COLUMBUS, Ohio — Saturday’s spring game provided Ohio State fans their first glimpse into the Buckeyes’ deep defensive line unit.

The defensive line did not disappoint, racking up six sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss between the unit. With the depth in the room, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said the Buckeyes will play a good deal of guys come the fall.

“I don’t really care who starts, to be honest with you, because we’re going to play a lot of guys up front,” Knowles said. “I want them fresh. I want them hungry.”

Ohio State saw its six sacks spread across four defensive linemen, while six defensive linemen collected a tackle for loss. Defensive ends Noah Potter and J.T. Tuimoloau collected two sacks each Saturday.

While Potter and Tuimoloau turned in multi-sack performances, sophomore defensive end Jack Sawyer and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jaden McKenzie each got to the quarterback once.

As the Buckeyes saw contributions from both the interior and exterior defensive line, head coach Ryan Day said he believes the unit’s depth is an encouraging aspect of his team going into the fall.

“Certainly the depth of the D-Line is definitely going to be a strength of ours,” Day said.

The Buckeyes have a mixture of youth and experience on the defensive front as senior defensive ends Zach Harrison and Tyler Friday bring a veteran presence to the unit. While Harrison and Friday lead with experience, Sawyer and Tuimoloau enter their sophomore seasons looking to tap into their potential.

Sawyer racked up two tackles and a sack Saturday and Knowles pointed to the sophomore’s toughness as a guiding factor for his development.

“I love the way he plays, I love his toughness,” Knowles said of the defensive end, who lined up at the Jack position, the defensive coordinator’s defensive end and linebacker hybrid, Saturday

“Jack seems to be that kind of kid who will snap back a little bit. I’m from Philly so I kind of like that.”

Saturday served as Tuimoloau’s spring game debut as he committed to the Buckeyes July 4, 2021 — missing spring camp last season. Tuimoloau said due to his late arrival, he spent much of his first year “just trying to get his feet in the ground.”

In his spring game debut, Tuimoloau finished with four tackles and a quarterback hit alongside his two sacks.

As he’s worked through his first full offseason in Columbus, Tuimoloau said he’s built camaraderie with Sawyer and has grown in terms of technique while working with defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

“Being here with Jack and having a full offseason and seeing what we did out there, I think we got our feet in the ground,” Tuimoloau said. “It’s going to be a special year for us.”

While the Buckeyes alternated between playing to a thud and live tackling, Tuimoloau said the unit was excited to get some hitting under their belt at this stage in the offseason.

As Ohio State has placed a heightened attention to physicality this offseason, following a season in which its toughness was called into question, Tuimoloau said the Buckeyes’ defense is beginning to gel heading into the summer.

“We just came together. A lot of the older dudes stepped up and took a lot of the younger boys under their wing and after that we just continued to come with different energy,” Tuimoloau said. “Holding each other accountable was a big thing for us this year.”