackle on the day, although he finished with two pressures, according to Pro Football Focus, which has him down for four of those on the season, tied for the third most on the team this year. The only players ahead of him in that department are starting defensive ends Jack Sawyer (11 pressures) and J.T. Tuimoloau (five pressures).

Curry missed a bounce-back second half from coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense. Ohio State hadn’t allowed a touchdown in its first two outings, nor had it given up more than 177 yards in a game. By the end of the first half of last weekend’s matchup, the Buckeyes had already conceded two touchdowns and 203 yards. But the unit buckled down over the final two quarters of play, holding Marshall to 0 points and a mere 61 yards in that span. It’s worth noting, though, that Earle missed most of that stretch with injury.

Curry was asked Wednesday if he learned anything from his targeting penalty.

“I mean, yeah, it’s just the little things, fundamentals,” he said. “Just keeping your hand up, keeping your head out of it. I mean, the call’s been changed so long since recent years, so you just got to keep going with it and evolve with it, so I respect it.”

Curry has already played 44 defensive snaps so far this season, per PFF. Last year, he played 165. Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson is flexing the Buckeyes’ defensive end depth with increased use of his “Rushmen” package, which includes four defensive ends instead of two D-Ends and two defensive tackles.

Curry’s sack in the second quarter came out of that package, hence why he was lined up on the guard, who he left blocking air en route to Earle.

“I feel like sometimes we see that the guards could sometimes be a better matchup for us, with our hands and our speed from the outside coming in,” Curry explained Wednesday. “So I feel like I come in there, and I’m trying to cause a raucous and get to the quarterback.

“I love that. I mean, I just love rushing from anywhere, honestly.”

Curry forced a fumble in the opener against Akron that led to a scoop-and-score touchdown for safety Lathan Ransom. Last weekend, he added the sack mentioned above.

“I think for me personally this year, it’s kind of building that confidence in myself,” Curry said, “knowing that I can do it and just seeing myself do it day in and day out at practice, kind of just taking it from practice to the field and just trying to make a name for myself and get out there and make a dent into the college football world.”

Curry is making game-changing plays in Year 3. Unfortunately for the junior, one of those made the wrong kind of impact last weekend.

But, as he said Wednesday, “you move on.”