Ohio State Football: How do the Buckeyes Replace Tracy Sprinkle?
By Joe Russo
Here’s how the Ohio State football team will try and replace defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle.
In case you didn’t know already, there is a lot of youth on the defensive side of the ball for the Ohio State football team this season. After going down for the year with a knee injury, the Silver Bullets now turn to a trio of first year players to fill in for team captain Tracy Sprinkle. Is it simply a matter of next man up or are there scheme changes coming?
Meet Sprinkle’s replacements.
Three freshman will rotate for Larry Johnson’s unit in the place of the injured Sprinkle. Dre’Mont Jones, Davon Hamilton, and Robert Landers all bumped up in the two deep at defensive tackle with the latter now listed as the primary back up for Michael Hill.
Jones was a 4-star recruit out of Cleveland St. Ignatius and already saw action early in the Bowling Green game week 1. Jones, who is a redshirt freshman, relies more on his quickness and athletic ability relative to his size than shear strength along the interior. With Michael Hill being more a traditional 3-technique lineman, Jones’s ability to disrupt with a quicker first step is going to be valuable. Given how lackluster the Buckeye pass rush looked against the Falcons, maybe some interior pressure is exactly what OSU needs.
Hamilton flipped from Kentucky this past recruiting cycle. He is a 4-star player, but was not among the 300 in his class, according to ESPN.
If you read his scouting report, you probably couldn’t tell if he was better suited to play offensive or defensive line. His motor and toughness stick out. He has an enormous frame. Hamilton should be a bit more stout against the run than Jones.
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Landers, who is a product of Huber Heights Wayne High School, is another redshirt freshman lineman. He’ll likely be the third man in the rotation, along with Hamilton and Jones. Landers was a 3-star ESPN prospect coming out of high school, but earned a 4th star from Scout.com. He helped lead his high school program to a state title appearance. Playing on the interior that season, he had 153 tackles and 16.5 for a loss.
What other options are there?
Before you yell Nick Bosa, remember there is still a need for depth on the edge, too. That’s where Bosa is best suited to play. After that, it’s likely that Greg Schiano could dial up the pressure with some blitzes to ease his young tackles into things. By giving them one on one match ups and some support from a rushing linebacker, Jones, Hamilton, and Landers would be put in a more advantageous position. Last season, Derron Lee was highly effective as a rush linebacker and Adolphus Washington took full advantage of his one on one match ups. Why not looks to repeat that same formula?
Chris Ash was lucky enough to have three NFL players in the secondary last season. This allowed him more opportunities to blitz, which left Vonn Bell and Eli Apple in coverage. What Schiano’s unit lacks in experience, they more than make up for in speed. Malik Hooker‘s two interceptions alone should provide a glimpse as to what the unit can do, but they are deep at both safety and corner. Additionally, Sam Hubbard and Tyquan Lewis are still around to harass quarterbacks on the edge. Even if Schiano sends an extra linebacker, Raekwon McMillan is there in the middle of the field for support.
Speaking of McMillan, it might be in Schiano’s best interest to bring more pressure to keep offensive lineman from getting up on McMillan before he can fill to make plays. If the interior offensive line has to provide support to a tackle facing the rush, or if a fullback has to be aware of an extra man against the run, McMillan still has a clear path to the ball carrier. In a 4-3 scheme like the Buckeyes use, keeping linebackers clean of blockers is key to the success of the defense.
Next: Ohio State: Lessons Learned For Tulsa
Luckily, Ohio State can experiment against Tulsa. After watching the Oklahoma line get beaten down by Houston’s defensive front, the Buckeyes must fine tune their game against Tulsa to use the same pressure against Baker Mayfield that led to one of Week 1’s biggest.