Ohio State needs to play more true freshmen, and Devin Sanchez showed the Buckeyes the way through good and bad

"That game hit you. So now it’s how do you get past that hump and prepare yourself for what’s coming?”

Devin Sanchez played 323 snaps on defense as a true freshman for Ohio State in 2025. (Photo by Doug Lesmerises)

COLUMBUS — Reality hit Devin Sanchez in the 10th game of his first season, two plays in four snaps against UCLA in which he gave up two catches for a combined 69 yards and a touchdown, looking every bit like a 19-year-old true freshman.

He knows it.

“A bad game is something as a freshman, you don’t want that,” Sanchez told me at media day before the Cotton Bowl. “It’s not a good look.”

Sanchez played 29 snaps in that game, and by PFF stats gave up four catches the five times the Bruins threw at him, for a total of 80 yards. The two toughest plays came late in the third quarter. The first was a catch and run when Sanchez gave up a slant, took a bad angle and wound up chasing his man down the field for 51 yards.

The second was an 18-yard touchdown in man coverage on a crossing route when Sanchez bumped into another OSU defender over the middle of the field.

That was a lot of chasing in a short period of time for No. 6. It’s also exactly what should be happening for Ohio State’s true freshmen, especially those who were 5-star recruits.

“It’s a starting point,” Sanchez said. “Now it’s how do you bounce back from that? How do you show this is really you now? Because yeah, you had those regular games through the season where you were just cruising through, and then that game hit you. So now it’s how do you get past that hump and prepare yourself for what’s coming?”

How do you do it? By playing. By making mistakes. By learning in the spotlight instead of in the shadows.

Ohio State needs to let more true freshmen do it.