Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State D-Ends are 'getting their job done,' pass rushing chances to come
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Ohio State D-Ends are ‘getting their job done,’ pass rushing chances to come
Ohio State is tied for 86th nationally and second-to-last in the Big Ten with 1.5 sacks per game. It’s been only two weeks, but the Buckeyes’ pass rush, or lack thereof, is raising concerns.
Especially on the edge, where not only former top-five overall 2021 prospects J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer were expected to blossom this season, but big things were also supposed to be on the horizon for second-year defensive ends Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry.
Together, as a group, those four players haven’t accounted for a single sack. They have a combined eight pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. On the other hand, defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr. has five pressures on his own — that’s in 28 pass rushing snaps, per PFF, three more than Sawyer but five fewer than Tuimoloau.
When asked about Tuimoloau and Sawyer specifically, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was adamant Tuesday that both of those D-Ends are on schedule.
“Yeah, they’re getting their job done,” Knowles said. “We faced two games where really there weren’t that many opportunities to pass rush. That chance will come, probably this week.
“We faced an option attack, and last week a lot of teams were trying to run the ball on third down, shorten the game. So they just haven’t had the opportunities yet.”
As Knowles alluded to, it’s important to recognize that Ohio State’s opponents haven’t been slinging the rock around. Indiana adopted a triple option approach in the season opener and juggled a pair of quarterbacks. This past weekend, Youngstown State featured a more conventional offense but — like Indiana — took advantage of the clock now running on all first downs outside of the final two minutes in each half. YSU ran the ball on third down six times, in large part to keep milking the clock.
Plus, when Indiana and YSU did try to move the ball through the air, they often turned to the quick game. YSU quarterback Mitch Davidson’s average time to throw on all dropbacks was 2.50 seconds. Indiana quarterbacks Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson averaged 2.56 and 2.68 seconds, respectively, for their dropbacks the previous week, per PFF. Keep in mind: At the moment, a 2.50-second average time to throw on all dropbacks would be tied for 79th in the FBS among the 200 quarterbacks with at least 30 dropbacks this season, according to PFF.
“I think it’s just going to be a different situation this week with Western Kentucky,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said. “They’re gonna throw the ball a lot more than our last two opponents. And they’re going to play fast and try to spread us out. I think they do an excellent job. I mean, it’s going to be a big a big challenge for our defensive line, it’s going to be a challenge for our defense. They do a great job on defense and try to change up the look.
“So schematically, we’ll get stressed out. So this is a good challenge for us. And I think we’ll have a better feel about [the defensive ends] coming out of this game.”
Western Kentucky is tied for third in the FBS with 44 pass attempts per game. The Hilltoppers have had the country’s leading passer each of the past two years, the latter of whom is quarterback Austin Reed.
Reed is back, and so is Biletnikoff Award candidate Malachi Corley.
Havoc plays aren’t as foundational as they used to be for Knowles when he coordinated his defenses at Oklahoma State and, before that, Duke. But getting pressure off the edge, and really everywhere on the defensive line, is still critical.
“Everything starts up front on both sides of the ball,” Day said. “And one of the things that the defensive line and Larry [Johnson] takes a lot of pride in is getting the pressure on the quarterback. There certainly will be an opportunity this week doing that because of how much they throw the football, and they have a really good quarterback and a really good scheme.”
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Buckeyes name Kyle McCord full-time starting quarterback
Ohio State has its full-time starting quarterback. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day announced Tuesday that junior Kyle McCord is officially the starter for Ohio State, not just against Western Kentucky this week but going forward.
“It gives Kyle a peace of mind that he is the starter,” Day said. “It’s good for the team to have that distinction that Kyle is the starter.”
McCord started the first two games of the season and has played all but four drives outside of garbage time. Redshirt freshman Devin Brown was competing with McCord for the starting job all offseason, and the battle somewhat bled into the first two weeks of game action.
McCord separated himself, though, especially this past weekend against Youngstown State, a 35-7 win in which he threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns.
For the full story, go here.
RELATED
‘He knows that he’s one play away’: Devin Brown to work on consistency, poise as backup
Devin Brown made a push for the starting quarterback job, at one point even in leading the competition against junior Kyle McCord, but couldn’t come out on top.
McCord got the full-time nod Tuesday, meaning the Brown will now be his backup.
Except, that’s his title, not his mindset. Even before Day’s announcement Tuesday, Brown made it clear he’s going to continue to prepare and compete like he’s the starter, regardless if he was named one.
“I’ve always felt like I was in the race,” Brown said postgame Saturday. “That’s never going to change for me. I’m always going to think I’m the guy. But we just got to do what’s best for the team, and that’s what we’re doing. When my number’s called, we gotta go out there and help this team win.”
To get the full on what’s next for Brown, head on over here.
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Western Kentucky: 3 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 73 days
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