With linebacker starters sidelined during spring ball, Cody Simon stepped up as leader

COLUMBUS — Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, a second-team All-American who was playing with a pair of injured hands late last season, sat out the Buckeyes' 15 practices in March and April. Steele Chambers, Eichenberg's partner-in-crime in the second level, missed the latter portion of spring ball with turf toe. Their absences, however, were actually somewhat of a luxury for Ohio State's defense, where linebacker snaps come at a premium in second-year defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' 4-2-5 system.