Tag: Jack Sawyer

Ohio State named top defensive line in college football headed into 2024 by On3

It should be one whale of a defensive line in 2024. #GoBucks

Headed into the 2024 season, there are huge expectations for Ohio State’s defense. The Buckeyes were one of the top defensive units in college football last season. After returning key players at every position and landing former Alabama Freshman All-American, Caleb Downs, from the transfer portal, the Silver Bullets are expected to be even stronger in 2024.

Some of the biggest returnees for the Buckeyes come at the defensive line creating a rotation with outstanding high-end talent, depth, and young players who can develop.

This is backed up by On3’s college football columnist Jesse Simonton, who ranked the Buckeyes as the best defensive line in college football headed into the 2024 season.

Starting on the edge will be J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer who both returned for their senior season in Columbus. The edge rushing duo led the team in pressures last year with 37 apiece and also provide good run defense.

After being the anchor of the defensive line last year, Tyleik Williams announced his return for the senior season. Williams provides a dominant presence taking on blocks against the run along with good pass rushing maintaining his high level of play while playing a high snap count.

Returning alongside Williams on the interior is Ty Hamilton, who was a key part of the defensive line rotation last season providing another strong playmaker up the middle against the run.

Also projected to get snaps next season includes Caden Curry, Kenyatta Jackson, Hero Kanu, Kayden McDonald, Eddrick Houston, Mitchell Melton, Tyrone Malone, and Jason Moore providing the unit with good depth.

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Michigan football player takes jab at Ohio State

Michigan football player takes jab at Ohio State #GoBucks

Jesse Simonton of On3 has released his 2024 defensive line/edge rankings, where he ranks his top ten units in the country in that category. Unsurprisingly, the Ohio State unit was ranked first in the country. Most expected this unit to be ranked this high considering the return of three very likely high draft picks in Jack Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, and Tyleik Williams, but as expected someone associated with The Team Up North was not happy.

Mason Graham is an absolute beast, it needs to be said that he is also a likely early round draft pick next year, but I don’t think anyone outside the Michigan fandom would disagree with its ranking. Graham was clearly in disbelief as he responded on X (previously Twitter) with two humorous emojis.

Buy hey, the Wolverines are the national champions and have taken Ohio State behind the shed three years in a row. So, you can kind understand why he feels disrespected. Hopefully in November, the Buckeyes can prove these rankings right.

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Ohio State lands nine players on PFF top ten positional rankings

Ohio State lands nine players on PFF top ten positional rankings #GoBucks

Pro Football Focus (PFF) has been releasing their top ten positional rankings for returning players and Ohio State leads the way with nine players making an appearance on their respective positional list.

Of the ten running backs ranked, two Buckeyes make the list with both Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson making the cut. Henderson finished last season with a PFF receiving grade of 73.6, which led all Big Ten backs. Judkins leads all current Power Five backs with 2,726 rushing yards since 2022.

Emeka Egbuka also made his positional list at wide receiver and will have an opportunity to be the number-one option in Columbus after the departure of Marvin Harrison Jr. Donovan Jackson is the lone offensive lineman to make his positional list.

Both Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau made the top ten list for the edge defenders and it makes sense considering Sawyer was the only edge last season to earn grades 85 or higher as both a pass-rusher and run-defender. Tuimoloau is fourth among Big Ten edge defenders the last two seasons with 69 pressures. Tyleik Williams also made his positional list after tallying 26 run-defense stops, which was second among Big Ten defensive tackles.

Denzel Burke also made the cut after forcing 10 incompletions this past season, which was 20th among Power Five cornerbacks. Caleb Downs was also the number one returning safety according to PFF.

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ESPN names two Ohio State pass-rushers as top ten players in the country

The Buckeyes have an elite pair of defensive end

When Ohio State football found out that both starting defensive ends, [autotag]Jack Sawyer[/autotag] and [autotag]J.T. Tuimoloau[/autotag] were returning, it was viewed as a massive win for head coach Ryan Day.

ESPN is backing up that notion as they looked at the top ten returning pass-rushers and both Buckeyes made their list. Sawyer checked in a No. 4, as Chris Low noted that he “has the burst, size, and skills to reach double digit sacks in 2024 on an Ohio State defensive line that will be loaded.”

That sounds good to us, but what about Tuimoloau? The other former 5-star came in a few spots lower at No. 8. Again Low broke down the seniors game,  as “he has the strength and power to overwhelm opposing offensive tackles.”

The expectations are in the statosphere for both Buckeyes, and they should produce this coming fall.

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Two Ohio State defenders will stay in school and won’t enter the 2024 NFL draft

Ohio State defenders Jack Sawyer and Lathan Ransom will stay in school and won’t enter the 2024 NFL draft

Most of the draft news this time of year is about players who are leaving college to pursue their NFL dreams. Two Ohio State defenders who almost certainly would be drafted have made news by choosing to stay in school.

EDGE Jack Sawyer and safety Lathan Ransom both posted on social media on Friday that they are returning to the Buckeyes for the 2024 campaign. As such, they are not declaring for this year’s draft.

Sawyer racked up 6.5 sacks and 10 TFLs in 2023 and was generally projected in the 75-100 overall range if he declared. Ransom was viewed as a Day 3 type of talent. Now they both can further develop their games if they wish to pursue NFL dreams after the next college season in Columbus.

A third Buckeyes defender, cornerback Denzel Burke, made an ambiguous social media post of his own. Burke, potentially a top-40 overall talent, did not clarify his draft status.

Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer announces NFL plans

Jack Sawyer announces his plans for next season! #GoBucks

It’s been a couple of days of pretty good news for what the Ohio State football team will have in the cupboard next season. There’s the news about landing Kansas State transfer Will Howard at quarterback, but on the tails of that was the announcement by safety Lathan Ransom that he will be returning to the Scarlet and Gray for a fifth season.

And now, there’s more good news on the potential NFL defections front with defensive end Jack Sawyer announcing that he too will be coming back to Ohio State for another season rather than heading off to play American football on Sundays. It confirms some of the chatter and rumors we’ve heard to date about several prominent Buckeye players looking to give things another run in 2024.

Sawyer took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday to add to some of the positive momentum for next season and to let his intentions be known.

The Pickerington, Ohio, native was one of the most coveted recruits coming out of the 2020 cycle and seemed to finally be coming into his own off the edge at the end of the season. It all culminated with a three-sack performance against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. All told, he had 48 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles this season.

He should be an even greater force next year and we’ll wait to hear the decisions of other Ohio State players that still have NFL decisions to make.

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Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer leaning on returning in 2024

How many guys will we see come back in 2024 from the talented junior class? #GoBucks

The year of 2023 didn’t end the way anyone with a scarlet and gray wardrobe wanted. Ohio State lost its third-straight game to Michigan which kept the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship game for the same length of time. In 2021 and 2023, it also kept OSU out of the College Football Playoff.

However, one thing that has become apparent is that the current crop of veteran junior players on the team feel like they might have some unfinished business. We are hearing and seeing more and more examples and hints at a significant crop of those players looking to come back in 2024.

One of those players appear to be OSU defensive end, Jack Sawyer. He didn’t have eye-popping numbers in 2023, but he was highly active and productive with his hand in the ground as a more natural edge rusher than what he was being asked to do before standing up in the “jack” position.

To be fair, he’s not quite lived up to that five-star hype he had when he committed to the Buckeyes, but the talent and hunger is still there. So much so that Sawyer told the media on Tuesday that he’s leaning on coming back for his senior season and will also be playing in the Cotton Bowl on Friday night.

When asked about 2024 and whether he’ll be playing against Akron in the season opener, Sawyer let everyone know what he was thinking.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Sawyer said. “More than likely — yeah. Probably.”

Usually guys that have NFL decisions to make are pretty coy and unassuming about the questions lobbed at them, so it was a bit surprising to hear Sawyer go a little further than the boiler plate responses we’ve become accustomed too.

He’s not the only guy that we’ll be yearning to hear from from the highly ranked 2021 recruiting class after either Missouri or Ohio State are presented with a trophy, but it’s beginning to sound more and more like Sawyer and some of his classmates from the No. 2 ranked class from that cycle might be running it back one more time.

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Minnesota bolsters defense in three-round mock draft

Minnesota forgoes the quarterback for a pair of defensive lineman in the latest three-round mock draft.

Sports Illustrated’s Luke Easterling put out the first of many three-round mock drafts with the end of the NFL regular season inching closer.

With the 22nd pick in this hypothetical, the Minnesota Vikings take defensive lineman Leonard Taylor, III from Miami.

This entire defensive front needs reinforcements, so this pick is about finding the best value, either along the interior or on the edge. In this scenario, it’s the former for Minnesota, as they land an explosive and disruptive presence at the point of attack in Taylor. His attacking style of play would be put to good use by defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

Easterling continued adding to the defense. With the next pick at number 53, the Vikings took Jack Sawyer, a fleet-footed, explosive edge rusher out of Ohio State.

Minnesota’s third-round pick was a part of the deal for tight end T.J. Hockenson.

Immediately, questions will arise over the quarterback position. That’s fair. With this hypothetical, it’s safe to assume that Kirk Cousins has a chance to finish what he started in the beginning phases of this season. Another assumption is that Flores does not take a head coaching position and stays to help continue to build Minnesota’s defense.

This scenario is not a far-fetched reality. The defense has been playing at a stellar pace thus far. With how Kirk played before he was injured, it does make one wonder how much this team could have accomplished with him at the helm. Next year would be a chance to find out. It would be a chance to make that deep playoff run that has alluded Vikings fans since 2017.

There’s also the dark side of these decisions. What if this is just a fantasy that the front office is chasing? What if Cousins never looks the same again after a ruptured Achilles at the age of 35?

These are all questions that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings front office must mull over before the 2024 NFL draft in April.

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Ohio State football players that earned their Buckeye leaves against Wisconsin

Who do you think played well for the Buckeyes against Wisconsin? #GoBucks

It was another grind it out game for [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag], but as they have done all season long, they prevailed, defeating Wisconsin on the road 24-10.

The Buckeyes continue to rely on their defense to help win them games, a stark contrast from what we have seen from past [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] coached teams. It’s been a complete 180 degree turn this season.

This was a solid win, but one where not too many Ohio State players made a huge impact on. However, the ones below did and here are the players that I believe earned their Buckeyes leaves withe the hard fought win against Wisconsin Saturday night in Mad-town.

Olu Fashanu vs. J.T. Tuimoloau is a can’t-miss scouting matchup in CFB Week 8

Fashanu and Tuimoloau are both likely to be first-round picks in 2024 and will face off on Saturday

Saturday’s Big Ten heavyweight matchup between Ohio State and Penn State features an individual battle that has pro scouts and NFL draft analysts ready to witness. Nittany Lions left tackle Olu Fashanu and Buckeyes EDGE
J.T. Tuimoloau will have scouting eyes attuned for their matchup within the huge game between top-10 teams.

Fashanu is an elite-level prospect for the 2024 NFL draft at left tackle, a likely top-10 overall pick based on current projections. He’s been a rock in pass protection, allowing just two QB pressures and committing two penalties all season. Fashanu pitched a shutout on 44 pass protection snaps vs. the Buckeyes a year ago and looks to do the same in Columbus on Saturday.

Tuimoloau had a big game in his own right in Happy Valley in last year’s meeting, though none of his two sacks or three QB hits came at Fashanu’s expense. He’s playing great, impactful football recently with three sacks and seven QB hits in Ohio State’s last two wins. Facing Fashanu is a big step up from the likes of Purdue and Maryland, however.

The Buckeyes move the 6-foot-4, 277-pound junior around the formation, so Tuimoloau and Fashanu won’t go head-to-head on every rep. Ohio State’s other primary pass rusher, Jack Sawyer, is also a 2024 prospect in his own right, generally projected in the 75-125 overall range at this point. It’s a nice proving ground for Fashanu, who has a chance to be the first non-QB selected in April.