Ohio State then-junior linebacker Baron Browning (5) celebrates a tackle in the second half of the game against Penn State Nov. 23, 2019. Ohio State won 28-17. Credit: Cori Wade | Photo Editor
In an offseason that saw the Ohio State defensive line and secondary gutted by graduation and the NFL, the linebacking corps is looking to pick up the slack.
Led by four linebackers that have been with the team since at least 2017, the group brings experience and leadership to a rather unproven defense. The unit, which only lost contributor Malik Harrison to the NFL, brings versatility and maturity to a defense that is looking to replace seven starters from the Fiesta Bowl and adjust to unusual preparation for the season.
With many of the experienced players residing in the linebackers room, senior Baron Browning said the group has taken it upon themselves to be leaders for the defense.
“We are one of the more veteran groups out of all the position groups, so we kinda carry that weight proudly,” Browning said Thursday in a Zoom call. “If there’s something underneath our standard that we don’t like, we address it immediately. Like I said, we carry that role proudly and I think everybody responds well to it.”
Entering his second year with the Buckeyes, linebackers coach Al Washington said he holds this group in high regard.
“I think this particular group of guys is one of the more special guys I’ve been around from the standpoint of leadership,” Washington said. “I mean this is one of the most adverse times a college athlete could ever have, and through that all and despite all that, they, in my opinion, have found a way to make themselves better, found a way to get closer.”
Washington said that the group, which he believes has a stronger bond this year, is talented and that the character in the group is “through the roof.”
With the character and comradery in the linebackers room, the Buckeyes have moved some of their key players around. Browning and senior Pete Werner have swapped spots as Browning has moved to the outside, while Werner has moved inside to the box.
Despite this movement, Washington said that due to the unit’s depth and versatility, they will be moving players around the field based on the defensive package.
“We have that depth and we have guys with a variety of different skill sets so we can match up better, we can give guys roles,” Washington said.
In the first few weeks of the college football season, poor tackling has become an issue for defenses around the country. For example, Navy went into its opening matchup against No. 22 BYU without having a single full-contact practice and gave up 55 points due to its poor tackling.
Due to Big Ten guidelines that did not permit full-contact practice until Wednesday, the Buckeye linebacking corps spent the last few weeks working on the fundamentals of tackling. Washington said the team has spent more time on the basics of tackling, such as keeping the eyes up and feet on the ground.
With this attention to fundamentals, the unit has also been working heavily on tracking the ball carrier and taking the correct pursuit angle, something that Werner said is imperative to being a strong tackling team.
“There actually is more than you think you can do to help tackling and that is tracking,” Werner said. “That’s almost 80 percent on how to get a guy down.”
With the group continuing to prepare for the season, Werner said that the group is not complacent about the success the defense had a year ago.
Citing the final three games of the 2019 season as “not our best,” Werner said the group needs to be more disciplined to replicate the success the group found earlier in the season.
With key departures in the defense, Werner said that the coaching staff has stressed the defense isn’t what it was last year.
Werner said the perception that this installment of the defense doesn’t possess the talent of last year’s group motivates the defense heading into the season.
“I think because we have a chip on our shoulder, we want to be who we were last year. There’s no complacency there,” Werner said. “With our leadership on the team, we will get there and we will do what we say we want to do.”
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