Ohio State Buckeyes’ Linebackers Should Not Be Overlooked

Both the defensive line and secondary for the Ohio State Buckeyes certainly deserve a bunch of recognition headed into this next season. On the line, they have two veteran edge rushers in Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau, along with an excellent defensive tackle in Tyleik Williams. Ty Hamilton rounds out that group of four players and has plenty of starting experience, himself. In his 41 games played for Ohio State, he has started in 13.

In addition to lots of skill and experience on the projected starting defensive line, the projected starting five in the secondary is Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun as the outside corners, Jordan Hancock as the nickel corner and Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs as the safeties. That is another experienced and extraordinarily talented group.

Despite the least amount of college starting experience coming from the linebacking corps, the talent and potential to be dominant is still there. Graduate student Cody Simon is in-line to be the leader of the linebacker room not only because he is an upper classman, but also because he has played in 44 games with the Buckeyes and started in 15. In that time, he has tallied 147 tackles and 11 tackles-for-loss. Last season, he had 57 total tackles which was fourth-best on the team.

With Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers no longer members of the Buckeyes roster as they pursue NFL opportunities, Cody Simon truly gets the opportunity to let loose and show what he can do. Next to him, redshirt sophomore C.J. Hicks is expected to get a chance to flash his ability. Hicks has been a player Buckeye Nation has been excited about even prior to his arrival on campus. He was a five-star prospect and the No. 2 linebacker in the entire 2022 recruiting class on 247 Sports.

When defensive coordinator Jim Knowles only has two linebackers on the field, Simon and Hicks will most likely get the majority of the reps. In three-linebacker sets or even on definite passing downs, converted safety Sonny Styles should get lots of work at linebacker. The 6’4″, 235-pound junior had 53 tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble as a safety last season. His versatility could really make him a threat in so many different scenarios.

Even with a bunch of moving parts at linebacker in preparation for this season, there is a chance that Ohio State’s linebackers perform at an even higher level this season than last. Hicks and Styles offer more in coverage than Eichenberg and Chambers and they have the speed to cover a ton of ground sideline-to-sideline. Simon still offers the more traditional linebacker build at a stout 6’2″ and 235 pounds. He should not have a problem filling gaps against the run.

Behind this group of three linebackers, Arvell Reese and Gabe Powers may get some reps of their own.

If this linebacker group surpasses the expectations of most people around the country, then this Ohio State team may end up being historically good from a statistics standpoint. They will then also increase the chances of a National Championship at the end of this season.