How Ohio State's defensive pieces could actually fit together -- and there might be 19 of them

Making educated guesses about a deeper defensive rotation after the start of the preseason.

How deep could the Ohio State defensive rotations go this season with players like Beau Atkinson (12) and Epi Sitanilei (44)? (Photo by Doug Lesmerises)

COLUMBUS — In the Big Ten Championship Game against Indiana last year, six Ohio State defenders played all 59 snaps. Another four played at least 51 snaps. The only real change in the defensive look was a rotation at defensive tackle between Eddrick Houston and Tywone Malone.

Those 12 players were the only Buckeye defenders to play even 11 percent of the snaps against the Hoosiers. Only one defender who didn’t start really mattered.

Two years earlier in the Big Ten Championship Game, 19 different Michigan defenders played at least 32 percent of the game. With rotations and sub-packages, there were eight Wolverine defenders that didn’t start that still mattered.

Now, 19 is a lot of defenders to meaningfully work in. The Wolverines had a comfortable lead in that game, while the Buckeyes were down to the wire against Indiana.

In the 2023 Ohio State-Michigan game, 16 Michigan defenders played meaningful roles. Still a lot. And for the 2023 season, it was 19 Wolverines that played at least 25 percent of the defensive snaps.

That Michigan defense, in stats and team success, was the best in the country. That national title team featured 11 defenders that have reached the NFL, but only two that were first-round picks. There were many very good players. There was no elite trio like Caleb Downs-Arvell Reese-Sonny Styles, but the whole group was deep and productive.

I wonder if Ohio State could go 19-deep on defense this year.

I’ve set that vaguely arbitrary ratio of 25 percent of the total defensive snaps as a guide. That, to me, indicates more than just some playing time in blowouts. Get on the field a quarter of the time over the season, and you matter to that defense.

While Michigan in 2023 was 19, here’s how many defenders have reached that 25 percent threshold for the Buckeyes recently:

2021: 19

2022: 17

2023: 14

2024: 14

2025: 16

Last year, Beau Atkinson’s roles vanished in the second half of the season, and Will Smith Jr. player very little in the last three games, which were the three biggest games. So I take that 16 with a grain of salt. It was closer to 14 — the 10 main starters, the defensive tackle rotation to make it 12, Payton Pierce as a third linebacker, and Devin Sanchez as a third corner.

As the Buckeyes’ defense returned to elite status after 2021 — it was a Top-10 group in 2022 and a Top-3 defense the last three years — the rotation consolidated. The last time the Buckeyes played 19 defenders, in 2021, it came from weakness, not strength. Of those 19 defenders, only two (J.T. Tuimoloau and Zach Harrison) were drafted in the first three rounds.

Five years ago, the Buckeyes went deep on a mediocre defense because they didn’t have stars.

This season, could they go as deep more from strength?

The Buckeyes had five 2025 defenders drafted in the first two rounds. The star quotient is down. The number of guys you don’t want to take off the field is lower.

But I’m not sure going deeper into the roster would be weakness. It might be a necessity but also smart strategy. It also would be a bet on youth. Six of the potential 19 players I’m suggesting could play are first- or second-year players.

The best chance to replace the lost superstar snaps is with depth — putting players in roles to succeed and keeping them fresh.

Sure, you’d take the stars first. But I think it’s possible the Buckeyes could go 19 deep on defense as part of a plan they actually like.

Based off what we saw and heard from the first three practices, here’s a player ranking of each position group, and a guess on who could play 25 percent of the snaps this season, and why.