Ohio State Football: 3 fixes to make for successful 2020 season

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GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 28: A detail of Ohio State Buckeyes helmets prior to a game against the Clemson Tigers during the Playstation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

2. Reload up front

The elephant in the room on the defensive line is the departure of Chase Young, but that is just one of the losses that the Buckeyes will have to overcome up front in 2020. Robert Landers, Jashon Cornell, and Davon Hamilton are gone as well, and those are just the players that are likely to go in April’s NFL Draft.

The encouraging thing for Ohio State is that they’ve done this before. When Joey Bosa left for the NFL, younger brother Nick Bosa stepped into the role as best pass-rusher in the nation. When Nick departed, it was Young that filled the void.

On the outside, it will be up to Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith to replace the pass-rushing production. The pair combined for 36 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks a season ago. Standing at 6’6″ and weighing in at 260, Harrison is an especially exciting athlete, but both edge players will be expected to step into far more substantial roles in 2020. Javontae Jean-Baptiste will likely get substantial action outside as well.

The interior is where things are a bit trickier. That is where the aforementioned departures of Landers, Cornell, and Hamilton create a tough situation in Columbus.

When it comes to returning replacements, the inside isn’t quite as plug and play as the end positions. The most experienced returners are Garrett Haskell and Tommy Togiai, but there isn’t a big body of work that guarantees success here. Togiai has just 26 career tackles, and Haskell has only 20.

However, it could be incoming freshman Darrion Henry who carves out a big role in the middle. The early enrollee is a four-star recruit from Cincinnati, and at 6-foot-5 and 279 pounds, he’s got the size to bang around with Big Ten guards and centers.

Football is a sport that is won up front, and for Ohio State, that is where the focus should be. They are perhaps the nation’s most talented team across the board, but if they can’t reload the defensive line, it will be tough to beat a team like Clemson when the College Football Playoff rolls around.

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