Find difference makers at the linebacker spot
Rank these Ohio State linebackers 🅾️ pic.twitter.com/4208UGKAcV
— CFB Unleashed (@CfbUnleashed) December 27, 2020
It has been well-chronicled that Ohio State lost its top four linebackers to graduation and the NFL last season. That leaves the second level of the defense with a complete rebuild.
And while the defensive line would appear to be one of the best and deepest parts of this team, it has to be more than putting pressure on the quarterback. Defending passes across the middle, and runs to the outside and into the second level have to be bottled up.
The linebacker position is becoming even more important in the spread attack when it comes to covering in space, and the OSU defense won’t be the dominating bunch it needs to be if it can’t get production from the linebackers.